Dear Editor,

Everyday I grow more and more disenchanted with the atmosphere at Northern Kentucky University.

I chose this university for reasons I believed to be important in the educational process of all students. I believed that NKU would allow me to grow and develop not only as a student but as a man. Many times since I have been a student at this university I have read letters to the editor of The Northerner that have served to fuel the anger of African-American students.

According to a letter by Kevin Malay, students at this university should not receive the right to due process granted to all students by the United States Constitution. He believes that Mr. Michael Powell should be “expelled and put behind bars.” I understand that he has a sister. I understand that a situation like the one we find ourselves facing now may cause some women to become fearful. I also have a sister but I would like to remind Malay that Powell has not been convicted of the crime he has been charged with, and due to this fact, his comments are not only unnecessary but ignorant.

He maintains that African-American students attempt to turn various issues into racial propaganda; the truth is we are constantly facing the residue that racism has left in our society. We seek not to divide this campus or our communities, only to expose these divisions and work to rid the world of the ignorance that would lead one to write a letter similar to the one that Malay has written.

I would also like to add that those of us who stand behind Michael Powell do so not because we are insensitive to the concerns of women, and not simply because he is African American. We do so because we realize that he is not a scumbag; we understand that he is facing very trying times at the moment and we continue to support him and his rights as a citizen of these United States.

Eric S. Smith

Junior, history and political science