Stop doing PSA's

I have been so tired lately that I chose to sleep in a little and come in to work late. That meant that I had to work late. I got my normal things done. I worked on resolving issues.

I had to go to class today and I could not park as close as the other day. We spent time going over our proposal letters. I got a B+ on the proposal letter. I was happy with that. After class I took my duty boots for Pullman fire to the fire station. They are going to get re-soled. My soles are in bad shape. Then I was off to Colfax.

I stopped at Bulldog Pizza. I got a couple slices of pizza and I talked to the owner, Ben, about sponsoring the Palouse Thunder. He said he would get back to me.

I ended up working until seven o'clock pm. While I was here after five Allison stopped by. We talked for about a half hour total. She seemed nice. The feeling I get is that she likes me.

After she left I worked on doing some C# programming. Actually, I am working through a book on C# programming. I got one thing complete, but it is not working correctly. I am not sure why. I have a feeling it's because there is something wrong with the computer and not the code.

I headed to Colfax Fire for training. We went to a house on Cedar street that is going to be torn down. We did two hose evolutions in it. I just hung out on crutches and did do a darn thing.

Well, I was finally disturbed enough with the Daily Evergreen and they little PSA's through out the newspaper asking people to write a letter to the editor. Just before Christmas break a guy names Alex wrote a letter to the editor about getting rid of WSU fire. It was a terrible letter. I wrote a rebuttal to it and it was never published. So, I thought I would write a letter to the editor stating my displeasure with what they are doing.

Editor,

Throughout recent editions of the Daily Evergreen I have seen many PSA’s requesting students write a Letter to the Editor. Yet, when one is written, as a rebuttal to one of the most asinine letters in Daily Evergreen history, it was not published.

When someone wrote a Letter to the Editor claiming that the WSU Fire resident program should be ended not a single response letter was published. The letter calling for the end of WSU fire was illogical and its arguments were poorly supported.

I know that at least one letter was submitted that addressed the claims that were made. The Daily Evergreen chose not to run the rebuttal letter.

In the future before you waste space in the Daily Evergreen asking for people to write a Letter to the Editor, you should make sure you plan on giving both sides of an issue a fair chance to speak.

Scotty Anderson
MIS

Shortly after this letter, I got a response from the editor. He said that it was not published because "too much time" had elapsed since the original letter was written. Too much time had elapsed because we went out to Christmas Break. He suggested that I write a different letter that did not address the old one but would support my main ideas. I took the opportunity to do just that.

Editor,

At any university, programs come and go. WSU use to have a rifle shooting program on campus. That is gone. WSU use to have a physical education major. That is gone. WSU use to have a police science program. That is gone. Should WSU Fire be the next thing to go?

Is WSU Fire a needed service within a city that already has a fire department? A compound answer is yes and no. Yes, by law, it is needed. If those laws change, then no, it is not needed, but it is still desired. Cable TV is not needed in your house, but it is desired. A bus is not needed to get to campus, but it is desired. A post office in the CUB is not needed, but it is desired. Just because something is not needed does not mean it is not desired.

Some reasons that you may desire keeping WSU Fire.

WSU Fire is on campus. That means they help serve the campus population with very little delay. An ambulance from WSU Fire can be on scene in less that half the time that it would take Pullman Ambulance.

WSU Fire’s firefighters are all trained EMT’s. This is important because most calls for service by today’s fire department deal with medical situations. Because they are EMT’s they can quickly stabilize and transport an injured or sick person.

WSU Fire residents’ training often leads to full-time employment shortly after graduation. Becoming a full-time firefighter can take several years for most people. Many of WSU’s student firefighters leave WSU with the ability and training necessary to performing better on tests and in the oral boards. Their real-life experience is invaluable in getting outside employment.

Our campus is safer because of the presence of WSU Fire. We should be proud of the high caliber firefighter/EMT’s who serve our campus.

I wonder if that one will make it into the Daily Evergreen. I have a good feeling that it will.