If the people who broke into the Center of the Arts twice in the last two months really are some of our fellow students, then it is truly a sad time for all of us to be UW-Whitewater students.
Besides the act of stealing vital equipment and driving up our tuition costs, these crimes damage the alumni, faculty and student body by tarnishing the reputation of our very good university.
I suggest we all send a message to the people who are committing these crimes: We do not want you here. These thefts are not the acts of responsible university students; they are the acts of petty criminals.
It is obvious that the people who are committing these thefts have no conscience, ethics or decency. Notice that every syllabus we receive for every class says, "The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is dedicated to a safe … learning environment." So we should ask ourselves, are we as students really in a safe learning environment if there are thieves and criminals in our midst, perhaps sitting right next to us in class? The obvious answer is no.
Therefore, I strongly suggest the university take the most hard-line approach possible to finding out who stole from all of us, and may they be severely punished through the means of the university and to the full extent of the law.
I was also appalled to find printed in the Jan. 23 issue of the Royal Purple an online comment by someone whose screen name was "Leagalize Coke PLZ," when the front page of the very same issue contained a story about one of our own professors, Paula B. Poorman, being killed by a young woman under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.
First of all, to anyone advocating the legalization of drugs, you should probably learn how to spell correctly if you want to be taken seriously.
And second, while I have never been one to advocate any form of censorship, I think it was in poor taste for the Royal Purple to run such a comment when taking into consideration the circumstances surrounding the death of professor Poorman.
The comment itself reflects poorly on all of us as students here and should not be included in our student newspaper.
Stephen Bennett UW-Whitewater senior
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