Students have suffered most in Creative Writing controversy

Editor,

I would like to remind your readers and staff of those who have been most affected by Joy Harjo's resignation and the interdepartmental rift that has been occurring for more than a year now: the creative writing students. Students, after all, are the reason an educational institution exists, right? And most everyone still involved - except for the students - cannot remember this.

In her article addressing Harjo's resignation, Maggie Ybarra doesn't quote one student from the creative writing program. Why? Call me a maverick, but this doesn't seem to be thorough journalism. There are a lot of creative writing students. I'd venture to say that the majority of us would like to tell anyone our opinion, whatever that may be, until the listener faints from exhaustion.

Students have received inflammatory e-mails from other students regarding the "scandal." Students have fallen out of favor with other students and faculty members because of their opinion on the topic, or, perhaps, for being opinion-less. Above all, students have wasted an incredible amount of time reading the barrage of media coverage. I have several academic things I should be doing right now instead of writing this.

Students have moved to Albuquerque from places across the country, and this is the situation to which we've moved. If anything warrants angst, it's this. And despite these problems, we are still publishing our work. We are working toward our book-length dissertations, many of which will be published and will ultimately credit UNM and its creative writing faculty.

Allow me a little self-righteousness when I say we deserve praise for what we've been through. No matter how certain professors are masquerading their indignation, it is not for the benefit of their students. All of the effort spent enveloped in the "scandal" could have been saved and used positively for us, which, thankfully, does not speak for the majority of the faculty. Can we move on? And before we do, let's remember who the real victims are.

Kyle Churney

UNM student