Editor,

I have perused your broadsheet quite regularly for two years now, and heretofore never felt it necessary to respond in writing. The subject of my criticism regards your associate Richard Caperton, the modestly self proclaimed "inland emperor", who has brought us such choice bits of whimsy as "OE in the IE" and more recently "The Price of Coffins is Gonna Rise." Admittedly he is a critic and scholar of rare caliber and the originator of many a pithy aphorism; of late however the quality of his work seems to have declined rather dramatically.

Here I would like to refer to an artical written several weeks ago entitled, if I recall correctly, "Courtyard Parties are Played Out." It was a typically vapid opinion peice in which Mr. Caperton espoused his belief that parties held in courtyards had become played out. Assuming Mr. Caperton to be a man of integrity, I and several others took this as an apt criticism and chose to avoid such played out occasions.

One can understand then how shocked I was to read the current installment of "The Price of Coffins is Gonna Rise" in which Mr. Caperton writes "I went to the swim team’s SCIAC party in Eversole Courtyard... It was fun to be at. [my italics]." Are we to take it that courtyard parties are no longer played out, that Mr. Caperton’s public criticisms drastically changed the face of the courtyard party scene for the better? Or are we to take it that Mr. Caperton simply failed to mention that he thinks played out parties are fun to be at? I suggest that Mr. Caperton ought to take his job a little more seriously in the future.

Yours Truly,

Jeremy Mullis ’03