Wheeler’s light punishment represents racism in the law

I think it is deplorable that Scott Wheeler could receive only two years probation for committing five drug-related felony offenses. I was friends with Wheeler my freshman year, and I apologize if this letter offends him. But the sad fact is that he is a blatant example of the racism and sexism of the criminal justice system.

Coming from a lower-class, black neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, I have witnessed countless black males, often minors, who were sentenced to four years or more for misdemeanor offenses, such as possession of a joint. Any black male convicted of an offense similar to Wheeler’s would receive a sentence of 40 years or longer.

The fact that an upper-class white male at a prestigious university is sentenced differently from a lower-class — or upper-class — black male exemplifies the failure of the U.S. Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment and shows that Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination are still ingrained in our legal system.

Anna R. Holster-Ross

Education senior

Distasteful Rock painting damages frat’s reputation

Many people saw Monday morning the 2003 Kappa Sigma pledge class painting on The Rock. Beneath the house name they wrote, “Our house is dry, but your girl’s wet.” When I returned to The Rock at noon “but your girl’s wet” had been censored by black spray paint.

I am disturbed that anyone at Northwestern feels comfortable expressing such a crass attitude of sexual conquest. Despite efforts to curb the dangerous, undignified and occasionally criminal behavior that takes place in many fraternities by taking alcohol out of the house, pernicious and ungentlemanly ideals still hold sway in the hearts and minds of too many young men.

This will create a great deal of controversy on campus. I am certain that the organization responsible for this action will organize a public relations campaign to cleanse its reputation. At NU, we are the best and brightest in the nation. We are leaders in our communities. We shape the course of the future. We have been blessed with considerable opportunity.

While on campus, we can pursue a meaningful life. Men should use their time and energy to develop loving and respectful relationships with women. A man can find meaning and fulfillment in such a relationship. This is much better than promoting resentment and envy between men by boasting about sexual prowess.

Kappa Sigma’s public proclamation hurts this campus. It hurts me. If fraternities encourage men to act on their worst impulses, they will fail in their quest to build men of honor. Women at NU should remain vigilant and protect themselves from the sexual conquerors in our midst. Other members of this community must not ignore this festering wound on our dignity.

I demand that braggarts, scoundrels and louts be purged from the Greek system.

Stephen Clark

Communication senior

Experience finds nothing ‘radical’ about Opus Dei

On Thursday, The Daily printed an article that referred to Opus Dei in connection with Dance Marathon’s beneficiary this year, Midtown Educational Foundation.

The Daily’s use of the word “radical” to describe the organization runs contrary to my personal experience with the group.

I attended a secondary school associated with Opus Dei, and from the moment I entered the school as a non-Catholic, I felt completely comfortable there. My Muslim, Protestant and agnostic friends felt similarly.

I had a desire to learn about the Catholic faith, so unlike most non-Catholics there, I took religion classes. My own personal studies of the religion have shown me that what the school taught about Catholicism was completely in accord with teachings widely found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and disseminated by Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa.

I thank that school for its non-confrontational, friendly way of teaching me about Catholicism. I never felt that the organization preached that failing to follow its calling will lead to eternal damnation, as a claim paraphrased from the Opus Dei Awareness Network in last Thursday’s Daily suggested.

Peter Ladwein

Weinberg junior