Dear Editor:

Due to the last major snowfall and all of the snow accumulations from past years, I've noticed that the stairs on campus never seem to warrant much clearing. The stairs for most of the dorms are usually shoveled pretty well, but as they are the shortest sets on campus, cause for concern over them is minimal. The staircases to the science building, the library, and the parking lots are a different story. Rarely are these three staircases anything but ramps of snow and ice that one is forced to slide down. On sunnier days the snow gets melted throughout the day but as most classes are in the mornings, Mother Nature doesn't always deliver in time. At night when everything freezes over, the library stairs require certain skill and balance, not unlike that of an Olympic ice skater, in order to navigate ones way to the library or communications building. The parking lot stairs are basically treacherous day or night. Obviously there is no way to make these stairs completely ice-free, but surely something more could be done to make them safer.

Sincerely,
Kate Drummey

Dear Editor:

Why is it that the network never works when you need it to? We pay a technology fee for a network that is slow when it does work and doesn't work half the time, anyways. Jokingly called the "notwork", it is aggravating when you are trying to do research and the Internet crashes and then stays down for two days. The network is used for non-educational purposes, as well. Email and instant messaging have become a major form of communication among students. The absence of this form of communication often causes problems. If we are going to pay a technology fee, perhaps the technology should work.

Shauna Rustici

Dear Editor:

I believe that the mess hall should be open for the same hours on the weekends that it is open during the week. I oftentimes wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings much before 9:30 a.m. because I am hungry. Although I cannot go to get something to eat until that time because the hours are made as to have only two meals during these two days. For college kids who are still growing, this does not seem to be enough. Especially considering that much of the activity that takes place throughout the week seems to be a combined effort over Saturday and late Sunday night. Other schools that cost much less to attend are open very early in the morning all the way to very late at night, seven days a week. Especially at a campus that is so far from just about anything else in the world, including restaurants, it makes it a very difficult task to drive somewhere else just to eat, especially if you do not have a car, or cannot leave as in the case of the freshmen. I know that as far as finance is concerned, as a college student, I don't have enough money to afford to go out to eat every single weekend. I am sure that the same can be said for other students who live on the Norwich campus. I know that the money we pay each semester for food should be able to cover the cost of having three square meals, seven days a week. It is pretty clear that the reason the hours are made in this way is to increase the revenue for the Mill on these days. However, once again, I don't think this is fair for the students who can't afford to fork up cash to get a meal in between 12 and 5.

Kevin Clarkson

I wanted to write to thank all the students who turned out for the meeting with the President and Commandant in Cabot 085 at 1900 on Monday, 26 January 2004. We had such a great turnout because of some posters that were placed around campus that were incorrect by giving the impression that the University was changing its seal. I want to make it perfectly clear that the University seal was established at the founding of our school. We spent over a year researching, with the good work of Dr. Gary Lord, what our real motto is, which is "I Will Try", and the trustees have affirmed that. More importantly, the University seal has always been on Norwich diplomas, some of which I have in my office that are actually signed by our own Captain Partridge.

What the students were reacting to was a treatment used in some of the new recruiting materials. Some of them felt that it did not "represent" the military aspects of the University. Simply put, it is not supposed to. It is supposed to be a grabber and to catch the attention of 16 year olds to open our recruiting materials. This new treatment has been thoroughly researched and tested on our 16 and 17 year old potential applicants. Some of our present students may not like the colors, some may not like the symbology. The issue is, does it work? Our research shows that it will.

When the Army changed from the slogan "Be All You Can Be" to the new slogan "An Army of One" most everyone in the Army hated it. The Army was standing on good research, however, and the criticism that was leveled at the Chief of Staff of the Army for about two years, has absolutely died out because it is working. The treatment that is now used on some of our literature has been thoroughly tested and researched. It is to grab their attention. It is not intended to capture the essence of Norwich. I do not believe that can be done in a single treatment with the exception of our seal, which stays as it is.

I have asked Dean Karen McGrath to host a meeting of the officers of the Maroon and Gold Key, the Regimental Recruiting Officers, and members of the Student Senate to discuss how we came upon making the decision based on the focus groups done two years ago by the STAMATS group, as well as research done on students who did not know anything about Norwich previously. The seal of Norwich University remains the same, as does the Regimental Crest. Those symbols are not changing.

Every year, the snow comes to Norwich and with it comes the cold and ice. Every year, students complain that the snow isn't removed fast enough, that it is hard to get where they want to go because the stairs are iced over. Almost always, these same students use the next breath they have to complain that Facilities woke them up 20 minutes early chipping ice outside their window.

It may take cleats to get down the stairs to Kreitzberg Arena, or figure skating lessons to navigate down the hill to Harmon Hall when everything ices over. It may even take an act of nature to get out of the student parking lot, but it is Vermont, and it is winter. No amount of shoveling or de-icing is going to fix this.

We now have blue lights on campus; we have a new set of stairs leading to Shapiro Field house so that no one has to slide down the hill. The student parking lot has been kept in much better condition this year, reducing accidents. Staircases all over campus have been repaired and filled in or rebuilt. Only so much can be done at a time. If students want each and every stair clear, they should ask themselves if they are ready to be kept up while Facilities is out all night clearing them, or if they would like to give up the parking lot maintenance to hire more personnel to shovel.

The entire issue is a give and take. And let us all remember, it is winter in Vermont, and we are students at Norwich. No matter how much is done we will still find the last bit of ice to slip on.