DU staff deserve “thumb up” for recent succesful activities

Lately, DU has been packed with activities for both students and staff and I have been very fortunate to be able to participate in some of them. The organizers of all of these events have done a wonderful job and I would like to give them all a thumbs up. Of the numerous events, I would like to mention two in particular.I attended the Festival of Nations two weeks ago and the whole afternoon was great. The festival had many tables set up with amazing artifacts, information and food from other countries. The dances, martial arts performances, musical performances, etc., were all wonderful as well. It was great to see so many community members and families at this DU event. Last weekend, I participated in DU Volunteer Day and it was a great opportunity to learn about various community organizations as well as to get those affiliated with DU out into the community. Students, faculty, staff, family members and friends all came to support our involvement and commitment to the community. To all of the organizers, sponsors and participants that have been involved in DU activities throughout the year, good job!

Megan Kralsenior

Strong defense of ASA vigil contained incorrect information

In an article titled “Campus Safety overreacts at recent Arab Vigil at DU” last week in the Clarion, Lys Smith provided a strong defense for the student organization’s right to freedom of expression as well as a critique of the way campus safety mistreated the members of the Arab Student Association(ASA) who organized the Deir Yassin vigil. As a member of ASA, I really appreciate Smith’s defense. However, the article contained a piece of incorrect information. Smith mentioned that the vigil was co-organized by ASA and Hillel. This misperception is probably due to the fact that some members of Hillel distributed handouts during the vigil. Since ASA believes in students’ rights to freedom of expression and that the university is a place for the exchange of ideas, none of its members objected to Hillel distributing these handouts or tried to stop it. We were not informed in advance about Hillel’s plan or about the content of these handouts. This might have caused the confusion and made some of the audience, including Smith, think it was a joint event. This piece of wrong information in no way affects the quality of Smith’s article nor her argument. I appreciate the publication of this clarification.

Bassem HassanASA member