Editor:
My name is Cristin Murphy and I am both a student and an active feminist at Northern Arizona University. I came across a copy of your March 22 issue and was drawn to Sarah Garrecht's column on the Playboy advertisement she chose to run prior to Spring Break.
Kudos, Sarah! Journalistically, you were will within your means to run the ad. It was non-offensive and simply did an effective job of allowing the adults who are attending the University to GASP! make their own decisions. Those who are complaining about the ad's presence are either too ignorant to make decisions like whether or not to purchase pornography on their own, or are so superior that even though they make THEIR own decisions, no one else is smart enough to make their own.
I know, it is pretty crazy to assume that college students, old enough to pay for an education, are capable of making their own decisions regarding their spring break reading material. Maybe some of you have been spending too much time in that Tucson sun, but I believe they are certainly able to ascertain what is appropriate reading material on their own, as Garrecht demonstrated.
Garrecht also did an excellent job attacking some of the myths that permeate some misguided people's thinking. Women who pose in Playboy do so for various reasons, but I doubt you will find one who did not know exactly what she was getting herself into.
I am so sick and tired of women being blamed for publications like Playboy. If men didn't buy it and want it, women wouldn't pose in it. So, for those of you who have chosen to ridicule Garrecht on her strength, wisdom and savvy in running the ad, stop blaming the victims and the messengers and look to the source.
Mind your own business, kids. If you want to buy Playboy or Playgirl, go for it. That is your right. And if you don't, that's your right too. And, just as you are entitled to make that decision, so is everyone else.
Garrecht showed true leadership skills and truly seems to be a strong, independent woman, editor and human being. Keep up the good work.
Cristin Murphy
NAU