Dear Editor,
What happened to responsible journalism? Are people now allowed to state bitter opinions without supporting them with facts? The room draw article that was released in the March 25 of The Elm is a prime example of such an instance in which multiple “facts” either lack support or are clearly incorrect.
I do agree that actual seniors should be allotted the highest numbers, followed by juniors with senior standing and so on; however, GPA is somewhat unfair to consider. Most people on this campus will agree that some majors are more difficult than others; will that be kept in consideration when factoring in someone’s GPA?
Furthermore, how can you state that someone on academic probation has that standing merely because of partying? Maybe he/she had a death in the family, maybe they took on more than they could handle, the “maybes” could continue. Did you even speak to anyone on academic probation in order to understand how it happened? One cannot just assume the worst in someone.
Sorority housing also seems to be of huge concern to you, Ms. Walburg, yet you fail to recognize that fraternities also have their own housing. If you had done your research, you would know that a few of us have attempted to get housing off campus. We would love to live with all of our sisters, rather than a small portion of them. However, Chestertown Historical Society does not want a “Greek Row” to take away from the quaint, historical image that is Chestertown.
We have a housing fund and have to pay extra to live in our housing, so our so-called special treatment is not without extra cost. Plus, we have on average about 50 girls per sorority; one building houses a small fraction of our sisters. This is all information you would have known had you actually spoken to a member of the sororities. If you had questions, and wanted to know facts, I am sure any one of us would have been more than happy to comply. Your insinuation as to why we were moved from Minta Martin to the Western Shore also lacks facts and is rather insulting. We were told the reason for moving was so that the school would have more room for freshman, and that the class as a whole would be located in the same area. Had we been “kicked out” of Minta, we surely would have lost housing altogether, rather than moved to a “privileged” dormitory.
I wonder which sorority leaders you questioned about this since I am a leader in my sorority, and as such was never questioned, nor were any of my sisters. Furthermore, exactly who from the administration did you question? I am confident in stating that this information is not likely something the administration would hide from you. Merely stating that people think something does not mean it is a fact.
As for Kent Crossing, would you rather the school not offer housing like that? Plenty of people were more than content to live there; especially since it’s better than being a senior and living somewhere like Caroline. Personally, I would rather share a room and have a private bathroom and kitchen, compared to sharing a room and a communal bathroom. Also, plenty of students already live in Kent Crossing, and they seem to manage making it to campus safely. In addition, it is ironic to me that you are concerned about their safety walking home off campus, but yet are encouraging sorority sisters move off campus, which would also be unsafe in your definition. In conclusion, I do agree that the housing situation is unfortunate; nonetheless you have wrongfully attacked many groups of people on this campus without supporting your accusations with facts.
– Shannon Stocklin ‘12
April 8, 2011
Volume LXXXI Issue 21