LETTER: Bars, Not Malls

Andrew Sernovitz does not strike me as the sort of guy who needs others to defend him. However, I cannot resist the temptation to point out that any author who excites the anger of bureaucrats and politically correct types must almost certainly be right about whatever he or she -- I mean she or he -- says. My only criticism is that Sernovitz does not go far enough in his latest column (DP 3/4/92). It is not shopping malls but bars which campus should be surrounded by. Such bars would not only provide a safe and comfortable place for students to hang out, but would encourage drinking. It has now been scientifically proven that alcohol, in moderate amounts, prevents heart disease by increasing the number of HDLs in the blood stream. If the University cares about our health, they will also hire armed guards to protect our new campus hangouts from the Liquor Control Bureau, bureaucrats and other criminals. This would provide jobs for the city youths whom Bob Casey and Sheldon want to deprive of an education. If the University does not do the above, we should do more than withhold our senior gift. We should go on strike. If students are too young and incompetent to drink, then certainly students must also be too young to provide volunteer services for the homeless, environment, AIDS victims and other causes which students frequently support. Maybe once our services are withdrawn, our distinguished elders, who spend $40,000 of taxpayer's money on flower arrangements, will appreciate us. STEVE PETROV College of General Studies