Sir, - In writing as he does about the Irish signs in the Union at Queen's Mr O'Gormain is being either mischievous or naive. He knows as well as I do that the Irish language signs in the Students' Union served exactly the same purpose as the pictures of King Billy used to in the shipyard workshops - that is, to show who was in control and who was welcome. They were deliberately provocative and sectarian.One of my daughters completed her degree, participating fully in the life of the university, without setting foot in the union building; it was alien territory. My son didn't even consider Queen's. A major factor in his decision was the overt Republican control of the union. Like a high proportion of the non-Catholic community, he chose university in Scotland.Parity of esteem, in my understanding, consists of trying to minimise offence to the other tradition, particularly where both mix. The Queen's signs were no different, in principle, from a provocative Orange march, except that they were there for 12 months rather than one day. - Yours, etc.,ALEC WILLIAMS,Ballycarry,Co Antrim.