Editor:

Recent events involving acts of apparent racism have compelled me to write.

A person of my own namesake - Roberto Martinez - who is not related to me, has taken a necessary step in the ongoing war of racism.

I agree with Martinez's action to press charges against the two admitted perpetrators of hate speech. Racist actions should be punished swiftly and decisively, and I commend Martinez for his courage to be undaunted by yet more racists.

However, we, as members of the student body, must question the leadership of Kappa Sigma fraternity, namely, that of president Scott Jeffrey.

The problems began with the alleged racial slur against the MEChA soccer player.

A true leader would have condemned any racial slur by the organization he represents, whether an allegation be true or not. A simple statement could have, in everyone's mind, helped to alleviate racial tensions between its (the fraternity's) "honest" members and those in MEChA who wanted to seek the truth.

An act of good faith on Jeffrey's part could have gone a long way in trying to sort through the facts, yet his inaction gave rise to a substantiated case of blatant racism.

Who, with any ounce of intelligence, bought the excuse of "wrong number" crank calls?

I can only disagree with Martinez on one point - that his letter of protest last week gave credence to the statement, "Racism is alive and well." The O.J. Simpson trial last year illuminated that fact for the world. The claim should be, "Who's still stupid enough be a racist?"

Robert L. Martinez
creative writing senior