Hello all,
 While I was grading your homework today, I received a letter from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Symbols and Punctuation (SPCSP). The letter complained in no uncertain terms about how several people in Math 126 are abusing the common ‘equals’ sign, while others are neglecting it altogether. They are threatening legal action against me (as the instructor) and Whitman College.  Clearly, the SPCSP wants to establish a legal precedent restricting our fundamental right to use symbols in any way we please. However, despite my repeated entreaties to Ira Glasser, the leader of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and a man who insists on calling me ‘friend’ in his letters to me, the ACLU has refused to take up our case.
 Neither Whitman nor I can risk legal action in this matter at this time. For this reason, although I strongly deplore the SPCSP's politically correct stance in this matter, and find their posturing repugnant, I nevertheless urge you to comply with their ‘request' to treat the equals sign with respect and use it if and only if it is appropriate.
 Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
Mike Wills