Letters
Meeting a disgrace
To the editor:
The meeting of the University's Board of Trustees with retired Judge
Louis Garippo, held in Foellinger Auditorium this past Wednesday,
was a disgrace to the University. Although the intent of the meeting
was for the board and public to hear from Garippo and ask questions
on the "dialogue" report he compiled, the meeting was abruptly called
to a halt by William Engelbrecht, board chair, long before the scheduled
time had passed. Dozens of questions that had been submitted went
unanswered. Many of those questions challenged the substance of the
report.
Instead of having an open microphone in the audience for the public
to ask questions as planned, an unannounced policy of considering
only written questions was instituted. Garripo and his assistant culled
those questions and addressed only a chosen few. While time still
permitted further questions and answers, Garippo indicated that no
additional questions were to be addressed. Engelbrecht's termination
of the discussion might have rescued Garippo form further embarrassment,
but it also seriously negated the validity of the process the board
had established.
Many have viewed the "dialogue" as little more than a very expensive
charade, designed to placate the North Central Association after its
condemnation of the University for lack of institutional integrity
in dealing with its race-based sports mascot. Garippo's report and
the meeting in Foellinger certainly substantiate that perspective
and provide further fuel for the NCA and all to question the University's
leadership and integrity.
Stephen J. Kaufman
professor, Department of Cell and Structural Biology
Complacence and corruption
To the editor:
We've all heard of dead people, convicted felons, non-citizens and
non-registered voters somehow becoming part of the electorate, yet
for some reason there are hardly any known cases of people going to
prison for it. We were greeted at the polls by a sign warning us that
voter fraud was a class-three felony, yet — like many laws these days
— it seems completely unenforced. It seems that these signs are only
there to reassure us that the process is fair and just, upholding
our sense of faith in the system.
It seems the major press, having already shot itself in the foot by
prematurely declaring Florida, is also afraid of compromising faith
in the system. In California, there are allegations that non-citizens
received mail from the Democratic party with bogus voter registration
cards attached. Overseas, many U.S. military personnel have filed
complaints that they did not receive their absentee ballots on time.
The details on both these allegations are sketchy, and I fault the
press for not getting those details. CNN, ABC and their ilk should
be all over this, especially the military absentee issue — but they
won't because they're afraid of public backlash.
Whether it makes a difference in the winner, crime and injustice cannot
be tolerated. By ignoring criminal or unjust behavior, we are rewarding
it. Our denial that there is a problem only makes it a larger problem.
Let's get the facts and clean this up.
Ken Bach
junior in engineering
Read your ballot carefully
To the editor:
In the wake of the controversy surrounding the vote in Palm Beach
County, Fla., a few details have been overlooked by many, including,
it seems, the national media and many protesters.
First of all, the same style of ballot was apparently used in Cook
County, Ill. There have not been the same type of reports from that
county, and one could surmise that people in Cook County were not
confused by their ballots. Also, the same style ballot was used four
years ago in Palm Beach County with the same results; numerous ballets
were disqualified because of multiple votes for the same office on
a single ballot.
What in the world were these people thinking? We would hope that a
person of voting age would have enough intelligence to know that you
cannot vote for two people for the same office. If voters made a mistake,
they should have asked for a new ballot, as it is perfectly within
their right to do so. We each spent nearly 10 minutes voting in our
respective states, making sure that our ballots reflected our choices.
If their votes indeed mean as much to Palm Beach County voters as
they claim, perhaps more thought should have been given to the actual
voting process.
Nick Zahos
graduate student
Megan Montgomery
senior in LAS
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letters from its
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and/or reject them without notification. Writers are encouraged
letters from its
readers. The Daily Illini reserves the right to edit any contributions
and/or reject them without notification. Writers are encouraged
letters from its
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and/or reject them without notification. Writers are encouraged
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