After reading the piece about McDonald’s in the April 9 edition of The News I was appalled. We have a professor who is so uneducated on a topic, yet really thinks he’s got it all down and is supposed to be some expert but really knows nothing.

I can guarantee if any one person went and asked 100 people how healthy McDonald’s was on a scale of 1-10, 10 being healthy that all 100 would say 1.

No one is being deceived, and if he really thinks that, he is very naive. He mentions happy meal crazes forcing parents to take their kids to McDonald’s … it’s called bad parenting. I, along with many others, was not allowed to go to McDonald’s all the time as a kid. Kids get over things quickly. They will be smiling and having fun playing a video game or watching TV just minutes after not getting to go to McDonald’s and crying. It’s not McDonald’s fault if the parents don’t know what they are doing. Maybe he should start a good parenting movement instead.

He also fails to mention that you can buy happy meal toys separately from the meals — wow…what a concept. You don’t have to buy the food to get the toy? McDonald’s wouldn’t do that would they? Parents do it all the time. They go to McDonald’s and buy just the toy. Obviously they are a lot more knowledgeable people on this topic then Professor Daynard. How do I know this? I worked at McDonald’s. It happens all the time. There are smart parents out there believe it or not.

So 25 percent of adults are obese. I wonder what percentage of adults work out, or do any exercise? My parents do not eat fast food, but when they started working full time they didn’t stay as slim as they once were. Should they blame it on fast food? No, they aren’t blind as to the real reason why they gained weight.

Daynard also didn’t mention that McDonald’s has pamphlets listing all the nutritional facts of each item. The Burger King near campus, as well as some other Burger Kings and McDonald’s, have it up on the wall. But of course Daynard wouldn’t know that. He just looks at the piece of chicken or fish and makes an “educated guess” … real educated huh? If you cared that much about what was in it, you could find out with a simple question.

He mentions making drink prices proportional to their cost. Obviously he wasn’t a business major, and again he shows he knows nothing about McDonald’s. It makes me wonder if he has even ever been there. Does he not know that almost every McDonald’s now has free refills? What would changing the price do exactly? Only stupid people buy the super size drink unless it has one of those win something things on it. What does he suggest, charging $4.20 for a super sized drink? What does he think this is, the movies? And he could at least get the stats straight. McDonald’s doesn’t sell 18 ounce drinks. He also over exaggerates with his 3,200 calorie comment. There are no meals at McDonald’s totaling that amount. And if you are eating that much at McDonald’s you surely know you are committing gluttony and then some.

I eat at McDonald’s every day. I work out, and stay in relatively good shape. I have low blood pressure and a good heart. And I intend to stay that way. Last year during co-op I put on 20 pounds in one quarter. Why? I ate more than I burned. And I knew it … and I’m sure everyone else out there putting on weight knows it too. How hard is it to lose 20 pounds? It isn’t hard at all if you actually want to. I’ll go as far as to say that McDonald’s should be healthy for kids if parented the right way. McDonald’s balanced with exercise does no harm to the kids, but it is good for there mental health. Going to McDonald’s brings a smile to every child’s face. And mental health is sometimes even more important then physical health, and leads to better physical health.

I would agree partially with the professor, if any statement he made were true. To conclude, he might want to write this down: free refills, toys without meals, pamphlets with calories for each item, being a good parent, exercise, and “We love to see you smile.” He could probably come up with a bunch of other points that are reaching for the sky, and there would be a simple answer to each of them. There’s always an argument for everything, the problem is when someone exposes how weak that argument is.

– Michael Randall is a middler accounting major.