Note: Thoughts expressed in the columns and letters of the opinions section are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of the CW editorial staff.

In case it wasn’t obvious after the first read, let me spell it out for you: Dave Folk wants your hate.

It seemed necessary to voice an opinion in favor of Folk after reading his article, “More like the Ten Cent Band,” in Friday’s edition of The Crimson White not because I agreed with the position he took – I don’t, for the record – but because I’ve waited two years to read something so utterly provocative in the opinions section of the student paper.

I have come to terms, begrudgingly, with the fact that half of the student body (or a little more than half, since the University has apparently stopped looking at applications before admitting students) is too young to remember Folk’s column in the 2008/2009 edition of the Crimson White. For those youngsters, let me explain the holy terror that is Dave Folk: He is, above all else, a troll. He writes articles that elicit violent, knee-jerk reactions from every corner of campus. Dave doesn’t just agitate the readership – he motivates them to actually voice how much they all hate him, and I love him for it.

Up until today, I have opened the opinions page of the Crimson White, rolled my eyes, and kept going. I maybe read a column or two if there wasn’t an interesting AP wire story elsewhere. For the most part, though, the opinions expressed were so utterly absurd, so poorly thought out, so completely pointless that by the time I was finished I often had to unclench my jaw. Oh look, Todd, a freshman majoring in psychology (i.e. has no career goals) has an opinion on the conflict in Iraq. Well hot damn, let me hop on the phone to the president because obviously he has the wrong man in charge, this Todd fellow has all the answers after taking his Sociology 101 class.

Everything Dave Folk wrote two years ago on top of this most recent effort is borderline insanity, but the fact remains that it gets students’ attention, and before we forget, that’s exactly who the Crimson White caters to. I don’t want two political nerds responding to one another over the Islamic community center – as Wesley Vaughn said, I can pick up the USA Today or the New York Times (offered on campus, to students, for free, mind you) if I want to read about national and international news. And, unlike our friend Todd, the Times’ article will be thought out, researched, and well written.

I’ve seen countless articles in my time here at the University about how the student body is apathetic, especially after the contentious Kendra Key – Steven Oliver Student Government Association election in the spring of 2009. Well, maybe Dave Folk is the prick the giant needed to awaken, because I have never seen such a collective response to anything in recent memory.

Hate Dave Folk. It’s what you want, and it’s what he wants.  Just be sure to thank the man who got you to pick up that stone before you throw it.

John Davis is a junior majoring in telecommunications and film.