Dear Editor,

I can appreciate the Trinitonian covering the story regarding APO’s current situation, in that APO is a large and active sorority on campus. Even before the article published two issues ago that detailed the internal APO conflict, I heard comments from people I both knew and did not know about APO “drama.” Thankfully, no one would give specific details in the interests of protecting the people involved: the talk I heard wasn’t interested in “outing” anyone so much as expressing concern for members who were and are continuing to struggle to calm the situation. While many people reacted negatively against the February 22 APO article, I stand by the Trinitonian’s decision to include it, as it presented the internal strife in a relatively unbiased manner. The article does not seek to blame anyone and keeps personal issues confidential while still informing the greater campus community of these relevant events.

That aside, I have a different opinion of Abby Miracle’s column this past issue. Miracle does deserve to have her opinion on the matter, and I appreciate her message to not let personal issues of APO effect the ASR elections. However, after talking with many different people on campus and incorporating my own views, I’ve found the column damages more than it journalistically adds to the APO situation. The column promotes inflammatory gossip by moving from an informative, factual view of the events to blaming the people within APO itself. Many people I have talked to claim that an “anti-Megan Smith group” or “hoopla” was never present at the meeting that Miracle describes. While I can’t solely believe in Miracle’s column or what people have merely told me about the meeting, I can believe that Miracle’s column paints the members of APO as disrespectful and unprofessional “” specifically as “twelve-year-olds.” I disagree with this depiction entirely, and Miracle’s fantastic message of not allowing APO strife to affect ASR elections is easily lost underneath the column’s pejorative gossip.

Julia Smith is a sophomore member of Alpha Phi Omega