I think it’s safe to say we’ve reached crisis levels here. Class has been in session for two weeks and the lack of letters to the Forum page has been appalling. I don’t want to hear your excuses. I know much of the campus has been wrapped up in rush and the start of classes during the past couple of weeks, and I know at times our beloved campus can seem a little boring, but I refuse to believe there is nothing worth writing about these days.
While I swear no allegiance to The Daily or Forum, this trend concerns me. Not only does the lack of letters speak ill of Northwestern, it robs students of one of our primary forms of entertainment. Some of us, and I know I’m not alone here, skip all the meaningless drivel, some call it “news,” and head straight for the Forum, anxious to see what battles those pages hold that day.
The letters section of The Daily has been the scene of many of the greatest verbal sparring matches this campus has seen in my short time here. Whether it was a weighty political issue such as conscription or election politics drawing the predictable point/counterpoint, or a campus issue like rush or tailgates, you can always count on the Forum for some lively discussion.
The point of all this is that we need these letters. They make our monotonous lectures a little more bearable, our lunches a little more interesting and our conversations a little more lively. The campus patriot that I am, I’m taking it upon myself to remedy the problem. I’m taking one for the team and trying to start a fire or two. If I can’t start a few fights on this campus, no one can. Without further adieu, I present a generically inflammatory list I simply call “things to fight about.”
I proclaim that the fraternity system on campus is virtually flawless; CTECs are a tremendous way to register students’ opinions; and there’s an overabundance of on-campus parking. The war in Afghanistan is completely justified, the Evanston Historic District was a magnificent idea and Comm Studies is not a real major. The 8-foot tall fence around half of Sargent parking lot, while it cuts off the majority of parking space and several of the easiest routes to the Technological Institute, is a welcome aesthetic addition to campus. Anyone who writes an anti-Greek letter to The Daily is actually just bitter because he or she couldn’t get a bid freshman year.
If that’s not enough to get your blood boiling, I’ve prepared a laundry list that I simply call, “things that suck.”
The loss of Yesterday’s; cover charges at the Keg, who do they think they are?; everyone who adds a “III” or “IV” to the end of their name; sorority rush; the Evanston parking patrol; the proposed “politically correct” Sept. 11 monument; the bandwagon Bears fans everywhere – go Packers; attendance at NU basketball games; the safety lighting on campus; all students residing in residence halls beginning with the letter ‘C’; tenured teachers who don’t care about students; and pennies.
Whew, there you go. If you can’t get fired up about at least one of those topics, you’d better check your pulse. If you do feel compelled to comment on one or more of those topics, don’t e-mail me. I don’t want to hear it. The Forum editors would love to, however, and the campus needs to. Get those letters flowing, and let the games begin.
