I always enjoy hearing input from readers, especially when the letter spouts off blind devotion to a particular cause, group, or production, devoid of any factually based criticism. In response to alumnus Hector Perez’ letter insisting that I “failed to acknowledge the unpaid hours of hard work, detailed-oriented [sic] coordination, fund raising…”etc., etc. I suggest that Mr. Perez reread the part where I state “the costuming and dances involved no small effort on behalf of the performers and should be acknowledged.”

I never said that there was anything wrong with having an event mostly in Spanish. My complaint still stands, however, regarding the weak effort at translation. For audience members not familiar with Spanish, the announcements had little or no context and, therefore lessened the impact of the event. If an event is going to receive funding from the Student Senate and purport to be open to all, then it shouldn’t just cater to one sector of the student population. That goes for any student group.

As for the title of my article, “From Fiesta to Siesta,” the rule for creating headlines stands that a headline is supposed to catch the attention of the reader or provide some idea as to what the article might consist of, if necessary, using wordplay of all sorts. Some people, like Mr. Perez, choose to react to the headline and don’t bother actually taking the time it takes to read the article closely before condemning it.

Mr. Perez charges that, “Good reporters go the extra mile, look beyond the latent, and research what is not apparent in order to disseminate the side of the story that is concealed, so that the readers can get, understand and appreciate the full picture.” This is not investigative reporting; this is a critical examination of a campus event, which I still think was poorly planned, surprisingly since most Casa Latina events are not of such an inferior quality. One of the announcers even admitted that things are “a bit shaky.”

I look forward to your continued readership.

MiMi Yeh