I write in support of the opinions expressed by President La Tourette and Professor Cress with regard to the outrageous neo-Nazi “advertisement” carried in the Star.

I inquire why, if it was the editors’ intention to expose this hate-ridden group and its fearful agenda in order to stimulate thoughtful discussion in the academic community, that purpose could not have been served a thousand times better by refusing the propaganda and running instead a well-researched series of news/feature articles and concurrent editorial comment on its authors and their goals and methods?

Then no suspicion of endorsement by the newspaper (and, tacitly, the university itself) could have arisen, and no taint would accrue from the acceptance of what must have been a large sum of money for the rent of that page. Truly, that fee in this instance represents “blood money”; one hopes to see a report soon of the charitable cause to which it has been donated.

I believed that over the 20 years in which I have been on Northern’s campus, I had become inured to the reckless excesses of the Star. So jaded am I, that day after day I scan it without my blood pressure rising much over normal—but the sight of that paid “ad” brought tears of shame to my eyes.

Ann James Modell

Graduate student

Special Education