Letters
Does the Greek letter chi stand for Chicago?

Pub offers no occasion for pride
This is in response to “By the Numbers” in the April/04 issue, which provided information about the pub in the Ida Noyes Hall basement. When I went to school at the University, Ida Noyes Hall was used to relax, to be at peace, to study, and to enjoy one of the vintage halls typical of a great university. Having a pub there is a sorrowful event. To provide beer and drinking is not a matter of celebration.

I don’t believe that the statistics given are anything to be proud of. The fact that there are 2,500 members is a disgrace to the University, and the fact that there are more than 100 kinds of beer in stock is not an accomplishment. Bear in mind that people who drink beer or liquor do not get better things in life. Drinking leads to drunkenness and alcoholism.

The University of Chicago has been a center of learning, education, and advancement, and having a pub does not contribute to these. I have never seen anyone who gets a better job, publishes a book, or gets a better degree because they drink beer or get drunk. People who drink make a mess of themselves, cause unhappiness, and many times cause death. Statistics show that the majority of teenage deaths in our country, whether caused by vehicle accidents or weapons, are related to drinking. Beer, like wine or other intoxicating liquors, poisons the brain and is not innocent or good.

I am shocked that you published this, and my heart fell to the floor when I saw something so horrible occurring in one of our country’s great universities, which should be a model for our students.

Fernando Ugarte, MD’65
Marysville, Kansas

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