Deconstructing popular culture is not a license to defame.

The University of Chicago's decision to convene a conference extolling the degenerate stereotypes of "Jersey Shore" is a far cry from Enrico Fermi's attainment of the world's first controlled nuclear chain reaction in a squash court under Stagg Field.

Scholarship that expands the boundaries of the arts and sciences is the sine qua non of higher learning. But "Guido" and "Guidette" are no Romeo and Juliet.

Indeed, the UChicago Conference on Jersey Shore Studies promotes ethnic intolerance and makes a mockery of education. Academia should be made of sterner stuff.

ROSARIO A. IACONIS
Chairman
Mineola, N.Y., Nov. 1, 2011