Your Voice | Letters to the 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.

Your Voice | Letters to the Editor

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.

Your Voice | Letters to the Editor

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.

Your Voice | Letters to the Editor

Your Voice | Letters to the Editor

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.

Your Voices | Letters to the Editor

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.

Your Voices | Letters to the Editor

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.

Your Voice | Letters to the Editor

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.

Your Voices | Letters to the Editor

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.

Your Voice | Letters to the Editors

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.

Your Voice | Letters

Explaining a matter of integrity To the Editor: The University Honor Council understands that the University's policies towards academic integrity may be unclear to students. In light of the Math 104-002 mandatory first midterm retake, we will explain the role of the University Honor Council as well as a student's options if charged with a violation of the Code of Academic Integrity.

Your Voice | Letters

Changing the signs in University City To the Editor: On Nov. 14, an editorial in The Daily Pennsylvanian mentioned that the Center City District is undertaking a trial run of new signage at SEPTA stations and recommended that University City District consider installing the same signage in this region of the City.

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Paying attention to community needs To the Editor: Despite a witty column by Jim Saksa and objective reporting by Katie Karas, the DP's editorials have regularly supported the Campus Inn project, poo-pooing the concerns of neighborhood associations and immediate residents.

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Out of touch with reality at Penn To the Editor: With my daughter being a junior at Penn and loving it, and while also knowing the general disposition of those attending an Ivy League school, it doesn't surprise me that 80 percent of students support a committed leftist ("Support for Obama stays high in DP poll" 11/3/08).

Your Voice | Letters

Leading the way To the Editor: Lest any readers jump to the false conclusion from Chakravarthy's story about the HathiTrust (October 24, 2008) that Penn Libraries are not actively engaged in transforming our collections into digital resources, I offer an elaboration for the record.

Your Voice | Letters

Domestic terrorism isn't free speech To the Editor: The petition that Penn faculty and students signed in support of William Ayers is totally off the mark. The petition suggests Ayers is being criticized for "voic[ing] perspectives and advanc[ing] questions that challenge orthodoxy and political power" and that this criticism "casts a chill over free speech . and the spirit of democracy.

Your Voice | Letters

Unify our parks and recreation systems To the Editor: It's autumn in Philadelphia. The Phillies are in the World Series, and the Eagles' season is in full swing. While we cheer for our professional sports teams, kids and adults all over this City are playing baseball at over 160 ballfields, football on 70 fields, tennis on nearly 300 courts and soccer at approximately 125 sites.

Your Voice | Letters

An effective and valuable program To the Editor: On September 22, The Daily Pennsylvanian published an article on the University City District's Main Street program. The article contained several misunderstandings about the program: First, Main Street was originated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980.

Your Voice | Letters

Defending the GRE To the Editor: Christina Domenico's column last Wednesday was sadly misinformed about the Graduate Record Examination. Many have claimed throughout the years that GRE is useless for predicting college success or that you can't boil down someone's ability to a number.

Your Voice | Letters

Library use on the rise To the Editor: Last week in an article and subsequent cartoon, The Daily Pennsylvanian implied that use of Penn Libraries is in decline. To correct the record, I offer a few relevant metrics. In the five years between 2003 and 2007 (our latest complete statistics), circulation of books, videos, audio materials, microforms and laptop computers increased by some 20,000 items.