Newspaper must present more balanced opinions

Editor,

Though my colleagues and I continue to submit opinions to the Daily Lobo, it appears that the opinion editor refuses to publish almost anything that even hints at a conservative opinion. The majority of the letters published in the last several weeks have shown a preponderance of far-left liberal leanings, some of which are totally ludicrous.

Several discussions with Daily Lobo staff members have brought to light that the opinion editor is the person responsible for selecting which letters get published. This begs the question, who is editing the editor?

The Daily Lobo is not only for

students, but also for the thousands of faculty and staff, as well. While we have every respect for viewpoints that are contrary to our own, we certainly don't believe they are the only valid viewpoints or the only ones that should be presented to readers for consideration. For instance, the drawback to conservative philosophy is that conservatives believe in telling it like it is, even when it is unpleasant to hear. And that, in turn, seems to attract a large amount of emotional backlash. Conversely, liberals, while they may cite the world's problems, always attempt to convince us that, with increased government and enough money, they can fix everything. The bottom line is that they have no real solutions. What they neglect to portray is that as the government grows and legislates more of our life, we the people have less and less to say about our personal freedoms and decisions - much like the opinion editor seems to be deciding which views he thinks we should see.

In conclusion, the Daily Lobo needs to present a more fair and balanced selection of opinions. Presenting a wider variety of ideas is what free speech and press is all about.

Larry H. Crum

and Paul Chacho

UNM staff

Editor's note: The opinion editor reads all incoming letters and selects which to print based on quality, timeliness, length and variety of perspective. Often, printed letters reflect the overall proportion of incoming viewpoints. The Daily Lobo also has a conservative columnist on staff.