Medill prof wrong to bully

I was outraged to see an e-mail written several weeks ago by a Medill professor trying to bully future journalists into shutting up. You out of all people should encourage us to criticize, even if that means criticizing the Medill name.

Is the name Medill so sacred that we as students are not permitted to speak poorly of anything Medill produces, be it classes, tests or even faculty? Perhaps it is asking too much, but I feel entitled. I feel entitled to the best education you could possibly give me. For a school that costs as much as this one, and for a journalism school that is evidently so “sacred” that it is not to be criticized by its own students, I expect the best you can offer. If your students are criticizing your classes on CTECs or on an independent Web site like thefacebook.com, perhaps it’s time you listened instead of turning your back. I value freedom of expression and freedom of speech, and I learned that those things were valuable from you.

Lastly, I ask you: Where were you when the Northwestern Chronicle published articles titled “White Men are People Too” and “Black People Drive Me Nuts”? I didn’t see any e-mails from outraged Medill professors in my mailbox when my feelings were hurt, when I felt insulted and attacked as an African American student.

Why is it that when your faculty is “attacked,” suddenly the Medill Code of Ethics is waved in my face, but when clearly racist words are written in a campus publication, no one is standing up for me? I would hope that in the future instead of using intimidation, the Medill faculty and students can sit down and discuss problems in order to find solutions. I greatly respect the Medill faculty and staff and always will, but the day that I read that e-mail I felt ashamed and I’m not afraid to say it.

— Christina Owens,

Medill freshman

Martin doesn’t explain all

Rina Martin’s castigation of the absurd scale of the Schiavo media coverage is welcome.

Infinitely greater problems like real poverty, starvation and genocide that are taking place all over the world should indeed garner far more attention than the legal tragedy of one person. But Martin is mistaken if she thinks human beings can or should address issues of life and death objectively. Scientific thought requires observable information, but death is the ultimate unknown. It will probably always be a complete mystery to us. When science tries to take on the unknowable, what results is almost always some twisted, cold and unscientific conclusion.

To watch or be a part of a family facing death in a long struggle is unavoidably heartbreaking. The essence of the end of life is caught up in emotions. Sometimes we should stand up to the most obvious emotional response, as the American public gets caught up in feelings of revenge when the issue of capital punishment arises. An emotional debate can still be reasoned and moderate and, admittedly, the Schiavo coverage has been anything but. That doesn’t mean, however, that we should try to abandon our feelings. When we face something like death, they’re all we have.

— Ben Applegate,

Weinberg ’05

Support for St. Francis

I am a retired union firefighter and have elected to pay dues after retirement. However, I strongly disagree with the referendum American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has put on the ballot that challenges the not-for-profit tax exempt status of Saint Francis Hospital. AFSCME is attempting to use the current political climate in Evanston to battle Resurrection Healthcare whose headquarters lie outside of Evanston’s boundaries.

This referendum manipulates public frustration over the tax issues we’ve had with other not-for-profits. Saint Francis is actually one of the city’s largest taxpayers.

I am also offended by the argument that we need to hold Saint Francis Hospital accountable. Saint Francis is the