Last week I wrote a column about the Dallas Academy women’s basketball team’s loss to the Covenant School of Dallas. I never knew so many people actually read what I wrote.

The following morning I was flooded with e-mails calling me every degrading name imaginable and people threatening to chase me out of Dallas. I’ll admit I was a little shaken up during the day, but after talking to one of my professors, realized I had nothing to be ashamed about. After all, the best part of being a journalist is having the freedom to voice your opinion to hundreds of people.

I am very aware that I offended many people in how I described the students of Dallas Academy. However, it was not my intention to degrade or call into question the athletic abilities of those young women. I do, however, stand by my belief that these teams were unevenly matched, and the two schools had no business meeting each other during the regular season.

What people fail to realize is that not everyone is going to see eye to eye on specific subject matters. While many disagreed with my opinion (and were adamant in me hearing their opinions), those who agreed with me were more hesitant to express their agreement.

I’m not going to apologize for writing the column in question, nor am I going to admit to doing anything wrong. The point of an opinion page, after all, is to generate a little bit of controversy.

It amazed me that one short column could generate so much controversy and negative feedback. Where were all the people who agreed with me as I expressed my thoughts about the issue? Not one person who gave me a verbal approval of my stance on the topic took the time to write me any form of praise or positive feedback.

It just goes to show that our media feeds on negative commentary. Yes, my piece may have been perceived as negative, but it was not written to show Dallas Academy in a negative light. I wonder what the reaction would have been if I had praised the losing team. My guess? I would not have received one piece of negative mail.

Whether you agree or disagree with me, The Daily Campus welcomes your opinion. After all, even if you’re not a journalist, you still have the power of the pen to voice whatever your opinion may be.

Nicole Jacobsen is a junior journalism and advertising double major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].