My husband Larry and I had the rewarding experience of canvassing unaffiliated voters in Fort Collins’ City Park neighborhood. Their responses were almost unanimously votes for Angie and included:

“Angie is more in tune with the needs of CD4 citizens.”

“I am a single mom, and I want a representative who understands my struggles.”

“I don’t care about Angie’s past financial problems. The past is the past. It is more important that she overcame and learned from them.” (Marilyn Musgrave’s votes have contributed to an $8.5 trillion national debut and have given tax breaks to the wealthiest one percent.)

“I personally know Marilyn Musgrave, and I am voting for Angie.”

“I am tired of the negative ads that flash on my TV from the Musgrave campaign.”

The Denver Post recommends you vote for Angie, and we do, too! Paccione works with all sides to get legislation passed. She understands the needs of minorities. Angie will work for research-based methods to improve education. She sponsored legislation to catch human smugglers and employers who hire illegal immigrants. She will work for RMNP wilderness designation, U.S. energy independence, and lower drug costs from companies. Vote Paccione.

Margie Caswell

Colorado District 4 resident

Hello, and thank you for your commitment to keeping me honest. I want to say thank you from the depths of my heart to everyone at CSU for supporting me … you voted and encouraged every step of the way. Going into this experience was a pretty intimidating thing and knowing that I had so many amazing people behind me was a huge lift to me, so I sincerely thank you.

As for the studio, you are absolutely right. I promised to donate the prizes and start this studio and I plan on doing just that (with help from many talented people of course). Since you’ve been so supportive, can I ask one more thing?

Please be gracious here. I’m doing my best, meeting with the people closest to me to start this, but it has been less than a week since I won … Cosmo hasn’t even contacted me with the exact prizes I will receive yet and I’m being called out for not opening this studio. I’ve done hundreds of interviews, TV, radio, print, and newspapers in the last week.

I’ve received over 500 e-mails and hundreds of voicemails. I just recently arrived back in Fort Collins from New York and I’m getting my bearings again … so I ask you, please be gracious.

My heart is totally for kids. I’m speaking at a youth conference this Saturday at Crossroads Church in Loveland and then on Nov. 5 at another youth rally in Estes Park to encourage kids. Please attend if you want to see my heart.

But know I’m trying … last week I was a guy asking you to vote and help me make this bigger than one guy winning a contest. You’ve done just that and now I’m meeting with Iniosante Studios, Salt Shaker Media, the Boys and Girls Club, and many other community organizations to truly use this to impact the community, but I ask you, PLEASE BE GRACIOUS.

I truly am doing my best and trying to be faithful to this honor, but this is much bigger than me and I really hope you can understand and support that.

Thank you all again for who are through this: Voters, supporters, PR folks who put posters up, dinner friends, buddies secure enough to go vote on the Cosmo Web site, and friends to keep me honest and grounded. I truly believe there are great things to come, so keep the faith and look for the best!

Matt Wood

CSU alum

Thank you, Ryan Speaker, for voicing such an important minority

opinion (Oct. 18 – “Is there ever a good time to admit to being an

atheist?”). Atheists in America need to come out and make themselves heard. Too often I will hear people arguing theologically fueled issues – intelligent design for example – while only citing statistics and studies. Statistics and studies are valuable, but they don’t get to the heart of the debate. It seems that as soon as one of the debaters begins to question the values driving this issue – existence of a morally absolute and personal creator God – the argument falls apart. Excerpts from scripture are substituted for actual evidence, scientific studies are just dismissed without a second thought and eventually the line “You don’t have faith. I do,” ends the discussion.

Why is it that we can’t have a reasoned debate on the existence of God? I think it would be possible to find very strong “shades of probability” one way or another if we abolish the faith fall-back. Faith has no place in a debate about the actual existence of God – it can only help someone believe in God. A real debate would be rational and coherent. It would avoid mysticism and circular reasoning based off scripture (“the Bible says that God exists, God made the Bible true, therefore God exists”).

So, again, thank you Ryan Speaker for standing up for the little-heard voice of reason and rationality.

Andrew Crocker

senior

graphic design

It’s simply amazing to me that marijuana legalization still dominates columns at the Collegian, but Mr. Nicewicz seems to really have a soft spot for the green stuff. I beg to differ with him, though, that the reason it’s still illegal is that the government is just lying to us. Seems to me that’s a little too simplistic, but more than that, a lot more naive.

I would honestly urge Mr. Nicewicz to visit a family that has been interacting with what drugs, and particularly marijuana, can do. If he’d like, he can speak to my aunt, who will soon be serving a federal prison sentence for her involvement with drugs. Don’t believe it’s a gateway drug? She moved from smoking marijuana to dealing other more serious forms. The connection may not be as simple as “I smoke pot, so now I smoke crack,” but considering the nature of the people you interact with, the social lessons you learn, the disdain for authority for no other reason than “Screw the Man!” and the harm you cause others, the gateway is certainly real. Again, it’s a lesson hit home in my family, but especially with my aunt and cousins.

Drugs – and I will include alcohol and tobacco in this as well as marijuana -are destroyers of lives. You will soon learn the lesson, Mr. Nicewicz, that drugs lose their appeal when you have something more to work for than a late assignment – most graduates will tell you that. I guess if they don’t, though, you’ll likely find out the hard way – when you light up that joint, your life is probably going up in smoke.

Robert Lee

CSU alum, 2004

political science

I hope I’m not the only person who was surprised to see Monday’s poll question on the opinion page: “If you could stab any football player and get away with it, who would it be?” I understand that this question is meant in a joking manner and I have as much of a sense of humor as the next person, but what’s wrong with simply “which football player annoys you the most?” If the Collegian wants to be a respectable news publication that prepares its staff for the real world of journalism, put the immature and violence-condoning jokes aside and phrase your questions in a professional, and frankly, a law-abiding manner. Grow up a little bit, Collegian.

Callie Koch,

junior

international studies

Lately, the front cover of the Collegian has been covered with images of SAE and bold statement like “Greeks want SAE out.”

However, these statements are far from the truth. On average, the Greek student body does sympathize with the SAE fraternity, unlike what was incorrectly stated in the Collegian on Monday. Sigma Alpha Epsilon has spent countless hours helping out CSU and the Fort Collins community with projects such as CSUnity, Homecoming parades and community service hours. Greeks are some of the best leaders on this campus and it is a disappointment to see the Collegian portraying such a negative image of them.

Why is a house of gentlemen responsible for a female adult? She chose to drink the amount of alcohol she did and I highly doubt it was forced down her throat. She should take responsibility and CSU should not be pointing fingers at the wrong people.

I do understand that CSU has a “dry-campus” policy and SAE violated it and that should be taken into consideration and they should be fairly punished. The most interesting fact about this whole situation is that one girl was rushed to the hospital – but how many countless calls are made to 911 by resident assistants in the dorms every weekend? If CSU really wants to crack down on drinking, the first place they should start is the dorms. Instead of placing the blame on a house for the irresponsibility of one person, CSU officials should try to figure out why college freshmen are drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol, whether it be at the dorms, house parties or fraternity houses. Suspending another fraternity house and not recognizing them will not solve the larger issue at hand; it will just take more leaders away from this community.

Chelsea Amstutz

sophomore

apparel and merchandising

State Greek