Re: “Woolsey on ‘wish list’” (March 25):

President Levin says the acoustics of Woolsey Hall need an update. I appreciate the sentiment, but let’s tell the truth: NOTHING sounds good in Woolsey except the Newberry Memorial Organ. Acoustically, the hall is a joke. I wouldn’t spend a dime on it; I would build a real concert hall.

How is it possible that not a single world-class performing arts space exists on this entire campus? Morse has good acoustics, but no creature comforts to speak of; the Yale Repertory Theatre is an old church; the University Theatre is, let’s be honest, a dump.

Colleges and universities across the country have built great new halls for the arts — why not Yale? Notre Dame has the Debartolo Performing Arts Center. Bard College, with a total enrollment of under 3,000 (1,800 undergraduates), and an endowment under $300 million has the spectacular Frank Gehry-designed Fisher Center. Even Wesleyan University up the road in Middletown has better facilities for the arts.

In this economic climate I know nothing will happen soon, but please, no more talk of an “update.” Let’s stop paying lip-service to the arts at Yale and build some decent stages and halls.

Walter Foery

March 25

The writer is a senior administrative assistant at the Yale College Writing Center.