What do you get out of this column? Last week, Dave Bell touched briefly on the issue of what these pages are for. I'd like to explore this issue just a bit further. Typically, I'll point out my column to people to read, and try vainly to get people talking about some other column besides Baker's for a change. Typically, I'll get two or three people coming up to me and telling me they liked the column. Very few people seem willing to approach a six foot tall, three hundred pound man to tell him that his column stank.

        For those of you who like these, why? I hope it isn't just for a few jokes, or for when I occasionally disagree with one of my colleagues here. Even beyond that, I hope you're not just assuming that what I say is right because it got published in the paper. Anyone can do what I do here, and I never did have to pass a test or fill out an application.

        For those of you who don't like what I say, good! If you want to tell me to my face, "Dave Hines, your column is an utter piece of garbage that I am sad to see sully my school paper.", at least then I know you're reading it and thinking about it. Hopefully, you have some logical rebuttals to what I have to say to show me why my column is garbage, then I'll be ecstatic. I have neither the credentials nor the desire to teach you or preach to you. What I hope I do in this space is challenge you.

        This has been bugging me for quite a while now. When I disagreed in this column with some of the things Andrew Palm had written for this page last year, I had some people come up to me and congratulate me for "showing" him. With all due respect, if that was your attitude, then you completely missed the point of what both he and I had to say.

        No, I don't always agree with Dave Bell, Travis Baker, Andrew Palm, or all the others who might frequent these pages, nor do I expect they always agree with me. But I respect them for saying what they have to say, and will defend their right to say it. As for everyone else, whether you agree or disagree with any of us, I hope you're spending just a little bit of time thinking about it, and maybe even starting to write a little bit yourself. I'd love to see even more diverse points of view around here.