Anonymity. That word was referenced in my Tuesday column just once. I even said I didn’t care to embark on the discussions involving anonymous postings on dennews.com, yet that topic dominated the reader feedback.

The point of that column was to get people moving beyond the common whining that I tend to hear every day. I’m not encouraging people to leave their name on a comment to a controversial story.

The right to be anonymous is not the issue at hand. I’m urging students, and even faculty, to take initiative on the everyday misfortunes or irritabilities.

Unless you’re a member of The Daily Eastern News or a close friend of a staff member, I see no harm in providing your name when giving us feedback. It doesn’t matter what your name is or if you disagree with us because we serve everyone in the public, regardless of names.

But even if that is uncomfortable, feel free to stop in our newsroom located in room 1811 of Buzzard Hall and tell us your concerns in person so we can ask follow-up questions to make sure we understand you.

Many online comments are poorly written or often irrational statements. We cannot meet your needs if you’re not being mature. Phone calls are also welcomed and names are not needed either.

The DEN wants to know what you think. Our coverage can only get better when we know what information on campus you find most important.

Likewise, the Housing and Dining department would prefer to know about issues pertaining to the residence halls. Yeah, a smelly bathroom is gross, but if no one tells the administrators then it might be a while before they find out.

And trust me, they would want to know if a toilet is broken, they aren’t conspiring against any students by making you smell unpleasant odors. A simple phone call would do the job and a name usually isn’t needed to report maintenance.

Housing and Dining is here to serve you because you are a paying customer of the college, and The DEN is here to meet your information needs.

Every student pays approximately $4.50 per year for more than 170 issues of The DEN, an issue of The Warbler yearbook, numerous issues of Minority Today and two issues of Eastern’s literary magazine, The Vehicle.

You’re paying for a service, and we want to learn how to improve our journalistic responsibilities.

One of the many life-long lessons that people tend to learn while in college is independence. It’s time to take responsibility for your feelings and speak out. Media organizations try to provide the readerships with information needed for their daily lives.

Please, give The DEN an idea of what information is significant to you. Your name is not necessary, so long as we have your eyes every day.

Rick Kambic is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.