Earlier this year, St. Thomas was criticized for not being “Catholic enough.” But should Catholic institutions aim to be so rigid?

Here at CSB/SJU, we should take pride in the fact that, as Catholic institutions, we are open to other faiths. Our campuses don’t have a reputation of “forcing” Catholicism on students.

While 70 percent of students identify themselves as Catholic, according to the institutions’ research, that still leaves a lot of students on campus who don’t identify with the religion.

And luckily, our campuses enforce more the moral value of religion than the actual Catholic Church’s dogma. We’re encouraged to live morally sound lives by focusing on Benedictine values, which almost anyone with any faith can relate to.

Editor in chief

I don’t like to upset people.

True to the female stereotype, I feel awful when I make someone angry or offended. Unfortunately, it’s inevitable that, as a journalist, I will make choices that upset my peers, other organizations, the administrations and even my own friends.

We have to make difficult decisions every week — from which stories we publish to the angles we take in articles and the photos we run.

Dear Editor,

I wrote this after seeing Mr. Horner’s talk:

Dear Mr. Horner,

What I like about poetry is the fervor of its uncertainty

the dynamic tension between love and loss

where questions have a place on the page.

My favorite poetry celebrates life from the exact center of death

Dear Editor,

I am writing to express my concern that if the rumors of Jack’s Mannequin coming to Pinestock are true, I will be very disappointed. I am a senior and have been fairly frustrated with the bands that have come to Pinestock in the past and feel that they don’t reflect the general sentiment of the school.

Jack’s Mannequin is not a good band and I will not go to Pinestock if this is the band. This makes me really, really upset because it is my senior year. So please get a different band. Any other band. I mean, it can be anything other than Jack’s Mannequin. Just a group with a lot more fun, upbeat and better music. Not some whiney emo music.

Hooters.

Some say they eat there for the food but considering that Buffalo Wild Wings is right down the road, I find that argument entirely unconvincing.

Combine this fact with the cultural reality of St. Cloud, where the only true means of passing time is dining at one of the many chain restaurants of choice. But, I digress.

What are you saying when you decide to dine at Hooters Restaurant? I would venture that you are purchasing more than the “delightfully tacky” fun that is advertised.

Sometimes, it just isn’t worth paying more for one good over another. Sometimes, it is. Through my year of eating locally, I’ve come to respect something one wouldn’t automatically connect with food: craftsmanship.

For instance, there is a flour mill in Freeport, Minn., called Swany Mills. The mill processes in one 12-hour day about the amount a larger commercial mill does in an hour.

Accordingly, it costs slightly more than your general Gold Medal or Robin Hood flour, but it’s worth every penny.

In the aftermath of the controversial Mitchell Report, which provided evidence of illegal performance-enhancing drug use by 86 current and past major league baseball players, there are some things I need to get off my chest.

First of all, Andy Pettite and the word ‘hero’ should never be uttered in the same sentence. Numerous media members crowned Pettite a hero for admitting to using human-growth hormone after being labeled for using it in the Mitchell Report.

Is it truly noble to admit to something after you have already been caught?

When I got home for long weekend, my mom handed me a letter from the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Enclosed was the renewal fee for my license plate tabs — understandable.

I found a new tax in that same letter — no surprise from the DFL.

What did surprise me was a pamphlet by my Minnesota government that had a shameless pimping of E85 despite its negative effects.

Since the government has started to endorse the use of ethanol-based gasoline, the agricultural economics have gone into an absolute whirlwind.