To the Editor:
Coming from the perspective of someone who is neither a member of the Judo Club nor a Union official but is somewhat familiar with the situation, let me say this. It seems that this entire situation is one big case of miscommunication. The club decided to switch organizations and without realizing that, the Union made some false assumptions that led them to decide not to rehire the Judo Club’s instructor.
Now, why can’t they both call this a case of misunderstanding, rehire the instructor, and make an attempt to improve communication in the future? From what I can tell the reason (if you can call it that) is Mr. Smith’s: “a growing animosity between student club members and the Rensselaer Union.” Does this make sense to anyone? How is not hiring an instructor for them going to improve the Union’s relationship with the Judo Club? And where is any sort of evidence that D’ Alessio is the cause of this animosity? I certainly can’t see any. Far more likely in my mind is the probability that the reason the Judo Club members are upset is not some sort of brainwashing by their instructor to hate the Union—which wouldn’t make any sense anyway since the Union pays the bills—but rather, the Union’s actions (or lack thereof) in this matter. It seems that the Union expects its clubs to live up to far higher standards than it keeps for itself. How could the Judo Club have been expected to communicate better or not become upset when that’s exactly what the Union did? There’s a word for that: hypocrisy. The continued decision to not rehire D’Alessio seems far more like an effort by the Union to save face than a conscious decision of what is best for RPI, the Rensselaer Union, and the Judo Club.
Robert Otlowski
CSCI ’06
