In regards to Chris Ortiz’s column titled “Brought to you by

ASCSU,” he included a shaded box listing different Best/Worst

awards for each campaign. He took it upon himself to award Burke

and Schowe’s campaign signs hung on the “Pike Shacks on Laurel” as

the worst location for campaign signs.

Being a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, I am not only appalled at the

blatant lack of respect he shows to a campus fraternity, but also

the lack of acknowledgment he gives us for the positive things we

do on campus. First of all, as the largest fraternity on campus we

prefer to use not only our high rate of student involvement, but

also our positive reputation to support other organizations and be

involved with campus issues.

The Collegian, and Chris Ortiz, gave more coverage to our

fraternity houses hanging campaign signs in support of the issues

and candidates we believe in than it did to the highly successful

blood drive we sponsored on Monday.

Besides the simple fact that his sincerely negative comment was

disrespectful, the Pike houses happen to be one of the best

locations off campus for candidates to hang campaign signs visible

to a large majority of students. If he intends on continuing to

pass judgment on sign location, I expect to see negative comments

about campaign signs being at Sullivan’s, Old Chicago, The Avenue,

Alpha Gamma Rho, Kappa Delta and others. In that column, I would

enjoy an educated comment on why KFC is any more appropriate for

campaigning than the Pi Kappa Alpha houses.

Dominic Trujillo

Liberal Arts

Thursday, this newspaper featured a story about El Centro

members declaring they had been greatly offended by Bridges of the

Future, which arranged for Madeline Albright to speak at Moby Arena

during Cesar Chavez Day.

Reading about the Albright/Chavez conflict left a bad taste in

my mouth. Regardless of how one might view Albright’s politics, she

is an important lady, and most assuredly visiting some state

university in Colorado is not on the top of her “to-do” list. CSU

was fortunate to have her visit on “the only date that could

accommodate Albright and the facility.”

Organizational groups with schedules overlapping are certainly

not unexpected in this diverse world. It is organizational

responsibility to generate events that appeal to many individuals.

That’s life. Life is full of choices. Make one. There is not

someone out there, (nor should there be) whose sole objective is

tailoring material to fit every person’s agenda. That would be

absolutely ridiculous. I’m not trying to diminish Cesar Chavez’s

importance.

However, upon further investigating this holiday, I discovered

it wasn’t even on Chavez’s birthday, which was March 31. Because it

is state-recognized, the actual holiday is the closest Monday or

Friday to the 31. This year seven states acknowledged the holiday

on Monday the 29, including Denver, which closed city and county

buildings. In California, where Cesar Chavez Day originated, events

occur from March 4 until April 25. At CSU, events were scheduled

throughout March. A conflict is guaranteed in that amount of time!

A choice has to be made.

When CSU opts to cancel classes for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

instead of Presidents’ Day, is the administration solely trying to

satisfy the minority? Fortunately, being in America gives everyone

the right to complain, but are these complaints generated by

offense, or are they simply because they can be made?

Justin M. Lisowski

Senior, mechanical engineering

NO CHOICE BUT TO SOLDIER ON? Madeline Albright, at CSU noted

correctly that invading Iraq was a “choice not a necessity” (i.e. a

needless war!) – but she says that “staying the course” is a

necessity, not a choice. Clever, but not so obviously true.

Suppose we keep our troops in Iraq for another year or two,

spending $1 billion a week that should go for Homeland Security,

and suffering continuous GI casualties. More every day! And no

light at the end of the tunnel – Gen. Sanchez admitted that our

casualties would continue “as long as we stay there.”

Then we get ready to pull out, only to find that the three

ethnic groups we have controlled are still ready to murder each

other in civil war. We have been 10 years in Kosovo, and now the

Albanians are murdering the Serbians! And we have not been bleeding

in Kosovo.

Our brutal occupation of Iraq has made a significant number of

Iraqis hate us blindly, as was shown in the Fallujah horrors this

week. Why would we think that more of the same would promote any of

our interests?

Continuing this occupation is as POINTLESS, HEARTLESS AND

BRAINLESS as the invasion was NEEDLESS.

Dan Lyons

Fort Collins citizen