Telescope letter a PR ploy, students should be aware of tactic

I would like to make clear that the letter run last week bearing my name ("Let the Mt. Graham telescopes proceed," April 30) does not in fact bear my opinions regarding the Mt. Graham controversy. While I have mixed feelings on the matter, I would like the previous opinions attributed to me to be retracted.

I was approached by an old friend who asked if I would not mind having my name added to a petition. He indicated that it was in favor of the Mt. Graham telescope, and that it was a letter put out by a local PR firm he currently works for, which itself is under contract with the U of A. I requested a copy of the letter but was not sent one until it had already been sent out, "signed" by me and including my home phone number. I did not see the letter when it ran in the Wildcat, but was alerted to its publication by Anne Carl, of SEAC Southwest - the first that I had heard that the letter I had added my name to had been attributed solely to me (no mention of the PR firm, nor the other signatures I had heard of).

Again, I cannot make any statements regarding the issues at hand, as I am undereducated about the facts. I can say that I do not support the statements I was purported to have made. And I can also say that I am outraged that a PR firm is of the habit of contacting (and subsequently misleading) students at the university for the purpose of enlisting them for propaganda.

Clearly, the mistake is primarily mine. It is a mistake that I am trying to remedy with this letter and with apology to those students who have a dedicated interest in the topic, and whose dedication I have unwittingly undermined.

As a student who was told that I was simply adding my name to a list of others, I also caution other students to remember the golden rule of never lending your name to anything you haven't read, or anything in the hands of an organization you are unfamiliar with.

Further, I will remind all readers of future information regarding university issues that the authors may well represent PR firms and not public opinion.

By Jennifer Marshall (letter)
Arizona Daily Wildcat
May 7, 1997