Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004
PERSPECTIVES | 11
www.theloquitur.com
Letters to the editor Voice your opinion I am a little troubled by disparaging comments recently made by some faculty to students because of their personal political preferences. Some students have come to me highly upset because they fear retribution in their grades for speaking up about what they believe or who their voting choice will be this November. I would certainly hope that, in an institution such as Cabrini that promotes tolerance and diversity, this concern of mine would be unfounded. However, in the midst of such a politically charged season, I can imagine that political passion can sometimes override common sense and appropriate behavior. It is very important that students feel comfortable talking to their professors, expressing concerns and asking ques-
tions, especially about the world in which they live. It is also important that students not feel afraid to do so. Faculty members have many more years experience on this planet than the students do, and they have the valuable opportunity to encourage independent thought and research. However, I do not feel that it is the faculty’s job to push their personal political preferences onto the students. Recently, some students have tried to engage me in conversations about politics. I typically handle this type of situation by listening more than talking, and asking the students questions about why they feel the way that they do on many current events and hot topics. I rarely divulge my personal stances on issues because I do not feel that it is my place to do so. If asked directly though, I will answer, including an
explanation of how I arrived at my decision. This is always discussed in a calm, respectful manner and I have never once made a student feel uncomfortable because of what they believe, nor have I ever discouraged any student from voting for their candidate of choice. Unfortunately, I have heard that the same approach is not used by a number of other members of our community. I would certainly hope that this is merely hearsay and not true. Lastly, I would like to encourage any and all members of the Cabrini community to join in WYBF’s studenthosted talk forum, “The Bridge” on Wednesday evenings from 6pm to 8pm. Cabrini students Alaina Robinson and Chris Friel and discussion range from college issues and information to current events and politics host this show. The show makes a
Friendship and its importance JENNA NASH STAFF WRITER
JLN722@CA BRINI.EDU
To me, and probably many of you, friendship is the most important thing in my life, after my family. Besides my friends here at school, I have my “crew” back home. I consider these girls to be a significant part of my life. I go to them with my problems, we laugh together and cry together. We even finish each other’s sentences. As with all things in life, nothing is perfect. Friends fight. Last weekend, our group was divided after one of the biggest fights ever. (And all over a guy, too, but that’s not important here.) For several days, I was angry, and then, filled with dread. Could it be that our crew was done? I mean, Melissa was on my side and she was still mad,
too. But had I lost two of my best friends forever? I was returning to school after that weekend, actually two minutes away from the entrance to Cabrini, when I got a phone call from my roommate. One of our friends, a Cabrini student who lived off campus, had passed away that morning. After I got over the initial shock that such a young and charismatic person, not to mention my friend, was gone, my thoughts shifted. Have you ever had a moment when everything just became clear to you? You ask yourself why you didn’t see it before. My moment of clarity was this: my friends are important to me. One fight, no matter how awful, cannot end our friendship. Life is too short to hold grudges against people you care about, no matter how angry you are. I had to be the one to reach out because I knew no one else would. It was pretty damaging to my ego to have to do that, but I
knew I would get over it. I made the effort and sent a text message to my friend Meghan. I wasn’t apologizing, but I needed to tell her that our friendship was important to me, whether we were speaking or not. Our phone conversation several days later was long. We talked about our fight, about our friendship, about how anything could happen at anytime and we don’t have control over life. Everything isn’t great again yet, but it’s a start. I just can’t believe that it took my friend’s death for me to realize how valuable life, and friendship, is. So maybe this whole thing sounds cheesy. I don’t mean it to be. I’m not a cheesy person. But I am human. I don’t expect people to run out and apologize to their friends or anything because they read this article. All I know is how significant this whole experience has been for me.
Remember to register by Oct. 4
great effort to represent as many different views as possible, so all opinions and viewpoints are welcome. If you are interested in joining our hosts on “The Bridge,” contact me at kmazzeo@cabrini.edu or go to our website at www.wybf.com. Krista Mazzeo
Make a difference Historically, young people have the worst voter turnout in the nation. In 2000, only half of you had registered, and only a third of you who registered bothered to vote. According to US Census Data, you represent about 13% of potential voters, yet you seem satisfied accepting only 4.5% of the voting clout. Perhaps an appeal to selfinterest will impress upon you the importance of voting. At this very moment there are twin bills
in Congress, S.89 and H.R.163, which if passed, will reinstitute the draft. The bills, currently in committee, would require mandatory 2 year service “in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security,” of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 26. There will be no college deferments. If the US continues its current program, you will be spending junior year abroad catching bullets in Baghdad. You DO have a say in this. All you need to do is register, vote, and get your friends and family to vote. Daryl Altman Rob Shepard Lynbrook NY 11563
Afghanistan: War or Hatred CHRISTOPHER ROGERS STAFF WRITER CLR723@CAB RINI.EDU According to a military charge sheet, sergeant James P. Boland, a reserve military police soldier, witnessed the beating of an Afghan prisoner. The alleged victim was identified as Mullah Habibullah, brother of a former Taliban commander. In addition to the severity of such actions, the report concluded that such techniques of aggravated assault have commonly occurred over the course of the war. For instance, Boland was to blame for the beating of a 22-year-old detainee back in 2002. The victim, who, according to his parents never spent the night away from home, was brought to the American air base at Bagram. There, he was chained by the hands and denied any kind of medical attention. Both Habibullah and Bagram succumbed within a week of each other. As a result to such malpractice, Sergeant Boland was charged for his actions, along with two dozen other American soldiers. The charges included both aggravated assault and negligent homicide. “The army has charged sergeant Boland with assault and other crimes and investigators are recommending that two dozen other American soldiers face criminal charges, including negligent homicide.” The charges arose questions as to who authorized such meas-
ures against Afghan detainees. When confronted by investigators, American officials reported that the deaths listed above where synonym to natural occurrences. Further research was conducted, revealing much contradiction during the course of an interview with General McNeill in 2003. He admitted that both deaths were caused by beatings, when back in 2002, he had failed to reveal such information. With this said, the press turned to the Pentagon that allegedly declared that such measures of conduct where not at Bagram. permitted Nevertheless, a classified portion of an army report showed that such techniques were allowed to take place in areas no other than Guantanamo, Cuba. “A classified portion of an army report into the Abu Grhaib scandal, recently obtained by the New York Times, shows that on Dec. 2, 2002, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld had approved such methods for use only at the American detention center at Guantanamo, Cuba.” Such methods, so gently stated in the report, included techniques such as “removal of clothing, isolating people for long periods of time, use of stress positions, exploiting fear of dogs, and sleep and light deprivation.” Although the reasons as to who allowed such torturous practices to make way into Afghanistan is still unclear, it must first be reported as to why such information is being kept secret.