2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the editor
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Editorials
Media, police wrongfully assign blame in case
There has been much feedback regarding the heartfelt letter Michael Grady submitted to The Student a couple of weeks ago. After reading a strong opinionated rebuttal from a student and the words from the prosecutor, I strongly believe Grady's letter was misread. This is not an issue of running from responsibility or ripping apart the police force and justice system. The issue is merely a lack of respect shown to his daughter and her friends. I am a housemate of Maureen Grady and witnessed this nightmare unravel before her eyes. Maureen has to live with this entire saga for the rest of her life. It is not just the harsh justice system, which is upsetting.
The prosecutor is right; the police force does need to enforce laws such as underage drinking, j-walking, etc. These laws are provided for our safety and to prevent tragedies from occurring. I commend those who work hard everyday to ensure a safe community for their citizens. It is the lack of respect and the misrepresentation of Maureen that gets under my skin. Maureen was not originally accused of underage drinking. She was accused of furnishing a drink to Beth Spidel. Accusations such as this are mind-boggling. Justice is served charging Maureen with underage drinking-she is guilty of that charge only. How can one trust the justice system when numerous parties were "let off the hook." It's ironic that the bouncer, the bartender, and the bar itself-the last place Spiedel was before a normal night turned into a horrific tragedy-were not held responsible. How did they just slip through the cracks of the courts?
Grady was not trying to rid his daughter of blame. If we are talking justice here than all parties should be held responsible not just a select few. Maureen took responsibility for drinking underage and pled guilty to this charge. However, the media has ripped her apart identifying her as "the girl charged with friends death." Accusations such as these are absolutely absurd. The ruining of her name and the mistreatment from authorities of the justice system is what Grady is putting down, not the justice system itself. It is shamefully unfortunate how this case exploded over the past nine months. I have the utmost respect and envy for the strength Maureen has shown as harsh words thrown at her were surely detrimental. It takes a person with strong character to get through a nightmare like this.
Megan Stanley
STANLEMB@MUOHIO.EDU
Senator Obama right choice for nominee
For more than seven years the President George W. Bush administration has gained its power through the exploitation of fear. In the process its policies have bitterly divided the country, isolating it from the global community while costing the lives of nearly 4,000 American servicemen and women, and resulting in an estimated 200,000 Iraqi deaths. An election of Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) would bring about a major shift in not just American policies, but also the bitter partisanship that is plaguing Washington and stagnating political progress. The actions of the Clintons in past weeks have only confirmed the reality of a Hillary Clinton presidency-continued division, lack of cooperation and no real change in the ways of Washington politics. The palpable excitement at Obama rallies makes clear the desire of Americans to move on in an entirely different direction, to embrace a vision of hope and possibility. No such energy exists around Clinton's campaign. John F. Kennedy once said, "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." Over the last 40 years Washington has been fighting over the past and in the process, it has forgotten about the future. This is our coming of age, our chance to change, to reject the status quo and begin to address the issues of everyday Americans that have suffered the burden of a sub par education system, overpriced college, and heath care, and outsourced jobs. An election of Obama would bring about a change in Washington that no other candidate can deliver.
Jeffrey R. Young
Director, Miami University Students for Barack Obama
YOUNGJR3@MUOHIO.EDU
'Police Beat' provides only half of story, dishonest
I am writing to comment on a letter published in the Feb. 5, 2008 edition of The Miami Student. In the letter the writer contests that the Police Beat section of The Student is unethical and is a distortion of justice and law. As a past Police Beat headline myself ("Police deploy taser gun to arrest fleeing student," Jan. 25) I can comment, with firsthand experience, on the dramatization and embellishment of the Police Beat and the police reports from which they stem. I hope to spread awareness about the need for more responsible journalism by The Miami Student when reporting on such sensitive subjects as student arrests and criminal activity and about the misconduct of our local police. Going along with what Corbin Rayfield expressed in his letter to The Student, our legal system is based on the notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty. The Police Beat undermines this notion and presents its cases in a presumptuous light of certain guilt. That is not what I consider responsible journalism. However I cannot say that I am shocked by the sensational misinformation that is printed in The Miami Student Police Beat given the overly aggressive, dishonest, and downright unethical conduct of its information source-the Oxford Police Department. I would like The Student to be more involved with both parties' reports regarding a potential Police Beat case, and I would like a serious investigation into the Oxford Police Department's operating procedures and code of officer conduct.
David Andrew Baloun
BALOUNDA@MUOHIO.EDU
There has been much feedback regarding the heartfelt letter Michael Grady submitted to The Student a couple of weeks ago. After reading a strong opinionated rebuttal from a student and the words from the prosecutor, I strongly believe Grady's letter was misread. This is not an issue of running from responsibility or ripping apart the police force and justice system. The issue is merely a lack of respect shown to his daughter and her friends. I am a housemate of Maureen Grady and witnessed this nightmare unravel before her eyes. Maureen has to live with this entire saga for the rest of her life. It is not just the harsh justice system, which is upsetting.
The prosecutor is right; the police force does need to enforce laws such as underage drinking, j-walking, etc. These laws are provided for our safety and to prevent tragedies from occurring. I commend those who work hard everyday to ensure a safe community for their citizens. It is the lack of respect and the misrepresentation of Maureen that gets under my skin. Maureen was not originally accused of underage drinking. She was accused of furnishing a drink to Beth Spidel. Accusations such as this are mind-boggling. Justice is served charging Maureen with underage drinking-she is guilty of that charge only. How can one trust the justice system when numerous parties were "let off the hook." It's ironic that the bouncer, the bartender, and the bar itself-the last place Spiedel was before a normal night turned into a horrific tragedy-were not held responsible. How did they just slip through the cracks of the courts?
Grady was not trying to rid his daughter of blame. If we are talking justice here than all parties should be held responsible not just a select few. Maureen took responsibility for drinking underage and pled guilty to this charge. However, the media has ripped her apart identifying her as "the girl charged with friends death." Accusations such as these are absolutely absurd. The ruining of her name and the mistreatment from authorities of the justice system is what Grady is putting down, not the justice system itself. It is shamefully unfortunate how this case exploded over the past nine months. I have the utmost respect and envy for the strength Maureen has shown as harsh words thrown at her were surely detrimental. It takes a person with strong character to get through a nightmare like this.
Megan Stanley
STANLEMB@MUOHIO.EDU
Senator Obama right choice for nominee
For more than seven years the President George W. Bush administration has gained its power through the exploitation of fear. In the process its policies have bitterly divided the country, isolating it from the global community while costing the lives of nearly 4,000 American servicemen and women, and resulting in an estimated 200,000 Iraqi deaths. An election of Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) would bring about a major shift in not just American policies, but also the bitter partisanship that is plaguing Washington and stagnating political progress. The actions of the Clintons in past weeks have only confirmed the reality of a Hillary Clinton presidency-continued division, lack of cooperation and no real change in the ways of Washington politics. The palpable excitement at Obama rallies makes clear the desire of Americans to move on in an entirely different direction, to embrace a vision of hope and possibility. No such energy exists around Clinton's campaign. John F. Kennedy once said, "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." Over the last 40 years Washington has been fighting over the past and in the process, it has forgotten about the future. This is our coming of age, our chance to change, to reject the status quo and begin to address the issues of everyday Americans that have suffered the burden of a sub par education system, overpriced college, and heath care, and outsourced jobs. An election of Obama would bring about a change in Washington that no other candidate can deliver.
Jeffrey R. Young
Director, Miami University Students for Barack Obama
YOUNGJR3@MUOHIO.EDU
'Police Beat' provides only half of story, dishonest
I am writing to comment on a letter published in the Feb. 5, 2008 edition of The Miami Student. In the letter the writer contests that the Police Beat section of The Student is unethical and is a distortion of justice and law. As a past Police Beat headline myself ("Police deploy taser gun to arrest fleeing student," Jan. 25) I can comment, with firsthand experience, on the dramatization and embellishment of the Police Beat and the police reports from which they stem. I hope to spread awareness about the need for more responsible journalism by The Miami Student when reporting on such sensitive subjects as student arrests and criminal activity and about the misconduct of our local police. Going along with what Corbin Rayfield expressed in his letter to The Student, our legal system is based on the notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty. The Police Beat undermines this notion and presents its cases in a presumptuous light of certain guilt. That is not what I consider responsible journalism. However I cannot say that I am shocked by the sensational misinformation that is printed in The Miami Student Police Beat given the overly aggressive, dishonest, and downright unethical conduct of its information source-the Oxford Police Department. I would like The Student to be more involved with both parties' reports regarding a potential Police Beat case, and I would like a serious investigation into the Oxford Police Department's operating procedures and code of officer conduct.
David Andrew Baloun
BALOUNDA@MUOHIO.EDU
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