Editor,
In response to Skye Morris' challenge in Tuesday's Daily Lobo, I can think of at least two organizations that do more good for the community that they serve and are the least understood and most hated by those they serve - the Freemasons and the Daily Lobo.
The Freemasons are the world's single largest and most charitable organization. For example, the Masonic Fraternity's combined donations on average in North America alone well surpass $3 million a day.
These charities range from the Shriners Children's Hospital to scholarships for individuals who are just down on their luck.
Despite all this, Freemasons were hunted down by the likes of Hitler and Mussolini. To this day, membership in this fraternity is a capital offense in Saudi Arabia. Historically, the Catholic Church has excommunicated the entire membership. There has even been an anti-Masonic party in the United States that had enough support to run a presidential campaign in a national election.
In the case of the Daily Lobo, such persecution may be less daunting but no less severe. The Daily Lobo is the only source available to the student body for information about events that don't come up in their daily interaction.
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If not for the Daily Lobo, I would not have the opportunity to attend events such as the international fair or know what type of shows are available at any of the theaters on campus. If not for the Daily Lobo, I would not have known what type of legislation is on the ASUNM agenda. If not for the Daily Lobo, I would not know the details of the events that have occurred in the University community around me.
Still, with all these boons to the students that the Daily Lobo provides, the student government still tries to impede the existence and efficiency of the Daily Lobo in providing the student body with a reliable and dependable source of information for their immediate surroundings.
The student government has tried time and time again to discredit the Daily Lobo and have also, in my opinion, very unprofessionally attacked the editor-in-chief of the Daily Lobo.
With all these attacks by student government as well as the consistent drone of discontented people who are not happy with the publishing of a picture or the content of an article, the Daily Lobo still tries to offer an impartial stance.
So tell me Mr. Morris, do the Greek system's challenges even come close to the type of struggle that these two organizations have had to endure?
Jason Chang
UNM student and freemason
