Editor

Straightening historical facts To the Editor: I'm assuming others will write in to debunk Emerson Brooking's offensive defense of the Confederate flag and the racism that it has symbolized through the decades ("In defense of Dixie" 4/15/2009). But I was also struck by the line in his piece that read: "Almost 300,000 Southerners fought and died under the flag of the Confederacy, and the resulting Reconstruction altered the course of the South's economic and cultural development, creating a depression that would linger for generations.

An open call from Mayor Nutter To the Community: During last year's 1st Annual Philly Spring Cleanup, friends, family and neighbors got together, rolled up their sleeves and went to work cleaning our neighborhoods and parks. The first Philly Spring Cleanup set a record as the largest single-day cleanup effort in U.

Philly Diner is a safety issue To the Editor: In response to Monday's "Winnowing Options" editorial, I would contend that shutting down Philly Diner's late-night hours is the right choice. As a bartender at Cav's across the street, I'm often outside the Diner in the early morning hours, and while the atmosphere is festive, the late-night hours created a serious accident waiting to happen.

Grad students speak up about NYU To the Editor: On Feb. 18, a group of students occupied the Kimmel Center at NYU, listing a series of demands and asking the university to negotiate with them (see www.takebacknyu.org). Early reports that excessive force may have been used during the 'resolution' of this situation raise questions for the Penn administration about the relationship between the University and state-level apparatuses based on the use of force.

Ensuring fairness in teaching To the Editor: I am appalled at Penn's permissive attitudes toward political activists who wrongly use their authority in the classroom to politically indoctrinate students. Although the concept of academic freedom allows professors to teach subjects of their own choosing in their own way, professors specifically sign a contractual code of ethics with the University, and are required to adhere to professional standards which specifically prohibit taking sides on controversial issues.

Questions about 'Don't ask, don't tell' To the Editor: Clearly the matter of the continued military presence at Penn is an unsettling situation for nearly everyone, one which would be easily resolved if the federal government discontinues preventing LGBT people from serving openly in the military, something President Obama has pledged will happen.

Alumni pay PGSE's worth forward To the Editor: In his column "A Tough Lesson in Economics," (DP 2/06/2009) Ryan Benjamin poses the question "At what point do we say, 'Enough is enough', and let the overall health of the Commonwealth come first?" Good question, but the better question is what is truly best for Pennsylvania? Ryan suggests that the Governor's School programs here in Pennsylvania will not be missed.

To the Editor: David Lei ("Another Stitch in the Seam" 2/2/09) does not mention zoning laws in his paean to Penn's hotel project at 40th and Pine. Wharton, where he studies, does not teach zoning, but an aspiring journalist should learn on his own to document his allegations and seek a variety of sources.

A challenge to sustain Penn To the Editor: I attended the Founder's Day Symposium on sustainability and left feeling thoroughly uninspired. As a student who feels a deep commitment to working toward solutions to the environmental crisis, I was greatly discouraged by what amounted to 120 minutes of professors patting themselves on their backs for the progress Penn has made in the field of sustainability.