The recent piece on "Utilizing Opinions" (CT-Sept. 4) was a well-thought out and modest effort to better connect with the readers. However, I would like very much to see some fire to match this smoke. The Collegiate Times is a well organized, thought out, informative, and overall entertaining newspaper, and yet there is much to be done.
The opinion pieces are written by level-headed, hard-working students here at Virginia Tech. By publishing these types of articles, you are neglecting an opinion that is ripe for the plucking. I am talking about angry, hardworking delusional students whose vast ludicrous thoughts could easily fill a small section of your paper on a weekly basis. The opinions of the deranged are as untapped as Middle East oil fields. Let me clarify that I do not want the CT to be The Onion. Keep using facts and reporting on real stories. However, there is much opportunity to give a voice to the muttering incoherent thoughts of overworked students.
Tech is an extraordinary place with a multitude of fringe thought that needs to be harvested for the good of the simple balls of mush that come here year after year in an attempt to be molded into adult human beings. Forget stories titled "Do we Spend Too Much Time on Facebook?" We know the answer to that (as long as we remember the name of our country, then the answer remains no). Try these titles on for size, "Why D2 is the Key to World Peace," "Units of Hate: Converting O'Reilly's to Olbermann's" and "Vladimir Lenin: Prince of Fashion." To some, the idea of these pieces may seem humorous, and to others, it is gospel.
If opinion is what the CT is seeking, then it is just a matter of will. Campus dialogue of this degree will shake the very foundation of university newspapers countrywide. It can be a true exploration of Tech and what it means to be a Hokie. Not every guy parties and sleeps in. Not every girl wears goofy sunglasses, fake tans and shows more cleavage a than Newsweek cover. It's an ocean of opinion in Blacksburg.
I hope these thoughts help to improve your newspaper. I enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy using it to block the streetlight from entering my window.
Vincent Guida
sophomore, industrial systems engineering