To the editors:

I thought it might be useful for readers to know that blue light phones neither fell from heaven nor sprouted up as a result of magically improved town-gown relations, as the editorial, “Progress on Safety,” implied (Sept. 15).  

Amazingly, while The Crimson Staff extols the University and the City for cooperating to bring blue light phones to Cambridge Common, it completely fails to note that both parties were staunchly opposed to the phones a mere six months ago; that is, until the Undergraduate Council, which is not mentioned once, began lobbying for the phones.  Between meeting with Mayor Sullivan, stubbornly pushing the issue in Safety Committee meetings, engaging the Boston Globe, and threatening to start a letter writing campaign with local neighbors—all of which was publicly done—this is a clear example of initiative, hard work, and results on the part of the Undergraduate Council.  

MATTHEW W. MAHAN ’05

September 16, 2004

The writer is president of the Undergraduate Council.