LETTERS
DePauw M A G A Z I N E
Spring 2021
IN THIS ISSUE: Alums tell how they do all sorts of things / DePauw and Greencastle seek more than their common ground / DePauw’s contribution to conquering COVID-19 / and more
The How-To Issue
TO THE EDITOR: Congratulations on a most engaging edition of the DePauw Magazine. It was a great read cover-to-cover and blended both uplifting and thoughtprovoking stories. From the opening on the question about God and the pandemic, to the article about Dr. White’s bookshelf and the many “how to” stories, the issue reinforces the value of our time at DePauw. The issue’s common themes of looking internally for both inspiration and happiness, the need to think critically about the human condition and our collective triumphs and challenges as a society are the core principles received from the DePauw experience. I look forward to future issues of the magazine that are equally thought-provoking. – Scott Russell ’78 The spring issue is over the top! You outdid yourselves. What a great theme and it was delightful to read about town/gown. – Laurie Hamilton ’58
4 I DEPAUW MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021
Spectacular issue … I have read many issues of the DePauw Magazine … This latest is by far the most interesting. (There is) one omission in the article that talks about the town/ gown relationship in Greencastle being tighter than usual. I give ex-president Brian Casey credit for starting this in a big way. – Richard Patterson ’61 It was my honor and privilege to … give a presentation titled “Manda’s Story” to the DePauw community via Zoom from the Bottoms building Feb. 25. My narration detailed the enslavement of my daughter’s brain by her addiction to heroin and her subsequent death from it on March 30, 2002. … So it was with dismay while perusing the DePauw Magazine, spring 2021, I read your article, “How to sell pot (legally).” ... There is a very dark side to marijuana ... To be truly educated about marijuana, I highly recommend this website: learnaboutsam.org. Marijuana is often one of the stepping stones to heroin (as it was for Manda) and other life-threatening drugs. – Mann Spitler III ’70 I usually just scan the DePauw magazine and recycle it. However, this time, I went through the entire magazine and read the stories … I was so impressed with each one of these. I wanted to thank you for your efforts to make this edition one of the best. – Dorothy Taylor ’76
I recently read your article “How to sell pot (legally)” and am writing to express the many concerns and frustrations I have with the article and the university’s PR team. First and foremost, the article reeks of privilege as it celebrates an elite white businessman’s participation in the ongoing racist history around the war on drugs, and especially cannabis. To write an article like this without mentioning that white people make up 80-90% of the $10 billion (and exponentially growing) industry while Black and brown people are disproportionately still criminalized for simply possessing weed despite legalization, is not only irresponsible, but also violent as it participates in and upholds this ongoing racist history around weed. Moreover, if the university’s PR team uses cannabis stories to promote the university, the PR team has a special responsibility in ensuring that weed is decriminalized on campus, that all weed-related student conduct citations are thrown out and that university resources are being poured into the Black and brown communities that have been the most affected by the war on drugs. – Hyeree Ellis ’18 Editor’s note: Similar letters were sent by Rebecca Conley ’17, Emily Fox ’18, Rachel Hanebutt ’15, Mike Littau ’18, Annalysse Mason ’17, Eleanor Price ’17, Ellen Tinder ’17 and Lauren Wigton ’16.
