Comments stereotype honors students

Editor:

"People living in an [honors residence hall] with the same kind of people would have limited experiences. They're trying to create a utopian society. Everyone would be closed-minded. The whole point of coming to a university is to meet people with various experiences."

ŸScott MacDonald, computer engineering freshman

"I don't think the honors hall should be [at Arizona-Sonora]. This is like a playground. They should be by the library."

ŸJason Yu, medical engineering freshman, resident of Arizona-Sonora

"There is a lot of socializing. If they make it an honors dorm, they would stay inside and study or something."

ŸRob DeVore, electrical engineering freshman

All of the above quotes were taken from the Oct. 5 article on RHA's proposal to make Arizona-Sonora into an honors residence hall. Unfortunately, they say almost nothing about the validity of the proposal. Instead, they set forth an insulting and stereotypical view of honors students and honors halls. These students, who came to the university "to meet people with various experiences" obviously have not met any honors students. They would know us by the scarlet "H" we all have tattooed on our foreheads.

I am an honors student and a resident of Yuma Hall. When I walk down the halls, I have to check every once in a while to see if I'm looking in a mirror, or if there are actually other people passing me. That is, when I see other people. We spend most of the time studying in our rooms with the doors closed. If we're not in our rooms, we're in the library. We have dead quiet 24 hours a day. No one listens to music, goes to parties, plays sports, dates, or actually has a conversation. And we are all exactly alike.

I will not justify myself or my fellow honors students to people like the ones quoted above. But I would like to note that in an article about the proposal of a new honors hall, not a single honors student was quoted, and that all students who were quoted (with the exception of Steve Parker, RHA president) made disparaging comments about honors students. A newspaper run by students, with several honors students on its staff, should at least attempt to present the views of all parties concerned.

Signing off from the dead quiet of my closed-minded, utopian residence hall,

Logan Robertson

Creative Writing and Spanish Sophomore

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