This week, we received two letters to the editor — published in our Opinions section — regarding a satire article printed on Feb. 22 entitled “Jesus Christ arises too early, caught on wild night out.”

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the concerns raised in these letters as valid. Publishing offensive material is never the intention of the satire section, or, more generally, of The Bucknellian. We do not need to agree with every individual point made in these letters in order to acknowledge the underlying concern as legitimate and worthy of a response.

Of course, we had not foreseen backlash of this nature when publishing the article, or else it would not have gone to print. Humor is obviously subjective, as well as generational. Therefore, we consider it a moot point to debate whether or not the article was comical or not. The point with which we are concerned is that some of our readers felt disrespected and hurt, which is not the goal of our satire section. The section is intended to make light of mainstream and culturally pervasive ideas, and to offer constructive social criticism through wit, exaggeration, or irony. It is meant to push the envelope in an attempt to enlighten readers to particular issues in society — ranging in severity from an obsessive desire for a perceived ideal body for spring break to the University-specific chase to use up all of one’s Dining Dollars by the end of the year. However, it is certainly possible for satire to cross a line, and this is an example in which we have done so.

Aside from the specific point of the satire section, one of our overall goals as a student newspaper is to spark dialogues of precisely this type. We always welcome feedback on our content and hope that any individual or group who either agrees or disagrees with it will let us know directly, so that we can have intelligent conversations and learn from our experiences. This is exactly what an institution of higher learning is about, after all. We are all here to broaden our perspectives and grow as individuals, and engaging in these types of conversations fosters such growth.

We have met with representatives of the Christian tradition on campus and were able to have a productive dialogue, and it is our hope that anyone else who has concerns will engage us further.