Stop hyping Free Expression Tunnel incidentI was just as dismayed as you were by the ignorant things that were written in the Free Expression tunnel a week ago — however, I took it as just that ignorant statements written by people who wanted a big reaction from the University. Guess what, N.C. State — those people got exactly what they wanted. Do you really think that these four people were going to harm President-elect  Barack Obama? Not likely. I think that had you simply said that you do not condone what was said and moved on then we would all be in a much better place now. Instead you decided to drag the process out, have a unity rally, let the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People get involved and have forum to help us ‘deal’ with what was scrawled on the wall of our Free Expression tunnel.People keep saying that they are ashamed to be white or a student here and that everyone will now think that we are a bunch of white, racist scumbags.Guess what — you let that happen. You let those labels get slapped on yourself. I will not be lured into the ridiculous fallout of this lame situation. I am still proud to be white, still proud to be an NCSU student and will still proclaim this to be a fine institution of higher education, you can do whatever you like to further tarnish your image.I suggest that, like I have done, you drop the situation and move on.Andy Lanierjunior, aerospace engineeringDon’t let four perpetrators walk freeImagine a legal system where criminals, from the first-time shoplifter to the serial killer with 10 murders under his belt, just got a good talking-to and then were sent happily on their way. Imagine the chaos that would ensue from such “punishment.” Some people seem to believe the four perpetrators of the racist remarks on the Free Expression Tunnel shouldn’t be punished for their crime. Do we really want N.C. State to be seen as the University that let four hate-mongers go free? Just think about it.As for Obama, I’m tired of everyone nitpicking at his race. Yes, he’s half-Kenyan, half-white. Yet, if one looks at him, you see that he is black. He has assimilated into black culture. The “1/8th rule” might be gone from the legislature, but it has not disappeared from our minds. People insist that the “one drop rule” doesn’t count anymore. That it’s “offensive” to label him as such.Sorry, but when did being labeled a “mutt” become better than being labeled “black?”Asia Murphyfreshman, wildlife sciencesPunish students responsible for racial slursLet me get this straight: Paul Cousins and the Office of Student Conduct need to look at the Code of Student Conduct to see if there was any wrongdoing or cause for expulsion concerning the recent events in the Free Expresson Tunnel? Are you kidding me? From what I’ve observed so far, the University has seemed to be more concerned with being slapped with a First Amendment-based lawsuit than taking into account just how wrong the actions by these four students were. Mr. Cousins, it does not matter whether or not they broke any rule of the Code of Student Conduct. If there is no rule addressing hate speech, and there was none that I could find, then one should be made. There is no reason these students should be allowed to stay at this University. I know there are thousands of students who are just as academically qualified and who wouldn’t go about attempting to instill fear and hatred in this campus who would love to be a part of this University. It’s time four of those students be admitted.Charlie Burnettsophomore, First Year CollegeVegetarian food can help make dining sustainableI have a recommendation for University Dining in their quest to become sustainable: serve more vegetarian food. There is reasonable evidence to suggest that current meat consumption is unsustainable. Consider pollution and green house gases. According to a 2006 United Nations report, “the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes and ships in the world combined. Those 1.5 billion cows and 2 billion pigs release a lot of methane and nitrous oxide, which cause more warming that CO2.Livestock are also the number one cause of land degradation, and they consume a substantial percentage of the world grain supply. Furthermore, livestock production is a massive consumer of water, and as North Carolinians are aware, a factory farm sewage spill can devastate a river. If something causes cancer in humans, it is probably bad for the environment. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, red meat does just that. Granted, maybe it’s the preservatives, growth hormones or the filthy factory farm conditions. Still, the AICR recommends no more than 18 ounces per week and zero ounces of processed meat and suggests eating fish or poultry instead. But then the BBC has reported that the ocean fish stocks will be gone in 50 years — Americans eat six times as much meat today as they did in the sixties. If we ate less meat, we could raise our glasses to the planet’s and our health.Jesse Hendersongraduate student, mechanical engineering