LETTERS: Burning banners on the Walk

To the Editor: I am writing to you with my concerns about an incident that happened sometime during the night of Thursday, September 16. During the week of September 13-17, we were advertising our first meeting by passing out fliers and sitting along Locust Walk next to our club's banner. We had left the poles and banner out Thursday night. When one of the officers went to pick up the poles and banner, he found burnt poles and no banner. I was told by one of my other officers that she and her friends had found burnt remnants on the railing and on the ground as well. For some reason, I still couldn't believe that someone would burn our property. On Monday morning, I went to the site where the banner had been and saw ashes on the railings and a burnt piece of our banner that showed a half-charred logo. When an act of vandalism transpires to a group with a specific purpose, there is always a possibility that it is a political statement. I take Check One very seriously and believe that we do positive things around and outside campus. I know that not everyone believes in that. It is a shame that our group has to suffer for someone's inadequacy to control his/her behavior. Besides, I thought the days of burning crosses and books were over. Marc Lener Wharton '00 Alcohol problems To the Editor: In response to recent praise of the new alcohol policy ("New policy starts off right," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 9/20/99), I would like to add a few reservations. While the new policy may not have shifted drinking off-campus, I think there is a very good chance it pushed heavy drinking to the riskier private domain of people's rooms. My brother, a member of a fraternity here, told me how many people show up to parties already drunk. While this is no surprise, I think the new policy may make this problem worse. Students will gather with a few friends and Jack Daniels and do far more damage to their bodies and minds than if they had to wait in line at a party for a drink. In the midst of trying to curb "alcohol abuse," let's not make it worse. Alcohol is not evil and we should not treat it as such. Penn is doing very little to teach people the proper way to use alcohol, a substance that, for better or worse, is an established part of the social and business worlds. Instead, by pushing drinking to the deep recesses of people's rooms where there is no supervision, it may have done exactly the opposite. Evan Fieldston Medical '02 A house for Phi Sig To the Editor: I am writing a response to "Phi Sig faces uphill battle to get back former house, DP, 9/21/99)." The part of yesterday's article that most concerned me was the blatant disrespect for my house's efforts to create a new era for Phi Sigma Kappa at Penn. Currently the new brothers of Phi Sig are working diligently to promote the values we have been founded upon and to recruit motivated young men to join our ranks. While recolonizing Phi Sig, we were led to believe by University officials and our national organization that we would have the opportunity to regain the use of the historic Phi Sig house at 3615 Locust Walk. While we are disappointed that Penn officials have apparently reconsidered their decision to allow the new brothers of Phi Sigma Kappa to return to the house, we will continue to work with University officials to secure the house at 3615 Locust Walk for the brothers for the fall of 2000. The brothers of Phi Sig will continue their fall rush process and hope for future support from the University officials. Dan Grabell College '00