Leave Greekscene alone

As a concerned and invested member of the Northwestern Greek Community, I was very disappointed by The Weekly’s “Anticipation Index” that was printed last Thursday. To make judgments about events on campus is questionable in and of itself, but if The Weekly wants to do so, it should at least provide an accurate characterization.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council’s Greekscene on Sunday may not show off the “perfect” motor skills that The Weekly seems to value so highly, but it does show off the hard work and respectable tradition of a segment of the Greek community that is often overlooked and under-appreciated on this campus. There are six NPHC chapters on this campus that average around ten members each and that accomplish an incredible amount. They sold out Tech Auditorium for last year’s Greekscene. They (along with Lambda Phi Epsilon, an MGC fraternity) will likely sell it out again this year. The only thing I find “intolerable” is The Weekly’s misrepresentation of an event that should make this entire campus proud. – Peter KoelschWeinberg juniorPresident, Interfraternity Council

The Palestinian side

I did not attend Students for Justice in Palestine’s event, so I will not comment on Talya Mizrahi’s claims regarding the lecture and the speakers. I would, however, like to set the record straight regarding some ‘facts’ that were discussed in her letter.

Firstly, Israel is most definitely not the only democracy in the Middle East. Iran is another democracy in that region. Just because the United States and Israel don’t agree with President Ahmadinejad doesn’t make Iran any less of a democracy. Secondly, on the issue of innocent Israeli civilians killed, I’d just like to ask: What about the innocent Palestinian civilians killed?

Since the Gaza pullout in 2000, there have been more than 4,000 Palestinian deaths. The purpose here is not to belittle the losses suffered by the Israelis, but to request that the same regard be shown to Palestinian lives as is shown to those of Israelis.

– Omar KhalidWeinberg freshmanMember of Muslim -cultural Students Association

Dawes House important

I am a 1981 graduate of Northwestern University and a longterm resident of Evanston. For the most part, I am proud to be an NU alumna. Unfortunately, certain actions of the university over the years have made me ashamed rather than proud. One example was the renaming of Dyche Stadium to Ryan Field after the Ryan family donated money for the renovation, breaking a promise made long ago the the facility would always be named after William Dyche.

By far the most troubling action to date, though, is the decision by NU to close Dawes House to the public and force the Evanston History Center to find a new home. This strikes me as extremely shortsighted and mean-spirited. It’s also very ill-timed, coming right before the annual Mother’s Day House Walk, when tours of Dawes House are an integral part of the days’ activities. NU claims that it doesn’t have the $4 million needed to make necessary repairs and upgrades or the desire to continue providing funds for future maintenance.

This from a university with untold millions in endowments, many alumni with deep pockets and many ambitious building/expansion projects planned. If NU doesn’t want to cough up the money itself, why can’t it urge its wealthy alumni families to donate the necessary funds? They certainly have been willing to donate towards stadium renovations, new aquatic and athletic centers, etc. These are all quite prestigious and worthy projects, but none are as essential to Evanston as is the EHC remaining in Dawes House.

I can only conclude that NU just doesn’t care about the EHC or the Dawes House. I guess this shows that someone who wants their property preserved for posterity should never donate it to NU. There’s no guarantee that at some point in the future, NU will decide that it no longer wants to be bothered with maintenance costs and will sell it off to the highest bidder. NU may be saving $4 million and adding to its cash reserves by kicking the EHC out of Dawes House and selling the building off to a private party, but this will cost them a lot more than $4 million in goodwill from me and a lot of other NU alumni who are Evanston residents and care about the EHC and Dawes House.

– Lisa DimbergDivision of Continuing Education ’81Member of EHC