Letter: Kalamazoo Gazette word choice does not accurately reflect violence against women, role female students

on October 30, 2013 at 7:00 AM, updated October 30, 2013 at 7:20 AM



I understand that reporters aren't responsible for the headlines that get tacked onto their stories. So this counsel is directed toward the person(s) who write the headlines in the Kalamazo Gazette.

First, when a man murders two women whom he believes to be responsible for his breakup with his girlfriend, "Lovers quarrel ends with deaths" is probably the least appropriate, most offensive headline you could concoct. How many times does it have to be reiterated that violence against women is not a product of love or lovers' quarrels?

And second: female college students are not "co-eds." That is an antiquated term that arose when women were anomalies on college campuses. Today they constitute the majority of students in college. So the proper term for a woman student is student.

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