Privilege should not mean entitlement

Colin Powell's speech led to quite a spectacle. Of course, I didn't hear the speech itself; rather, I am referring to the line outside. As the seats filled, it became clear that hundreds of people were not going to be admitted. Standing sixth in line after waiting for over an hour, I took solace in the organizers' promises of the availability of 60 more seats. Others, for whom all hope should have been abandoned, heard this announcement and took the initiative. A mob converged upon the door, and, suddenly, where there once was a line, there was chaos. For me, where there should have been a reward for patiently waiting in line, there was the disgusting scene of students pushing one another like coked-out 12 year olds in the front row of a Justin Timberlake concert.

I offer a solution. Try to come to grips with the fact that you are a human being. Just because you were the golden child in high school or your dad owns a dealership, you are not inherently better than the people around you. Endeavor to make this community one that we can be proud of by showing some respect to those around you.

Jeff Richmond

Trinity '06

Duke parking inadequate

In reference to the article "Graduate students lament parking shortage" (Nov. 2, 2005), I would just like to add that parking at Duke is terrible, not just for graduate students, but for most students who have cars. The parking decals are already exponentially more expensive than those at other prestigious universities, and on top of that, fines and tickets are ridiculously expensive. When students receive their decals, there is no information attached that shows where and when students can park on campus. Are we just supposed to know that we can park anywhere after 4 p.m. with our parking pass and anywhere after 5 p.m. with our Duke ID? If it weren't for word of mouth, I would guess most students would have no clue. Additionally, even though we're supposedly allowed to park anywhere on weekends, towing is still being enforced in front of spaces where there are no signs. Which of the thousands of empty spaces on campus am I not allowed to park in on weekends? Yes, Duke has done some things to solve its parking problems such as building the Bryan Center garage, but I believe there is still plenty to be done so that Duke students won't be taking it up the tailpipe anymore.

Pengyu Chen

Joe Fore

Trinity '07

DSG Vice President of Academic Affairs

DSG should vote without bias

Elizabeth Rudisill has greatly misconstrued Duke Student Government's decision to grant Students for Academic Freedom recognition on campus ("All becomes clear" Oct. 31, 2005). When DSG chooses to recognize an organization, it is not endorsing its beliefs or practices, but rather its right to exist.

I am sure many Duke students pride themselves on the diverse number of student organizations that exist on campus. Undergraduate admissions staff members boast that students can find any organization to match their interest, or create a new group. Since DSG has the task of approving new groups on campus, it must stay clear of its members' own ideological biases. Any type of government, including our own, should not be in the business of picking and choosing what groups can congregate and assemble on campus, but rather should ensure a climate open to competing ideas.

Personally, I welcome an opposing viewpoint. The students who disagree with SAF should welcome its addition to campus, simply for the debate and discussion it will no doubt foster, as well as for the opportunity to argue against it.

I do not think SAF will have any adverse affect in the classroom. No professor is required to sign their now infamous pledge, and SAF is already balanced out by organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, which by all appearances have similar agendas.

On the other hand, SAF will (and has) drawn attention to the discrepancy of conservatives and liberals in academia. Rather than subverting our professors, I think they will foster a classroom environment more open to rational discussion and different points of view, so that no student feels afraid to voice his opinion. Of course, I want our professors to remain free to express their own thoughts, but they should not be able to punish another person for rational dissent, be it conservative or liberal in nature.

Rudisill's opinion reeks of hypocrisy. Even if I thought granting SAF recognition went against the best interest of our university, my respect for freedom of assembly is so great that I would have voted to approve them anyway.

Jeremy Marshall

Trinity '08

Court reveals ALE faults

I am angry the case against the Markham house got thrown out. I am not angry with the court, which acted appropriately, or with the residents of the house in question, but rather with the actions of the Alcohol Law Enforcement and the North Carolina bureaucracy that brought about the proper verdict.

The recent decision to expunge all state evidence of alcohol violations has finally held the ALE accountable for the unprofessional and illegal methods that I'm sure it has used for years. Illegal detention and interrogation, unwarranted searches, failure to read Miranda rights, etc..., may fly in Guatanamo Bay (sadly), but there is no legal ambiguity on this side of the Keys that this is absurdly unconstitutional.

Rather than pursuing their cases by means that would serve the ends of justice and actually enforce law, by being lazy and sloppy the ALE has let criminals off the hook. While I'm not going to cry about my classmates getting off the hook, I do cry about the waste of taxpayers' money that entails. ALE methods have been condoned for so long only because their subjects have only been either too poor, ignorant or intimidated to hire a lawyer and ask questions. In the end we are left with a handful of improperly criminalized freshmen, and a state prosecution that has done nothing but waste their time and our money.

Jamie Campbell

Trinity '06