LETTER TO EDITOR: IVCC should be proud of Apache name
Dear Editor,
Since my years on staff, I have always thought the college newspaper, The Apache, was a well-written paper, whose reporters went the extra mile to research and report FACTS. In fact one of the statements that sticks with me most is Doc (advisor Rose Marie Lynch) saying, repeatedly and quite strongly, "STAY OUT OF THE STORY!"
I think it high time Ms. Rapp take that message to heart. I find that she does well to stay on the sports page, because it seems the only place she can accurately and factually report a story. But her latest blunder has topped them all ("Strong Views about Apache Nickname Expressed").
Not only does she fail to stay out of the story, she twists facts and seems to be quoting herself a bit too frequently. The story only echoes her column (a redundancy in itself) and her entire story leans to her opinion like a birch in the wind, regardless of her opening statement that states "80% of students and 70% of faculty" APPROVE of the name.
Furthermore, she spouts on about the name being "offensive and inappropriate" but I fail to see one quote from the Apache Nation or even one Native American Indian, aside from the quote from the Editor. As I recall, a good reporter backs up every story with both sides, obtaining quotes from opposing sources.
But I think that the absolute crowning insult to me, and every other person of Native American descent must be the closing statement of her column..."maybe we should have an animal name, a TOUGH name." If Native Americans weren’t tough, ruthless and courageous they would have been obliterated from the face of the Earth by the narrow-minded settlers who stole their land, killed their warriors and desecrated their beliefs.
IVCC should be proud of the Apache name. After all, what’s the name of the latest and greatest aircraft we’re sending to Kosovo? Oh yeah, the APACHE.
Pat Baird Sessler
Former Apache staff member
The Apache April 29, 1999