After reading the highly critical and condescending opinion piece by Ben McGough in the March 9, 2011 issue of the CW, I feel compelled to respond to the know-it-all, holier-than-thou spirit of his writing. Let me first say that I agree with the basic premise of Ben’s article.

However, I resent the fact that I feel forced to come to the defense of The Crimson White. I am not a huge fan of the CW and only read it out of a sort of morbid curiosity. That said, Mr. McGough sounds to me like exactly the kind of guy who could really use a beer.

I think that he has missed the entire purpose for why campus newspapers exist. The CW is here to provide information and opinions about things relative to the University of Alabama community. Like it or not, the biggest thing in Tuscaloosa that week was, in fact, the repeal of an archaic law that did not reflect the desire of the local population.

One would think that as a law student, McGough would actually appreciate that. He also fails to realize that the supposedly clueless and mindless student body, led by the SGA and other organizations, was integral in getting the Sunday alcohol ban repealed. Now, this may not be the community action that someone as high and mighty as the non-judgmentally sober Ben McGough would have us take part in, but it is a start and it was important – not only to the drunken student body who wishes to get hammered, but also to many local businesses.

I find it quite sad that McGough felt the need to work in the fact that he is in law school, as if to try to add legitimacy to his opinion. Does the fact that I am a graduate student in the business school add to my legitimacy?

Maybe I should cleverly work in how much I missed beer while I served in Iraq to make my opinion superior to his (See how I did that?). On a related subject, if your choice to never drink is irrelevant, then why bring it up at all?

Now, I may not know this guy, but I can pontificate about his personality quite a bit. After all, anyone can pluck a thesaurus off the shelf and find sizable or recherché words in an attempt to flaunt one’s presumed intellectual superiority.

Another important point to remember is that the CW is not the end-all-be-all of information. The University of Alabama provides students with free copies of the New York Times and USA Today. And as I approach the newspaper stands of Bidgood Hall, I constantly notice that those stands are empty by mid-afternoon. Just because the CW is well received by the student body does not mean that this is the only source of information students tap into – after all, they watch SportsCenter too!

I read and watch the news religiously. I have worked in Washington D.C. on many of the issues that are shaping and will shape the future of this country. Does that make me better than anyone else on this campus? No! I’m 26 years old. That’s what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m a graduate student. When I was an undergrad, I partied with the best of them – and still do when time permits.

Stop the presses! College undergraduates are immature? Thanks for the ground-breaking news! This is what college students do. They work hard, they play hard. They are 18 to 22 years old. What do you expect?

If the world is on fire, why are you so preoccupied with yelling at everyone else for watching it burn? Why not save your breath and do something about it? Until then, you are as much of an embarrassment to us as we are to you. It’s ok to have fun sometimes. You should try it.

Ashkan Bayatpour is a graduate student in the business school.