In reference to Miss ISU: No woman left behind?

Dear editor

My name is Kaleena (Dale) McCormick.  I just read your article regarding Miss ISU and found your comments to be disrespectful to the women who participated and lacking factual backing. 

Perhaps the most insulting of all the comments was your question "how many of [the contestants] could be classified as intelligent?"  

As a former Miss ISU, I take great offense to that comment.  I graduated from ISU with a 4.0 GPA.  I interviewed for one job after graduation and earned the job out of a large and highly qualified applicant pool, based on my interview skills, work experience, and campus and community and involvment and leadership, skills I would not have had without my Miss ISU experiences.  Aside from my firsthand experience as Miss ISU, I can speak from a judge's perspective.  

As one of the judges of the competition on Saturday, I can confidently answer your question regarding the intelligence of the contestants.  Every one of the 16 contestants was intelligent. 

Your article made no mention of the 10-minute interview in which these women participated the morning of the pageant.  These women were able to discuss personal opinions on current events, answer questions about issues relevant to their majors, etc.  

The women are strong students who give back to the ISU and Terre Haute communities.  They were not "cookie cutter images of what a woman should be," as you implied.  They were women of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds.  The one common theme in the entire interview was that this program had changed these women's lives.  Many of them commented that they had made great friends in the process, gained confidence and learned valuable interview skills that will serve them well as they go forth to interview for jobs after college.  

If more women were like the diverse group of women I had the opportunity to meet on Saturday, the ISU community would be an even better place.  Rather than bashing the Miss ISU program, we should praise the women who wanted to compete for the opportunity to be an ambassador for this university.  We should give the program the publicity and praise it deserves.

Respectfully,

Kaleena McCormick