Dear Editor, In response to your most recent Liberal Phoenix column, we, the editors of Centripetal, encourage you to examine, to the extent of full comprehension, the parameters of libel. The accusations made against Centripetal were, as we are confident nearly all of you realize, false. The selection process for Centripetal is as blind as humanly possible. Currently, when we receive submissions, we remove the authors’ names from the pieces. The submissions are then cycled, anonymously, through two editorial boards. Each board is comprised of between five to ten students who rank the submissions on a continuum between one and five. The scores are then tallied, averaged and passed up if they reach a certain cutoff. The selection process is completed by the senior board, comprised of students and faculty advisors, where this ranking process is repeated. We conscientiously attempt to keep the entire operation as systemic and numeric as possible with the express goal of limiting our bias. It may interest Mr. McLellan to know that this procedure was developed upon the recommendation of someone outside of our organization, as a means of addressing the very issue of bias. However, it is impossible to completely avoid all bias. We are, after all, mere mortals. Even after we remove the names from the submissions there still remains the chance that we may have heard the poetry before, perhaps at a Biederman’s Open Mic. We concede this point to Mr. McLellan and agree that the writers on campus should “let your verses be heard.” Come to our Open Mics and read your poetry. Listen to the poetry of others-get involved with the campus literary community. Don’t just stand on the sidelines and criticize. We understand that the rejection process, a reality for all of us who would aspire to be writers, can be more difficult for some than others. However, we discourage the wonton and irresponsible externalization of this disappointment. With that said, we strongly encourage any student interested in learning accurate information about Centripetal or PSU Poets and Writers to contact Paris, Crystal, or Nate at poetswriters@mail.plymouth.edu. We are, as always, here to serve, represent, admire and nourish all student writers on campus. Thank you, in advance, for having drawn the distinction between our organization and its emotionally abstracted doppelganger as presented by Mr. McLellan.
Sincerely,
Paris LandryCrystal LavoieNate Blake