Letters to the Editor

Well, I finally got a letter to the editor published in BYU's student newspaper, "The Daily Universe." I was quite excited that my letter was published, until I realized that I was misquoted! They edited one of my sentences, significantly altering the meaning. I was annoyed, because I feel like they assumed what I meant without asking me. Arg.

First, I'll print the original letter that I sent them for you guys:

"I applaud Amnesty International for trying to raise awareness of the situation in Burma. I was disappointed with the low turnout at Wednesday's peace rally. I was even more disappointed to hear students say things like, "What's the point? Are they really going to change the situation by protesting?" The other day, as I walked by the Amnesty International banner, I saw this quote: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." There are a lot of 'good people' at BYU 'doing nothing' to be aware of the evils going on in this world. Yes, perhaps a small rally at BYU won't change a dictatorship. But raising awareness and educating people on social justice issues are important. How are we as students ever going to be able to "Go forth to serve" if we do not take time to "Enter to learn" about the problems in our world? Most of us cannot even fathom living under the kind of oppression facing the Burmese monks. But does that mean that we should ignore the fact that such things go on in this world? I'm with Martin Luther King Jr., who said: " Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." As future leaders, we must use our education to promote truth and justice everywhere, not just where it directly affects us."

So... here is the letter I sent them, which I asked them to print in the next "Letters to the Editor" section. You'll see how they changed it.
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Dear "Letters to the Editor,"

Please print this in your "letters to the editor section." This is in regards to my letter "Doing nothing," published on 10/22/07.

I'm grateful that you printed my letter to the editor, but when you did your editing, you changed the meaning of my intended message. I did not not mean that BYU students are completely aware of the evils of the world and are "doing nothing," but that they are not taking the proper time to get educated about social justice issues in the first place. Yes, some know about the Burma situation and don't seem to care too much. But many don't even really know about it in the first place and walk by demonstrations on campus such as the Burma rally without learning about their purpose. I feel that the way you changed my letter misrepresents what I intended to say. Please be aware that subtle editing changes can have a great effect in the intended meaning of the author. I applaud BYU students for all the good that they do; I just think that we could do more to actively learn about and stand up for political and social justice issues all over the world.

Thank you,

Lauren Major
Mequon, Wis.

The original sentence:There are a lot of 'good people' at BYU 'doing nothing' to be aware of the evils going on in this world."

The edited sentence: "There are a lot of "good people" at BYU "doing nothing," but are aware of the evils going on in this world.

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Anyhow, I know it was simply a mistake, but it taught me a great lesson. Editing matters. Misquoting people misrepresents them. Maybe some will say that it's not that big of a deal. But I think it is. Things that are in print are there for everyone to see, and it made me realize that I should not take that responsibility lightly.