Editor,
A line in one of Emily Dickinson's poem reads "Tell all the Truth but tell it slant."
My concern is that the Daily Lobo has taken this skewed view of journalism to heart. I am concerned about the misquoted content printed in the Nov. 1 edition regarding the death of Kevin Johns.
I never said, "They (the students at UNM) think they are invincible, but this should clearly illustrate to us that they're not." It is important to the community that the "poor press coverage" discontinues, particularly when it is slant or skewed. Also, I spoke to Johns' uncle, not father.
For the record, I faxed my statement to the Daily Lobo last night, which read as follows:
"It is a terrible tragedy that we lost Kevin Johns to accidental alcohol poisoning on Oct. 31. Kevin was a brilliant and charismatic student. He often walked me to my office after class.
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"We discussed many things along the walk - composition, identity, New Mexico, Arizona and the terrorist attacks. He was particularly engaged in artistic expression, and in an essay he wrote for English 101, he compared himself to his favorite sculpture. He found that the many elements that made up a fine work of art were also the same elements that sculpted him. Kevin was articulate, kind, generous and funny.
"Kevin grew up in Window Rock, Ariz., where he attended Catholic school. He chose the University of New Mexico over Northern Arizona University because, as his uncle said, 'He wanted to be on his own.'
"Martha Johns, Kevin's mother, phoned me moments after her only son passed away. She said he isn't the boy the media has made him out to be. I said, 'I know.' As she wept on the phone, I understood her inordinate sorrow. My only brother, Joseph, was found dead in his home in Hawaii the morning of July 13, 1997. He too died of alcohol poisoning.
Alcohol is a subtle foe. Kevin fell victim to a dare. He made a bad decision Saturday, Oct. 29, but that did not make him a bad person.
"His aunt told me that 'in high school, Kevin would call my daughter and read Shakespeare to her over the phone. He was so smart.'
"We are such stuff / As dreams are made on and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep," Shakespeare wrote in "The Tempest."
Jody L. Ipsen
Kevin Johns' English 101 instructor
Editor's Note: The Daily Lobo staff has always strived to live up to the highest professional and ethical standards. The newspaper regrets the error in attribution mentioned in this letter to the editor but stands by the remainder of the story.
