Hello Garfield. First of all, I want to offer a big congratulation to anyone who is actually reading this. You’ve read as much of the opinion section as I would have in years past. Of course, now that I am actually on the opinion section, I will detail the reasons my columns will be worth reading.

In the past, some columns haven’t been much more than unfunny collections of snide comments. At times, readers had little idea whether the columnist was making a point, making fun of a point, making fun of making fun of point, or if he/she had any grasp of the issue at all.

This is not to say that satire or wittiness doesn’t belong in the opinion section and cannot be used to make a strong point. I would simply like to contrast this sort of writing with straightforward opinion columns.

Rather than using a tone that prevents my column from being taken seriously, I will make my points and back them up with statistics, anecdotes and facts. Some of you may prefer columns about why Bess sucks; a topic which has appeared multiple times on Messenger Opinion pages. Do not fear; in all likelihood, these will continue to be published. However, the fact that the school filters free student internet is simply not an important issue.

What do I think is important? Some examples are the war in Iraq, racism in this country, funding of Seattle public schools, and actions of the DEA. If you think these issues are played out, over-discussed or don’t affect you, then you should definitely read my columns.

For example, anyone who thought racism was no longer an issue in this country was proved wrong by the actions of the government and the media after Hurricane Katrina. The sometimes abstract concept of institutionalized racism was concretely demonstrated by media outlets that portrayed black people “looting” and white people “finding food”. Furthermore, federal and state governments simply did not respond to poor black people in need.

Given that the federal government and national media demonstrated such explicit racism in Louisiana, what makes Seattle or Garfield any different?

I also want to avoid writing columns that appeal only to people who already agree with me. My biggest hope is that people who disagree with me will read my columns. If I publicly take a position on a certain issue, the position will result, at least to some degree, from logic and rational thinking. While I don’t expect those who disagree with me to be fully convinced by my writing, I do expect them to write to the Messenger and demonstrate the flaw in my reasoning.

The Messenger has had a practically non-existent Student Letters section in the past, and I plan on changing that. Without student letters, the viewpoints expressed in the paper are limited to those in the opinion section. Writing a letter to the editor is a simple process. If you read a column in the Opinion Section you disagree with, write down a couple of paragraphs explaining why you’re right and the columnist is wrong and we will publish it in the next issue.

From what I have seen of each of this year’s opinion writers, the section should be interesting and worth reading. However, there is an obvious flaw in the actual makeup of the section. The opinion writers are four white, male upperclassmen. For a school as diverse as Garfield, an all-white, all-male opinion section is disturbing and problematic. While we opinion writers have different backgrounds and viewpoints, we cannot attempt to accurately represent the spectrum of views at Garfield. In the coming years, I would strongly encourage the Messenger to select a diverse Opinion Section more reflective of the school’s varied makeup. A temporary solution to this situation is to publish as much as we can from students not on the Messenger. If you have something to say, the Messenger will gladly publish you as a guest columnist. If not, just read the paper. It looks to be somewhat serious.