Mediation first
As a 1984 graduate of the university, as well as a trained mediator, I was appalled to learn that school officials withheld janitorial services to a dorm floor to teach students civility and cooperation (“‘Honestly, it’s like living in a waste disposal,” March 4). While I understand school officials could not allow the vandalism to continue, creating living conditions ripe for vermin only teaches students that two wrongs make a right and that escalating a situation is effective problem solving. Next time, I suggest they hold a mandatory dorm meeting, talk about what happened and get a consensus from those affected on what remedial recourse should be. When people have a say in what is expected of them, they are motivated to fulfill those expectations.
Elsa L. FridlClass of 1984
Bad response
I’d like to suggest that if Mike O’Brien can’t think of content more compelling than the hate mail he receives, then maybe he should get out of the comic business.
Other reasons to do so: his comics are poorly drawn, poorly written and never funny – his recent attempts at satire could not have been more ham-fisted had they been drawn in pig’s blood. I think Haviland’s letter (“Is Nut Butter worth it?,” March. 7) was relevant and probably reflects the opinion of a good portion of The Diamondback’s readership, and O’Brien’s response was pretty typical of what his comic has to offer.
Laura Cooke JuniorStudio art
Wake up call
Three years ago, I was the victim of an on-campus armed robbery. What I thought to be an aberration from campus safety at the time has unfortunately developed into the steady norm of College Park crime. While sexual assaults and armed robberies become a growing statistic, the enhancement of “security” from the university has resulted in nothing but a few broken-up fraternity parties and an increase in parking tickets. It is time that university officials refocus their security efforts into more effectively protecting its students. The recent and tragic murder of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s student body president occurred in a surrounding suburb off of their campus and is thought to have been a random crime. As the number of students being forced to live off the campus here increases, this distressful story from Chapel Hill should be a major wake-up call to the administration at this university. Unless it increases the efficacy of its on- and off-campus security, the university administration is doing nothing to prevent similar devastation to the one that occurred in Chapel Hill from afflicting a student in College Park.
Isaac Hof SeniorGovernment and politics
“Cuddler” the wrong word
In response to Kellie Woodhouse’s article (“City ‘cuddler’ assaults two women,” March 4), I would like to say I do not know who coined the phrase “city cuddler,” and quite frankly, I do not care. Regardless how other media sources and the police refer to this individual, I find the term is utterly inappropriate, and the university, out of respect for itself as an institution and its students, must refuse to use it.
Serial rape is not to be reduced to Care Bears and cherubs. Any violation of an individual’s personal space should never be referred to as “cuddling,” particularly by law enforcers and journalists. I believe that the university has a responsibility to reject this phrase and call this man what he is, a serial attacker and an enormous threat to student life. Any language that evades this reality is unacceptable and disappointing.
I believe the university can easily take a stand on this issue and choose to approach these devastating events with a more progressive attitude.
Hudson Taylor SophomoreInteractive performance arts
