The bell – an alumnus speaks

Once again, there is a move afoot to desecrate our memorial Bell Tower. This time the plan is to install a bell, which has little historical significance to N.C. State, in our Memorial Tower. Mr. Robbins, who has presented a proposal to mount the “Withers Bell” in our Bell Tower, has done a good job of showing that the bell should be given back to the Raleigh Fire Department. Our Bell Tower is a sacred memorial to NCSU alumni who have died or served their country. Under direction of Chancellor Fox, our university spent inordinate sums to light our Bell Tower like a cheap bordello to celebrate athletic victories and academic achievements. I propose we give the bell back to the Raleigh Fire Department and spend the money on scholarships.

Gary Y. Coates NCSU ’91 & ’95, USMC Retired

Broadcast system can’t be trusted

Aside from his usual inability to create humorous comics, Mr. Klingenmaier’s comic in the Feb. 18 newspaper was absolutely tasteless. While I enjoy dark humor, I would expect a newspaper to show some consideration for the victims of these shootings instead of capitalizing on it and creating yet another unfunny comic. I am willing to bet money that no emergency broadcast system, no matter how efficient, would have prevented many of the deaths at NIU. After all, in order for there to be a broadcast, an emergency needs to occur. In the case of a school shooting, it means that people — your classmates, your friends, and your teachers — are already dead. It would be far better to stop the shooter at the onset of his murdering — yet responsible, law-abiding college students are not allowed to carry a concealed firearm on a state campus. Datum and statistics, whose sources range from the Department of Justice to University of Maryland researcher Dr. John Lott, show that regions which allow concealed carry see less crime than non-carrying areas, and have decreasing crime rates. When it comes to my life, and the lives of my fellow students, I would rather trust my life to a Beretta M9 than an electronic warning system from a university that can’t even make their own websites — e.g, MyPack Portal — function properly.

Craig Hymeljunior, electrical engineering

Solution to gun restriction

I would like to ask the author of the gun ownership restrictions article what specific ideas she had in mind. You mentioned that you think it should be made more difficult for institutionalized and incarcerated people to buy guns. In fact, the current law states that, amongst other things, if you are “convicted in any court of any crime that is punishable by more than one year imprisonment,” you are prohibited from buying guns for life. Also “anyone who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution” and “anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.” There are more restrictions — these are all from BATF Form 4437 — and I am wondering what others you propose?

Hartley Grimes, graduate student, civil engineering

Webmail is inefficient

I’m not sure how many students at N.C. State use their assigned Webmail account and how many use a separate personal account, but I was informed last semester that all University related email is now required to be sent only to Webmail accounts. It is not just the fact that I am now required to check yet another email account every day to see if my class has been canceled or my tuition is being wasted on another pointless event that bothers me. I am now receiving unprecedented amounts of revolting spam in my webmail account. The one bonus to Webmail was that at least I never got spam there because it was only for campus-related information. Now the most disgusting variety of spam fills the first page of my inbox when I am merely checking for assignments, meeting times, and educational opportunities. What is this? I heard a rumor that our University, which always seems to be running low on funds, sold our Webmail addresses to make some side money. I must say of all the things at this University that have made me second guess my decision to spend four years of my life and nearly $30,000 here, this is the most obnoxious — not the most egregious, not the most immoral and certainly not the least academic, but it is the most obnoxious. I will always be able to thank N.C. State for encouraging me to “Show her just how big you are in bed!” I’ll be sure to forward those e-mails on to my parents.

Brittany Farrellsenior, economics and political science