In saying that the Marquette nickname debate "has lost steam" over recent years, the March 1 staff editorial, "Board should lay Warrior to rest," passes off a heavy, suspect and unsupported claim as fact. It does the same in claiming that students have "moved on" in the years since 1994. Incredibly, both of these transgressions occur within the first two sentences, discrediting the editorial from the outset. And after that, it starts getting bad.

To begin, the most flagrant violation of good sense is the claim that ending the Golden Eagle culture would be "counterproductive and cruel." First off, where are the members of this culture? Do they live underground? Or on the fifth floor of Johnston Hall? Because they don't seem too visible in the one place I'd expect them — athletic events. Why, in 11 years, hasn't a single Eagle-related chant originated — let alone caught on — at basketball games? And how could one explain the building presence of Warriors chants and T-shirts the past few seasons, even when Wayne Sanders was still an anonymous ex-CEO? Or for that matter, how to explain the rousing ovation Sanders received from those graduates last May? Please, Tribune editorial staff, don't insult your readers by matter-of-factly claiming the issue "has lost steam" without any supporting evidence.

Secondly, you say yourself that "there are certain words we are taught to avoid" because "connotations of such words could discredit perfectly legitimate groups in the eyes of the readership." Surely then, you are also taught to avoid the unqualified use of heavily charged terms like "cruel" and "malicious." Even more reprehensible is your assertion that "Wisconsin's American Indians would find (the nickname) offensive." As ethnic majorities so often do, the Tribune here imposes the spokesperson role on a small contingent of Wisconsin American Indians, who vehemently oppose "Warriors." Surely, we should not homogenize the ethnicity by implying that this small contingent can speak for its entirety. This is a burden carried by too many ethnic minorities as it is.

In the next paragraph, you say, "It would also seem that the board is giving preference to one group of alumni." To which I would reply: And your point is? I ask, is it more logical to show preference to the Golden Eagle alumni, who are roughly one fourth in number?

And to whom does the "Golden Eagles" evokes about as much pride in our athletic teams as the name "The Brew Bayou" evokes in our coffee shop?

Earlier, you also remark that "the mishandling of publicity is not reason to bring the controversy back to life … It reeks of the pettiness most recently exhibited by the U.S. Congress in changing French fries to Liberty fries." Is this intentional irony? Or merely accidental? I can hardly imagine a more blatantly petty ideological slam. And to use it to call others petty? Spare me, please. Am I petty for even bringing it up myself? Probably. But a well-thought editorial would never invoke such quibbling to begin with.

Now, while on the subject of letting old traditions rest, was resurrecting the staff editorials necessary after all these years? I wonder how these editorials are written, anyway. Do the editors meet each week in a smoky room over whiskey sours to discuss God and man and the cosmos and MUSG? Or are these editorials just the whim of one or two staffers?

When any writer abuses his or her position to frame an unsupported position as the word of moral authority, it galls me to no end. As editors, your title gives you no license to skew reason and logic in favor of your personal sentiments, as I feel you did in your March 1 editorial. Nor does it excuse misinformation. (For instance, the study days petition never asked for a full week off before finals, it merely asked for a day or two, as your editorial concluded reasonable — only after needlessly ripping apart the idea of a study week.)

Some of my friends call the Tribune a "rag" or other derogatory terms. I always defend the paper as best I can, knowing that student media is the most powerful and meaningful student voice on campus. However, I struggle to defend much of the content in the staff editorials so far.

Vincent Bergl is a senior environmental engineering major.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 12 2005.