This letter is written in response to the editorial written by Jim Tubridy on April 23, 1991.

I thoroughly disagree with the immature attitude in which the column was written that particular day. Your column, Jim, represents the attitude of many students I’ve had to try to work with.

To clarify myself, it’s the “we’re students from Northern, so be grateful to us,” attitude that I’m speaking of.

You do make a valid point. It is true, Northern students do some wonderful things for the city of DeKalb. I think it’s terrific that students are interested in participating in Big Brother/Sister programs, raise money for the homeless and visit the elderly.

But Jim, I think you fail to realize that in colleges all across the nation, there are students who also do special projects for their communities. I’m not aware that these students feel that their communities “owe” them something. Most give their time and energy for a cause because it personally fills a need they have.

I happen to work at a facility for the elderly. We encourage people of all ages to participate in events with the elderly. About 85 percent of the Northern students we have volunteer in order to fulfill a class requirement.

There is one individual (out of about 30 I’m familiar with) who is compassionate to these people—not because he needs to for a class but because he personally benefits from the experience of working with these people.

Getting back to my point, there is always “good” with the “bad”. Perhaps the council is being narrow-minded in their opinions about college students in particular. They may be looking at the problems associated with a big campus.

Maybe the alderman who ruled to have only families in her neighborhood was tired of drunks stumbling home at 2:15 a.m. on the weekends making an incredible amount of noise. I’m not saying only college-aged people stumble home and make noise, as I’m sure a fair amount of “farm kids” do their share.

“There is no happy ending to the story unless the DeKalb City Council wakes up and remembers that students are one of the main reasons this town even exists,” to quote your closing statement.

You may be right, you may be wrong. As a former student at Northern, I find it hard to believe that someone trying to be as educated and omniscient as your column leads you to be, can actually ask a town for what you feel they “owe” you.

If we all worried about who owed who for what, nothing would ever get accomplished, except for raising a generation that is very selfish.

Theresa M. Leibforth

DeKalb resident