Letter to the College Heights Herald editor:
In irate response to the "virgin rule" of the Miss Western Pageant, how do pageant officials propose to prove the virginity of each contestant? Shall we line them all up at a gynecologist's office and give them a quick check?
Even if women are never married and have no children, then they are most certainly not guaranteed to be virgins. To suppose that they are is arcane and outdated.
To discriminate against someone just because she has a child is simply an outrage. Does it change them into less of a person or student? Have they become a wart on the nose of Western? Furthermore, what if they are married and have a child - a non-traditional student?
The criteria for selection suggests that Western Kentucky University is best represented by those who would be considered traditional students. The university community has changed since those rules were put into effect. Western's student body now more closely reflects the outside world than it ever has. The rules reflect an atmosphere of academic cloistering that simply does not exist anymore. They should not be allowed to stay as they are.
Sarah Cravens, Owensboro junior
Editor's note: This letter was written and signed by five other students.