To the Editor:
The cannon's existence is based entirely on the good will of students. Painting on school property would be vandalism anywhere else, but it's tradition on the cannon because students and administrators understand the process, and they respect it. The cannon represents our history, our passions, and an era long gone. In the PC age of culture clashes and self-esteem, such a bastion of freedom of speech is out of date and a liability.
Eventually, the administration will restrict painting the cannon, it already has. They will say that the cannon caused too many problems, and it already has. But the
cannon represents all that is great about Tufts, especially our liberal spirit. And I am not in a hurry to see that disappear. So for the sake of all jumbos, past, present, and future, students should realize that the cannon is there for them, not for their politics, or their pranks, or their fights. I am not saying that "play nicely" should be adopted an official rule, but then there was time when only painting the cannon at night and guarding it until
dawn was not an official rule either.
Matthew Kane, LA '03
The writer is studying in Brussels, Belgium during the fall semester.
