After more than two and a half years of negotiations, the Teaching Assistants Association and the state finally came to a tentative agreement last week.

The Badger Herald obtained a copy of the contract and printed a thorough explanation of the possible terms in a news story in the Monday, Nov. 21, edition. An editorial also made the cut that same day, which cleverly commented on what the board believes to be a one-time $163 bonus that rings in at just $1 more than calculated health-care costs for 2006.

After the editorial ran, the TAA's co-president wrote in to the paper thanking the editorial board for speaking in a positive fashion regarding the tentative agreement but seeking to clarify the "suspicious" $1 health-insurance claim. As with any insurance plan, premiums differ for single-insured individuals compared to those with families to support. In her letter to the editor, Samaa Abdurraqib explained these financial differences.

So, the "suspicious" number may just be a coincidence but it's an awfully interesting one at that, and I commend the editorial board for taking the time to notice it. Whatever the case may be and whoever is right in the end is a moot point at this time. But the dialogue that occurred on the pages of The Badger Herald this past week is a prime example of stellar journalism.

A news story was written, an editorial followed and reader feedback landed in the paper just a few days later. The TAA contract issue could not have played out better journalistically speaking especially considering past relations between the two entities.

Every week when I write this column, a "dedicated" reader leaves me a friendly reminder on the website of what my job description is. Oh, how I love this weekly comment. What this reader may not understand is that I spend quite a bit of time every week looking through online feedback and attempting to gauge the issues readers are reacting to both positively and negatively.

If I'm lucky enough to find a column that sparked a great deal of discussion, I will speak to it. But unfortunately, during this process, I typically don't find much. Online feedback has decreased immensely and little meaningful conversation appears daily on the site. It's truly a shame that dialogue is dwindling.

However, while online feedback may be sub par in ultimately promoting healthy discussion among members of the University of Wisconsin community, the opinion page has hosted a number of well-written letters to the editor in the past week, including the TAA piece.

The letters have provided sound clarifications to articles and thought out critiques. When said letters and guest pieces are printed, an element of balance graces the page and enhances credibility for the paper in its entirety.

The added perk is reading what members of the community who don't write for the Herald are thinking. We all know columnists can be a tad radical at times so it's nice to see what is, at times, grounding commentary.

While I would love to see online discussion spark back up — minus the inappropriate comments that used to flood the site — I stand thrilled that letters to the editor and guest pieces are making it onto the page. Definitely a good way to keep the discussion rolling.