To Whom It May Concern,

I have just finished reading this week’s edition of the S&B, and I have to say that I am absolutely appalled at the quality of much of its writing. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the paper has left me thinking “Does anybody bother to read this thing before it goes to print?”. The quality of our newspaper has been declining lately, and after reading this week’s paper, I simply cannot stand idle any more.

This rant isn’t aimed at any one person in particular, but rather at the S&B as a whole. Grinnell College has a reputation for producing people who know how to write and who know how to write well. Even a cursory glance at our newspaper, however, leaves a lot to be desired. After reading the two cover stories this week (both of which contained numerous errors, some obvious and some not so obvious), I decided to take out my red pen and go through the whole paper. I only got half-way through before I was disgusted enough that I had to write this letter.

The S&B employs thirteen people with the title of editor. I understand that the jobs of the editors vary greatly and that no one person is responsible for editing the whole paper, but this week’s edition seriously left me wondering if any of the so-called editors are editing anything at all! Even so, all the blame cannot be placed upon the editors; it has to be shared with the staff writers as well. I know there isn’t a soul on this campus who doesn’t proof-read, tweak, and oh my gosh, edit what they write for class before they turn it in. Shouldn’t the work you all do for the S&B be given the same attention?

I want a college newspaper that I can be proud of. Right now, the S&B leaves me shaking my head. Quite frankly, it reflects poorly on the college and on our well-known reputation for producing good writers.