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Show Letters SUSC reply Editor: I am responding to your editorial concerning Southern Utah State College media relations. First and most importantly, let me emphasize that the college does appreciate ap-preciate the excellent coverage that the Record and the other Cedar City news media give us. It is truly unfortunate, in that light, that the Record chose to print the editorial. The college's complaints about media coverage of the rape case were with the actions of a Record reporter while he was moonlighting for the Associated Press. We had no complaint with the Record's reporting. It must be pointed out, however, that in spite of confusing editorial language that could suggest otherwise, SUSC Information Services never called . anyone "unprintable names." I, personally,' told the aforementioned reporter that I thought some of his actions were unprofessional and here is why. The story hesubmitted too the AP about the rape case had factual errors, two of the men's ages were incorrect and one had never played a second of football at SUSC although all three were designated "SUSC football players." He also chose not to confirm with the college whether or not the men were in fact SUSC students and submitted sub-mitted the story without knowing for certain that they were. In my book, those actions are journalistically unprofessional. un-professional. As to the main thrust of the editorial, that SUSC is only publishing its good news, we can not and should not do it any other way. Information Services is the college's public relations department and people who think that it is the proper role of a public relations department to hang out the institution's dirty laundry are living in a fairyland. It is the proper role of a PR department depart-ment to respond to inquiries about wrongdoing by college people. We then "have the responsibility to tell all we know, however damaging it may be. I have been at the college for over a year and in that time never have I been asked by the media to respond to ' allegations of wrong doings. It is the role of the news media to ask those B questions. Why they do, I will respond I 'iorthrightlyu-iBtitvas arule, Lam.not I sgoingAto voluntarily revealyi,the ? relatively few things that go wrong at Southern Utah State College. Douglas E . Thompson Director College and Public Relations The ages of Michael J. Scheiss and Dave Loveland were incorrectly reported to The Record by the Cedar City Police Department. Scheiss is 20 and Loveland 19. At the arraignment of the three before Judge Christian Ronnow, they were asked if they were football players at the college. All three answered "yes". EDITOR |