Dear Editor,
Frankly, I found Ms. Spilman’s letter (April 7) inane and silly. I take it that the “true gentlemen” recognize themselves as part of the community that they serve. One aspect of being part of community is accountability to that community, so it is a strange thing to say that their excess trash or recycling behavior (or lack thereof) is only their business just as it would be silly to say that their service to the community is only their affair. As members of a community, one is rightly subject to the praise and censure of that group collectively or any individual within that group.
SAE’s reputation should depend on the behavior of the men in the fraternity, positive and negative behaviors. I think that they should indeed recycle and should not litter the street with trash, if that is indeed what they did. Whatever the case, the trash does not nullify their community service. I don’t think anyone is claiming or implying that. However, conversely, that community service does not erase the negative things that the men might do.
This whole hullabaloo over the excess SAE trash is another sort of excess trash. It’s worse than the scarcity of letters the East Tennessean was dealing with before. Ad homonyms and irrelevance have abounded. This is not positive or progressive.
I challenge SAE and its supporters quite simply: “gentleman – a man whose conduct conforms to a high standard of propriety or correct behavior” www.m-w.com/dictionary/gentleman.
I think they can live up to this; I know some gentlemen that already do.
-Charles Jones

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