Abortion Ads

As a community college student looking forward to a rewarding educational experience at San Diego State University, I was forced to take another look at your article titled “Editor Bans Abortion Ads at SDSU’s Daily Aztec” (Aug. 18).

I find it very ironic that a student editor would choose abortion as a platform to push his religious beliefs at the expense of his fellow students.

There are many controversies that would seem to be just as morally offensive to a person holding firm religious beliefs. The fact that telephone sex will still be advertised in the Daily Aztec shows me that Mr. Petersen’s concern is blown totally out of proportion.

He is arbitrarily deciding that “abortion-related services” will automatically result in an abortion and, therefore, future advertisements should be prohibited. I feel that this is an irresponsible position for a school newspaper editor to take.

College newspapers provide a service to all who read them. If an advertisement is placed in one, whether it be for abortion-related services, requests for donations at a sperm bank or for telephone sex services, the editor has the responsibility to the community to make these services known to the reader.

Mr. Petersen’s primary goal should be to respect the values and individual morals of all his student readers. He should assert his own ideas on the editorial page but not dictate newspaper policy based on his own personal religious beliefs.

CHARLES CUSKADEN

San Diego