As you know, Tuesday of last week vandals damaged SUVs up and down Langdon Street. Sometime in the middle of the night, a coordinated group of individuals managed to drain the tires of dozens of students’ cars. The act, concurrent with Earth Day celebrations on campus, appears to be politically motivated. As citizens, students, fraternity members and environmentalists, we were disappointed with this act of vandalism. Most of all, we are saddened at your lack of action.

As citizens, we were sickened that some members of our community did not take advantage of their ample free-speech rights and voice their disapproval with SUVs on Earth Day. On that day, more than any other, the voices of these people could have been heard loud and clear in a legal and constructive way.

As students, we were disappointed that many of our fellow classmates were late to their jobs, classes and other commitments. They also incurred financial damages to their property, a burden compounded by increasing tuition costs.

As fraternity members, we were troubled by the fact that we seemed to be singled out for this act of vandalism. Greek members on this campus come from all walks of life and all backgrounds. Some are from other countries. Many more work at jobs in order to cover their tuition, books, and room and board. People in this community have made an effort to stereotype us and see our complaint as needless bantering by a wealthy few. We believe nothing could be further from the truth.

Lastly, as environmentalists who work constructively with groups like Citizens for a Better Environment and the State Environmental Resource Center, we believe this act hurt our cause. The motive of Earth Day is to encourage environmental awareness through educated, vigorous discussion. This act hampered the hard work of many legitimate environmental groups to further important issues. Many on this campus now find it harder to support groups who they feel compelled to hold under suspicion of vandalism. This is tragic.

But nothing disappoints us more than your lack of action. Last week, we contacted your office. Messages were left and forwarded to you. But now, one week later, your constituents suffer, but you remain silent. We want to know why.

It was nice to hear from Ald. King, a student who, like us, disagreed with this act of vandalism. He even took the rather modest step of stating that he prefers other methods of expression. But Austin King is not the alder for the entire Langdon Street Neighborhood; you are. His statement, while considerate, was neither strong nor relevant to us. Were you thinking you could shift your responsibility to us over to him? If that is the case, let us know the next time district maps are redrawn, because we did not get to vote for Austin King.

As an alder, you have worked on some very important topics. On January 21, you voted to give yourself a pay raise. On April 8, you introduced a motion encouraging citizens to dissent with President Bush regarding the war in Iraq. Most recently, you sponsored a resolution to give the Dixie Chicks keys to the city, a bottle of French wine, and a playing of their CDs at Council recesses. You did this because they took your advice by dissenting with President Bush over the war in Iraq.

These may all be important issues. However, we elect fabulous representatives to deal with them. They are Senators Kohl and Feingold, as well as Representative Baldwin, but widespread, politically motivated vandalism in your district is your issue. It deserves more attention than the Dixie Chicks’ politics.

We know that you are an environmentalist; so are we. We have been active in environmental causes for years. But we would hate to think that you are “looking the other way” on this one because you happen to agree with the vandals who committed this crime. We know you are politically liberal; again, so are we. We have both been active in Democratic politics for years, but active political liberalism does not entail vandalism, and you should fight against it. We know you are our alder, but we would hate to think you didn’t want to be.

Paul Temple [email protected] is a junior majoring in political science and philosophy.

Chris Beck [email protected] is a sophomore majoring in political science.