PETITION TO THE UNIVERSITY FOR PRESERVING PROMONTORY POINT

The following email has been circulating among University of Chicago students:

Dear Fellow Student,

As you may be aware, Promontory Point as we know and love it is in great danger of being destroyed by the City of Chicago. The Park District's plan to replace the natural limestone blocks with concrete and steel, to restrict water access, and to close the Point for up to two years has been temporarily blocked by a coalition of concerned community members. Nevertheless, the City is anxious to push through its $16m plan, despite the findings of an independent engineering report which suggest that restoring the Point's unique design and structure is not only feasible but also highly cost-effective.

Surprisingly, the University of Chicago has yet to take a stand on preserving this popular and beloved neighborhood treasure. This despite the fact that the Point is featured in promotional brochures the University sends out to prospective students. Several local newspapers have criticized this silence on the University's part, noting that, "the university's refusal to get involved in the Point battle reveals its priorities," (Hyde Park Herald Jan.1 2003) and that the University, "has a responsibility to participate in this dialogue and express its opinion," (Chicago Weekly-News, Jan. 9, 2003).

We are asking you to join us in urging the University, as an important and influential member of the community, to speak out against the City's plan in support of preserving the Point. If you wish to help we ask the following:

1) Please sign the petition found at the end of this message by sending a BLANK email to the following address. Please type your full name in the subject line: uofc_student_petition@savethepoint.org

2) Please forward this email to FIVE other University of Chicago students in departments or professional schools different from your own, if possible.

We also strongly encourage you to send letters directly to President Don Randel and Hank Webber (Vice President for Community Affairs). You may compose your own email or insert the text of the petition below into an email addressed to drandel@uchicago.edu and hwebber@uchicago.edu.

Visit the Task Force website www.savethepoint.org if you would like to view the petition's progress, obtain more information about the "Save the Point" campaign, or if you would like to help in other ways.

Please help us enlist the University's support in fighting the political machinery that threatens Promontory Point. We won't know what we've lost until it's already gone.

Sincerely,

Talya Salant
History of Culture & Pritzker
School of Medicine

PETITION TO THE UNIVERSITY FOR PRESERVING PROMONTORY POINT:

To President Randel and Mr. Webber,

As students of the University of Chicago, we value the welfare of the community in which we live and the well-being provided to us by Promontory Point. Therefore, we condemn efforts by the City to destroy the unique character of the Point by replacing the limestone revetment with concrete and steel. According to the results of an independent engineering study, preservation of the Point is both feasible and affordable. Thus, we collectively urge you, the University, as a valued member of the community to support our efforts to preserve the Point and its significance to Hyde Park and Chicago by challenging the City's plan.

Thank you,

Talya Salant
Dr. Roderick Coover
Mark Stephen James
Lubov Romantseva
Joyce Wing-Yi Tang
Kellee Gooden
Ruth Judith Chojnacki
Meredith Fishbane
Sam Seiden
Seth Krupp
Rachael Meadows
Leah Corinne Schulte
Ashish Bhimani
Ethel Derby Weld
Bryan Kono
Catherine Walsh
Gideon Gradman
Rose Kontak
Erin C. Atkinson
Evan Howell Sharp
Precious Johnson
Anne Ciechanowski
Isaac Marx
Aaron Midler
Christine Romano
M. Kosnik
Praxia Apostle
Carolyn Elizabeth Kelly
Alison Shefte
Michael Norbeck
Katie Tenzer
Amanda Comi
Brian Koss
Natalie Brown
Simonne Longerich
Kyrie M. Felio
Leo D. Wang
Jeff Knight
Priya Narasimhan
Jonathan Berliner
Katherine E Parsons
Allison Kean
Jonathan Enfield
Phua Wei Liang Allan
Emily Rena-Dozier
Rosie L. Banks
Andrew Wayne Puckett 
Kimberly Tamosaitis
Martha L. Bohrer
Susan Hanrahan
Adam Jernigan
Elizabeth Jane Bastiaans
Eric Mendelsohn (Class of 1994)
Christie Purifoy
Amy Cecilia Sanders
Aalok Kacha 
Carmen Ochoa
Mara Werner
Leah Fosco
Maricille Bertrand
Amber Taylor
Rachel Fuchs 
Theodore L. Steck, M.D.
Sarah Wernimont
Julia Brookins
Regina-Celeste Ahmad 
Victoria L. Robinson 
Alberto Varon
Marisa Lynn Mejia 
Paki A Reid-Brossard 
Jessica Alexander 
Alice Brown
Kathleen Rose Meil
Caroline Buddenhagen
Andrea Cure
Christopher Constantine Miller
Ashley Vanessa Mehler-Clark
Gregory A. Thompson 
Ong Ve' Paul
Zack Seward 
Brian Ashby
Ana Ines Rocca
Ilana R. Emmett
Amy Steelman
Laura Lutz 
Cassandra Guildermann-Phillipps
David Philip Maher
Aaron P. Turkewitz