Hate crimes are too serious to throw around accusations

In response to James Gelfand’s Monday letter to the editor:

First and foremost, I am absolutely appalled that your conservative agenda has stooped to a level pathetic enough to accuse me of a class 3 felony in a newspaper that services more than 10,000 people. Are you serious?

I would think it’s not such a radical idea to oppose the drawing of swastikas or racial epithets on the doors of minority students. Do you understand that despite the “Xander case,” University Police have noted the other incidents of bias and hate crimes that targeted our campus were “serial incidents?”

Do you understand that I have seen the impacts of hate crimes first and foremost through some of my closest friends at Northwestern? Ask Carnell Jarrell, Jonathan Milam or Lilai Gebremedhin if hate crimes at Northwestern are real.

Do you understand that I worked so hard last quarter to help instill a sense of community at Northwestern because I want people to have the same positive experience that I was afforded? Even if you don’t understand, which you probably won’t, I suggest you take heed to two pieces of advice:

First, stop using every opportunity possible to draw attention to your conservative goals without factual evidence to back your arguments and consideration for the feeling and others. Secondly, keep my name out of your mouth!

Tracy Carson

For Members Only Coordinator

Weinberg senior?

Two conservatives tilt forum toward fair, not the far right

I had to chuckle Friday while reading public editor Torea Frey’s column. It mentioned letters coming in from people who were shocked — shocked! — that The Daily was going to run columns from not none, not one, but TWO writers identified as “conservatives.”

The presence of these scary people would tilt the forum page unalterably to the right, and soon Northwestern students would all be getting National Rifle Association memberships and donating to Rush Limbaugh’s drug rehab fund. The horror! The horror!

Seriously, folks — this is two people out of six columnists, not even half. A “fair and balanced” forum page, quoting Friday’s headline, doesn’t mean shutting up the people you don’t agree with. Don’t universities exist to expose us to other modes of thought?

Matt McLaughlin

Medill junior