Just as athletic feats or prestigious academic awards strengthen the image of a university, so do accomplishments such as Whitfield’s. The fact that any employee of the University was even considered by President Clinton and other legislators for such a high-ranking post is a positive reflection on both SIU and Whitfield.

Adding to the already laudable accomplishment is the history Whitfield will be making if she receives the judge-ship. Whitfield would be the first female African-American judge in the Southern District of Illinois.

Members of the Law school, siu admini- strators and the entire student body should appreciate the importance of what Whitfield has already accomplished for the University and should also stand in support of her as her final appointment prospects are placed before Capitol Hill. After all, it is the accomplishments of people like Whitfield that give universities the prestige and image that alumni of higher education institutions carry with them throughout their lives.

a strong stand of the sort that seems to normally be lacking among students at SIUC was taken Thursday in the Free Forum area by students protesting the Republicans’ Contract with America. Such an organized rally to create a forum for student views to be heard, whe-ther one agrees with the Contract or not, was a healthy event for the campus. Such rallies can and should be orchestrated for the future venting of students’ ideas and criticisms.

students and apathy are two words which are commonly used together in society and in countless DE editorials. Members of the National Organization for Women, Friends for Native Americans and other organizations as well as individual students who participated in the rally are to be commended for addressing their concerns in an active man-ner. Not only was a forum created for all interested students to participate in, but the rally also bred the presentation of opposing viewpoints; the SIUC College Republicans, a group in favor of the Contract, handed out fliers on Thursday, offering their support for the plan.

we can only hope that such thought- inducing forums will contagiously become the rule rather than the exception at SIUC and campuses across the nation. Students should all remember that if they do not speak up, they cannot be heard. And if they are not heard, other groups will not consider them a force to be reckoned with and will continue to sidestep their interests.