I have taken 40 classes at Syracuse University. I have had 40 different mispronunciations of my name. I have taken it in stride and let blatantly racist comments made by professors go by the wayside. An example is a professor gettin to my name on the attendance sheet, making no attempt to call it out, looking around the room and finding the nearest minority to whom the name may belong and proclaiming ‘this must be you.’

Yesterday’s article by Pete Iorizzo was a joke. In the first sentence of the first paragraph he managed to desecrate the name of one of the most prominent civil rights leaders in history followed by butchering the name of a famous actress. Gandhi is not spelled in the manner which Americans annunciate his name (Ghandi). The same applies for Halle Barry (Berry). A simple Microsoft spell check would at least have corrected the Gandhi error in the lede of your story. This would have gotten you an F in a freshman news writing class and a swift kick in the ass by a Newhouse professor.

Is it too much to ask for a little name sensitivity on this campus? Next time someone tells you a name that you cannot pronounce, ask him/her how to say it or what he/she prefers. Do not immediately shorten their name to something that suits you. Next time you see a professor do this in class, call him/her out on it. That is the only way for some progress. Next person to come up with their version of my name is going to get the same back but mine is going to be packed with four years of frustration

Sachin Gadh (not Ghad)Class of 2003