2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor Regarding Ask the Fox
Sandra Dacey
Issue date: 4/29/05 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
Dear Editor:
I was absolutely appalled by the recent article about baggage and the single student father. I myself am a single mother who attends Holt at night and whose child's father attends Rollins during the day. It seems like whomever gave advice to avoid dating a single father, gave advice solely from stereotypical views. I am also astonished that such advice would be published in a school newspaper.
When my child's father and I became pregnant at 19 and 20, both of us had an option of abortion. Abortion, obviously, would permit an easy way out. But instead we decided to give life to this child, a selfless act, to say the least. Not only do we work as a team to raise this child, but we both hold full time jobs, attend school full time, and manage to provide for our child all the needs for a normal life. I can't begin to tell you how difficult it has been to manage such a life, yet the child is the most important asset to our lives. Our child or any child, to be considered as baggage to an outsider who obviously has no awareness of a life of a single father, is horrible. Furthermore, to be noted as "irresponsible" is outrageous.
Also, I was extremely bothered that the "stereotype" of a mother/father
role was mentioned as well. Obviously, our child has a mother and
father. Why would a newspaper "assume" that as a single parent, we are looking for some one to take the place of our child's mother or father. Single parents know that any person whom we bring into our child's lives, affects the well-being of the child. So no single parent would date carelessly and bring detrimental situations into our child's life.
Thanks to this article, you have given single parents a 1) stereotypical name 2) advice to avoid single parents or "baggage" per se and 3) put single parents into a group of outcasts, mainly irresponsible people. Possibly next time such advice is given, you will look and observe the life of a single parent, especially schoolmates who are trying to better their lives not only for their own good but for the good of the child.
Sincerely,
Sandra Dacey
Single mom at Rollins
----------------
Ms. Dacey,
Thank you for your feedback. We hope that the original article and your response will spark some dialogue on campus and raise awareness of the often misunderstood and ignored challenges of single parenthood.
We would like to remind you and our other readers, however, that "Ask the Fox," like any other column, is not intended to represent the views of The Sandspur or Rollins College. In fact, it represents the views of a fictional character whose personality is developed through the combined efforts of a few staff members, none of whose personalities are accurately reflected in answers. "The newspaper" has made no assumptions and pushed no stereotypes.
We sincerely appreciate the fact that you took the time to respond, though, and we do consider reader feedback when making future editorial decisions. Our goal is to serve our readership, and we depend on contributions like yours to determine how we can best do that.
Sincerely,
Mark Bartschi
Editor-in-Chief, The Sandspur
I was absolutely appalled by the recent article about baggage and the single student father. I myself am a single mother who attends Holt at night and whose child's father attends Rollins during the day. It seems like whomever gave advice to avoid dating a single father, gave advice solely from stereotypical views. I am also astonished that such advice would be published in a school newspaper.
When my child's father and I became pregnant at 19 and 20, both of us had an option of abortion. Abortion, obviously, would permit an easy way out. But instead we decided to give life to this child, a selfless act, to say the least. Not only do we work as a team to raise this child, but we both hold full time jobs, attend school full time, and manage to provide for our child all the needs for a normal life. I can't begin to tell you how difficult it has been to manage such a life, yet the child is the most important asset to our lives. Our child or any child, to be considered as baggage to an outsider who obviously has no awareness of a life of a single father, is horrible. Furthermore, to be noted as "irresponsible" is outrageous.
Also, I was extremely bothered that the "stereotype" of a mother/father
role was mentioned as well. Obviously, our child has a mother and
father. Why would a newspaper "assume" that as a single parent, we are looking for some one to take the place of our child's mother or father. Single parents know that any person whom we bring into our child's lives, affects the well-being of the child. So no single parent would date carelessly and bring detrimental situations into our child's life.
Thanks to this article, you have given single parents a 1) stereotypical name 2) advice to avoid single parents or "baggage" per se and 3) put single parents into a group of outcasts, mainly irresponsible people. Possibly next time such advice is given, you will look and observe the life of a single parent, especially schoolmates who are trying to better their lives not only for their own good but for the good of the child.
Sincerely,
Sandra Dacey
Single mom at Rollins
----------------
Ms. Dacey,
Thank you for your feedback. We hope that the original article and your response will spark some dialogue on campus and raise awareness of the often misunderstood and ignored challenges of single parenthood.
We would like to remind you and our other readers, however, that "Ask the Fox," like any other column, is not intended to represent the views of The Sandspur or Rollins College. In fact, it represents the views of a fictional character whose personality is developed through the combined efforts of a few staff members, none of whose personalities are accurately reflected in answers. "The newspaper" has made no assumptions and pushed no stereotypes.
We sincerely appreciate the fact that you took the time to respond, though, and we do consider reader feedback when making future editorial decisions. Our goal is to serve our readership, and we depend on contributions like yours to determine how we can best do that.
Sincerely,
Mark Bartschi
Editor-in-Chief, The Sandspur
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