Despite potential reader interest, story on marijuana should not have glorified use
Shame on The Diamondback for yesterday’s article, “Feeling doobie delight.” It had little journalistic merit, adding in high-school level facts as an afterthought to an otherwise pointless story. While I understand the potential for reader interest in the subject, it still does not warrant a not-so-subtle condoning of marijuana use. I’m slightly disturbed by how casually the article addressed the subject in an almost flippant “stick-it-to-the-man” fashion. Glorifying marijuana use, whether prevalent among university students or not, is highly irresponsible of a student newspaper with such a wide distribution.
Keiko Suwa
Administrative assistant
Theatre department
Potential hotel at entrance not the problem, overcrowded student housing market is
As a member of the Route 1 Sector Plan Advisory Group, I want to respond to The Diamondback’s editorial yesterday opposing the location of a hotel near the university’s north entrance (“Heartbreak hotel”).
Contrary to the editorial, the Sector Plan does not mandate student housing in that zone. It recommends just the opposite, calling for a variety of development options, including restaurants, offices, retail space and other non-student housing. It appears The Diamondback is not even aware that three years ago an office/research building was approved by both the city and county adjacent to where the hotel is proposed.
But the key point is a quality hotel constructed near the university will not impinge on student housing projects. Hundreds of millions of dollars of private-sector student housing is under construction or development north, west, south and east of the university, including other student housing projects near the proposed hotel site, across Route 1 in Lakeland and in the Knox Box area. Some developers are beginning to worry about an overbuilt student housing market, and that is what would defeat additional student housing, not construction of a first-class hotel in College Park. So The Diamondback should welcome a quality hotel into the city as it would a quality restaurant and not raise a false choice between a hotel and student housing.
To paraphrase the newspaper’s own commentary, a poorly researched and poorly reasoned editorial is bad for students, bad for the university and bad for The Diamondback.
Brian Darmody
Assistant vice president
Research and economic development
Courtyard security worth inconveniences; forum would have been unproductive
What William Shulman said in his letter concerning University Courtyard’s recent security measures is just plain silly (“University Courtyard security measures should not be in place without forum,” April 19). I agree the notion of student forums is a good one, but let’s be honest — they don’t accomplish much of anything. Students rarely take the time to attend student forums, and nearing the end of my senior year here, I think they seem like more a joke than anything else. The frequency of the crimes occurring at University Courtyard and the manner in which they were taking place required immediate action, and I give Ambling Inc. and University Police a lot of credit for taking such prompt action.
As for the traffic issue, it really isn’t an issue at all. People know they shouldn’t make that turn, and they make it anyway. Then they complain about getting a ticket. When I need to get to Route 193 East from Courtyard, I go out the front and make a U-turn at the light. It seems to me University Police could solve a lot of their budget issues by just issuing more tickets to people who drive like complete idiots all over the campus, but that is a different letter.
Douglas Wardell
Senior
Aerospace engineering
