This is a response to a letter by Mr. Sloan, Ms. Davenport, and Mr. Higgins, on October 6th. I am a white male Protestant, and I am proud of my heritage. I am proud of a father wo bought shoes for school wit money earned picking cotton, who didn’t finish high school but now has a B.S. in biology, put me through school and saved enough to be able to retire early.

I am proud of my Swedish great-grandfather who, with a high school education, rose to be secretary-treasurer of the Seaman’s Union (I don’t recall te official name of the Union) and was offered the office of Secretary of Labor.

I am proud of my grandmother who was a labor rep. and was a founding board member of te AFSCME prepaid medical center in Chicago.

I am also proud of my mother, grandfather and many other relatives.

I am also some-what peversely proud of being Norwegian and thus a decendent of the Vikings and Leif Erikson.

I am proud to be an American.

I am embarrassed but not surprised by the attitudes and comments of Sloan et al.

Sloan and company seem to have a problem with cultural plurality and seem paranoid about racially castrated (whatever that means).

I am also embarrassed to say that my only source of information about last week is the reporting by the Northern Star, but from that reporting, I didn’t get the impression anybody wanted us to apologize for being white or wanted to strip us of our cultural identity. The point of last weeks activities was to make people aware of, and educate them about, the diverse cultures their fellow students come from, it was also to make them aware of the racism that still exists.

It is only through education that the cultural plurality that already exists on this campus will be able to exist in peace.

I hope that “Unity through Diversity Week” becomes an annual affair. I hope that in the future the Campus Republicans participants, and that those of European descent also participate. For that matter I didn’t hear anything from our African community (some banana beer might boost attendance).

So, Mr. Sloan, Ms. Davenport and Mr. Higgins, I hope in the future you will relax, enjoy educational opportunities that come your way, and by all means, be proud.

.I. Morphis

graduate student

physics