Toilet papering no more wasteful than copies of 'IDS'

I am writing in response to the Oct. 17 staff editorial "Balancing tradition and courtesy." I am amazed that during a time when we are enduring a war on terrorism, an unstable economy and anthrax scares that the IDS staff unanimously felt greeks toilet papering each others' chapters was timely or relevant. Even on a "slow news day," I would have a hard time believing that even the IDS staff would be incapable of addressing more pressing issues.\nWhile the IDS staff was able to understand that this is a tradition, they fail to realize that this isn't as embarrassing as they think. I am sure that many, if not all, of IU's guests and alumni participated in immature pranks such as toilet papering in high school or in college. They probably also realize that college students are here to participate in fun activities such as pairing with another house for homecoming, but that does not necessarily make them "immature."\nIn regards to wasting paper, the IDS, which published about 17,000 copies of the aforementioned staff opinion, which at a little under a half a square foot per article, wasted 7,000 square feet of paper, not to mention the other irrelevant articles written on a daily basis.\nThe greek community does attempt to hold itself to higher standards; that does not mean that we have to eliminate all activities with a perceived environmental downside. Keep in mind that most toilet paper is manufactured to be completely biodegradable in water, and that paper is a renewable resource. No one is perfect. Most likely the members of the greek community, along with the rest of the campus community, will go on doing a few things that are not 100 percent environmentally friendly, even continuing to read the print edition of the IDS.