In the Oct. 18 edition of The Michigan Daily, the Friday Focus was devoted to Campus Safety and Awareness, and Safewalk and Northwalk were described as one of the many alternatives to walking alone on campus ("Sexual assaults raise safety awareness").
As one of the Safewalk co-coordinators, I would like to correct Reddy's record of our interview. Reddy quoted me as saying, "For the people who get walked, they get to go wherever they need to go ... They're not restricted. It's a good way to meet people." All of Safewalk's volunteers are friendly and polite, but our main concern is making sure people reach their destination safely. All walkers are specially trained so as not to make the people who use Safewalk uncomfortable. "Getting to know" our walkees or contacting walkees outside of a Safewalk setting may make people uncomfortable and is not appropriate conduct for a Safewalk volunteer. This way we can provide a safe and comfortable service for the community.
What I did say is that Safewalk is a good way for volunteers to get to know each other. Safewalk attempts to bring together volunteers from many different backgrounds who have a common concern and dedication to the University community.
Working together and donating time through Safewalk is an excellent way to serve the community and meet people who share your interests.
Nichole G. Argyres
Safewalk Co-coordinator, University alum
I am just wondering how much time and money the University wasted on those pathetic flags on the sides of computers to supposedly determine whether the computer is available. What engineering genius thought of that? What is going to happen during exam week?
Here is a novel idea - why not use station cards like we used to, so people do not have to wander around the computing center looking like lost puppy dogs? God forbid the University do something that is inexpensive and effective.
Alexa M. Cockrum
LSA senior
Now that the infamous scab newspapers have given the University a lesson in public honesty, I'd like to give a worthless endorsement to Lee Bollinger for University president. After all, it's gonna take someone like the former dean of the Law School to get the University out of the legal shithole it put itself in.
Mark D. Wilson
LSA sophomore
I am writing to protest the modernization of the beautiful fourth-floor stairwell in the Union, but not the fourth floor. This stairwell, as well as the Union, is a link to our past.
Too much of the past is being changed by modernization. The Union's once glorious history is now being compromised by modern day insults. The Union is a doorway to times long gone and a symbol of our heritage.
Although in recent years it has undergone many changes that have made it a more friendly gathering area for students, alums and staff, parts of the original Union is lost with each renovation. Take a walk around the Union today. There are many areas that have been exposed due to construction that show a more beautiful Union that once existed. Beautiful trims are hidden away by modern, foam ceiling tiles. I couldn't believe when I saw how beautiful the ceiling by Amer's on the first floor used to look. It is now covered by ugly ceiling tiles. At this moment, another renovation is stealing away again the original architect's dream and rendering of the Union.
We are obligated to protect the Union and any other structure on campus from destruction by modernization. The stairwell on the fourth floor is spacious and beautiful as well as a work of art. It is not just a stairwell, it is a masterpiece of wood, iron and stone brought together by the hands of craftsmen long gone who envisioned a Union that would last for hundreds of years after them, reminding the future of what once was. We steal their years of hard work and dedication by defacing and hiding their work with fire-walls or foam ceiling tiles. It's such a shame that we destroy the past. A recent article in the Daily ("Canada comes to Michigan League," 10/23/96) quoted a carpenter who is working on the renovation of the Michigan League. He said that it was a shame that he had to gut-out the basement of the League. It used to have oak panels and trim along the walls, and now it's all gone. "It looks so industrial," he said.
Do we want the Union to look industrial as well? I don't. I know of 50 people or more who are also against this renovation of the stairwell on the fourth floor. I want others to know about this and to protest to the Michigan Board of Representatives to stop this renovation. It is unnecessary and destructive. Please take a look at how beautiful and historic the forth floor stairwell is. Take a look at the Union. You will see something new every day. Don't let modernization conceal the past forever.
Paul A. Antony
Medical School
I would like to enlighten Andrea Tawil about some geographical (and political) realities. Andrea's letter ("Kirk mislabels Israelis," 20/23/ 96) stated that "... Israel and Palestine were attempting to work together ... " Pre-1948 maps show Palestine as a geographical region next to Trans-Jordan and the State of Israel was not yet declared. Interesting to note is that the term "Palestine" comes from the Bible and refers to a specific geographical area attributed to the Philistines (they conquered and settled along a tract of land on the coast of the Mediterranean in antiquity). Post-1948 maps of the Middle East display the State of Israel and Jordan instead of the geographical entity of Palestine. I am curious to see the maps that Andrea owns.
Sabina Kaziner
School of Public Health
Students are the victims of a misguided ITD printing policy. It is ridiculous that I, for one, have to pay $10,050 in tuition per term to go to he University and I cannot print out as many sheets of paper as I need! Certainly the University doesn't want to impede our learning, but when I have to actually plan out what I can and can't print for the month, this is precisely what is happening.
I don't believe this is an unreasonable concern, either. Most of us don't go printing out 20 page papers five times because the first one didn't go through. Normal use is now being limited, and it isn't right. Where is the University getting this paper that costs eight cents per page? I can probably find something for half the price - maybe less - at Meijers!
Aaron D. Brooks
Engineering junior