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Show THE DAILY CHRONICLE UTAH Ji it! ix II 3V it I THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW n oked Charter JhiafsIi But Wise fi ver the weekend, Kappa Sigma International con curred with U administra tors and yanked Kappa Sigma's charter. The decision is harsh, but warranted. In the past, punishments levied against wayward greek chapters have not been so harsh. Vet problems along the lines of Kappa Sigma's January party that resulted in 52 alcohol citations, have persist- ed within the greek community. And although house residents come and go in a matter of several years, the frustration of neighbors and the U administration has had much longer to build. In the summer of 2000, members of Sigma Chi dropped a sofa off the balcony of the ITs house to the dismay of a mailman standing below. Members faced 100 community service hours and also had to remodel their balcony. However, no sanctions were brought against Sigma Chi. Prior to Kappa Sigma International revoking the U fraternity's charter, its Utah chapter faced the somewhat brighter fate of probation. Along with the probation, the Greek. Judiciary Council ordered . Kappa Sigma to pay a fine, stop all social events and go dry. The frater- Last it j Pu'-z- I 111 if LlWl Or fix. jr.tr AfW) & iqHcki n't riLOJcsL TITT r i.rC , - x This is indicative of an organizational culture that puts all of Greek Row at risk through its shenanigans. Politics may have played a part in the decision, as Sutton suggests. But regardless, Kappa Sigma's party reflects badly on all of Greek Row, and its demise will, most likely, appease both neighbors and Chronicle Opinion Columnist weekend, I visited New York City, six months after the that we will forever refer to simlife-alteri- Visitors become obstacles and annoyances when they crane their necks upward to see s piercing the blue, hundreds of feet above. Natives possess no fear when stepping into the busy streets, cither to hail a cab or wade through traffic. Yet inexperienced newcomers like myself run for our lives more often than we casually cross the street. Lower Manhattan remains unimaginably congested, while the upper east and west sides embody relative calm, yet still terrify strangers from far away lands like Utah. Chinatown continues to offer the widest array of sights, smells and sounds (all at a great price, if you can bargain). And the East Village attracts its usual and oddballs, living in array of a k rock neighborhood that counter-culturepun- tj V "3usr Ute ihj LETTER TO THE EDITOR around. ply as Sept. 11. To the naked eye, much of New York remains unchanged. The city still rises out of the ocean, its towers of concrete and steel forming a canopy over the urban jungle below. The streets teem with people, flowing this way and that like unstoppable human waves, not slowing for moving cars or other pedestrians. high-rise- It . , " 1 jivr This history of disobedience extends back farther than most of its current residents have been i "T"n . e p According to Reed Sutton, president of Kappa Sigma, six or seven years of history, not the simply a single party, prompted the decision. JAMES SEAMAN ' , - I practices and other infractions, including furniture dropping Time Meve . :Y--i HP hi. along Greek Row. However, the loss of Kappa Sigma's charter will hopefully serve as a warning against illegal partying defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual entation will be edited or will not be published. '4 I rt really OjtJr -- , "V nity could still participate in recruitment and philanthropy. Decisive action on the part of the national organization and the first loss of charter bf the U house will not prevent all future problems Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions ot the author. The forum created en the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect Material i. IN ori- Go to Caucus Meeting Tonight Editor We encourage all students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the U to attend precinct caucus meetings on Monday, March 25 at 7 p.m. In Utah, caucus meetings are an extremely crucial part of the political process. Delegates to the county conventions will be selected to vote on legislative candidates. This year, delegates to the state party conventions will be chosen to vote on congressional candidates. It is more important than ever to elect candidates that are supportive of the U and higher education. The U's budget, facilities and policies are significantly impacted by lawmakers. Delegates have the opportunity to vote for those legislative candidates who will be most supportive of the U and higher education. In order to run or vote for delegates, a person must be 18 years old at the time of the election (June primaries and November general election) and a registered voter. The various parties may have additional rules about party affiliation. Look for the location of your caucus meeting in The Deseret News and The Salt Lake Tribune. For specific information, the following arc political parties certified to appear on the 2002 general election ballot: 2 Democratic Party: 328-121- utdemsxmission.com Green Party: 355-993- utahgrecnsgreenparty-ofutah.or- 5 Libertarian Party: g 534-88- jimdexinconnect.com Natural Law Part)': Republican Party: 322-55- 77 533-97- U arcaelcarthlink.net mailutgop.org. NANCY S. LYON Assistant Vice President for Government Affairs at New Yorkers Are Survivors time forgot Meanwhile, a trip to Queens or Brooklyn still constitutes a "road trip" for anyone inhabiting Manhattan's crowded spaces. In fact, obvious differences between pre and post Sept. 11 appear difficult to spot. Immediately, of course, one does notice the proliferation of American flags and window signs reading "I Love NY Even More." And the new light memorial emanating from Ground Zero lights up the sky from any spot in the city. But New Yorkers carry on with their business, propagating the perception that nothing can phase them. As you might imagine, however, visiting the graveyard where the World Trade Center once stood offers a sobering reminder of the events that changed all of us. Ground Zero remains a work site, visible fences and police barriers. through chain-lin- k Two observation areas even allow one to peer into "the pit," as some call it. Crowds make the pilgrimage to see with their own eyes what we could all barely believe on the television. Thousands of memorials, both spontaneous and contrived, line the fences separating Ground. Zero from the outside world. These emotional offerings include articles of clothing, photographs and drawings, flags, crosses, teddy bears, and even paper cranes from children in Japan. Messages scrawled across every part of the fence include heartfelt considerations from strangers, as well as personal notes, inspired by unimaginable grieving. Visitors snap photographs, hoping to capture images their friends back home might not otherwise comprehend. And others take pictures of themselves, creating homemade postcards as though Ground Zero represented any other tourist trap, like Niagra Falls or Mount Rush-mor- e. Such shenanigans suggest the power of media in making Ground Zero a feeding site for frenzied tourists. Some people have apparently failed to separate the sacred from the profane. Yet of all the casualties from Sept. 11, the memory of the towers themselves inanimate structures draws some of the most emotional and profound responses. Of course, numerous merchants would never miss an opportunity to make a buck. So you can purchase souvenirs of the towers pictures, models, and anything else that will sell at stores and stands throughout the city. Other responses, perhaps, represent more raw emotion. For me, standing in Battery Park offered a chance to take things into perspective. I found the spot where I stood nearly three years before on my first visit to New York. Back in 1999, 1 photographed the twin towers as they rose above the grove of sycamore trees in the foreground. In 2002, standing in roughly the same place, I photographed the hole in the sky that once housed those famous buildings. Not a single person in the city back in 1999 or at any point, for that matter would have believed that the unthinkable could happen. Along with all the national and personal baggage that Sept 11 heaped on us, that day proved that in the grand scheme, life is fleeting and offers no guarantees. The unthinkable can happen, even if it seems too awful to imagine. How, then, do New Yorkers continue their CHRONICLE OPINION EDITOR LAURA B. WEISS LWEISSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU routines, even after all these months? For my friend, who lives near Harlem and commutes to work in lower Manhattan, keeping up with the daily grind mandates a certain focus. Memories of the trauma still lurk, creeping in every so often. Loud noises and planes flying overhead can still elicit brief but disturbing responses. But these personal demons, along with the altered subway routes, memorials and work crews, simply blend into everyday life. This reveals an inevitable gap between New Yorkers and the rest of the post Sept. 11 world. New Yorkers hustle past the site, on their way to countless destinations. They don't need to visit Ground Zero because they've had to deal with it every day. They proceed on with their lives, continuing to work and play in the city that never sleeps. For the rest of us, far from the debris and death of that awful day. New York on Sept. 11 remains frozen in time. Mentioning the city immediately invokes images of the towers and their destruction. Yet visiting the city, one finds that while memorials abound and memories linger. New York doesn't stand still for anyone or anything. Nothing can hold the city still or hold its people back. New Yorkers have always been loud, aggressive, ambitious and obnoxious. Now, regarding the ability to move forward that I witnessed firsthand, I would like to add another aspect to the character profile of New Yorkers: They are survivors. ' welcomes James at: feedback or send letters to jseamanchronicle.utah.edu the editor to: letterschronicle.utah.edu. 581-704- 1 |