Column a good reminder that military exists to serve

I appreciate the courage of Todd Arena and Jonathan Hustad in their Thursday guest commentary, "Public, not soldiers, must decide necessity of war." They remind us that the military, as a branch of our government, exists to provide a service to the American people. It is our responsibility as Americans to help our leaders choose when to use the military. It is also our responsibility to criticize our leaders when they make poor choices endangering the lives of our soldiers and those who will be killed by our bombs unnecessarily. It should not surprise anyone to hear these words from two men serving our country now.

They have indeed sacrificed much to serve our country and protect the rights and freedoms guaranteed to us all by our constitution. If we sacrifice these rights and freedoms by blindly following our leaders, shielding our eyes from the horrors of this war, and do nothing as our government continues to take away our rights in the name of security, then what is the point of sending soldiers to sacrifice their lives? It is not solely the responsibility of soldiers to defend our freedoms. As citizens, we too must fight to defend our rights and protect our freedoms, even when our leaders are waging war.

Carrie Brown
Near Eastern studies graduate student

Comic uses bad taste with approaching holiday

I, like many people, have often turned to the back page of the Daily Wildcat and sighed at the lack of humor and originality in the comics found there.

However, I have never been prompted to say anything about them, until today.

Thursday's edition of the Daily Wildcat found one comic, the wonderfully titled "Blueballs", depicting Jesus on his journey carrying the cross. Well, I can't say depicting, more like demeaning and ridiculing ÷ and this with Good Friday tomorrow. While comics in the past have ridiculed the Christian faith with astonishing regularity, I, perhaps wrongly, have looked past it.

However, on the eve of one of the most important holidays of the Christian faith, I cannot ignore this blatant attack upon the faith that so many hold dear. When would you ever see someone making Islamic jokes on the eve of Ramadan, or demeaning the menorah at Hannakuh? You would never see that ÷ there would be too big an uproar. Christians deserve the same kind of intolerance of this bigotry. Therefore I cannot ignore that the authors of "Blueballs" have made a terrible error on the eve of an important Christian holiday, and must be taken to task. When did it become status quo to insult Christians?

Lauren Stevenson
history junior

Americans need to realize obligation to be informed

If you have not read Thursday's guest commentary, you should do so as soon as possible. In it, two U.S. soldiers (one a UA alumnus and another a UA student called away for duty) outline principles of democratic accountability and explain the duty of the American citizenry to its brothers and sisters in the military. Mr. Arena and Mr. Hustad hold us all in high esteem and demand that we do not abdicate our "powers of thought and decision."

At a time when the majority of Americans learn their geography based on what countries America is in conflict with, we have a specific obligation to become more informed. It is natural to seek out opinions that you agree with, but to do so is failing in your debt to those that sacrifice so much to protect us. At the same time, only investigating the most radical elements of opposing views will only get you into communist-fascist shouting matches similar to those that Steve Campbell and the Arizona Peace Refuge find themselves trapped in. This has not been productive.

Instead, you must seek out reasonable alternatives to American media. If you get your information from cable TV, I am sorry to say that you have surrendered your ability to make informed decisions on pretty much anything. The American media has unfortunately failed in its essential role in this democracy.

Mr. Arena and Mr. Hustad demonstrate the ability to think of the long term rather than the myopic short term. They realize that questioning this war is not unpatriotic. On the contrary, it is essential if America is to mean anything. Support the troops now by not ignoring the challenge presented to you by these two guardians of your freedom.

Paul Snodgrass
history senior

American public didn't get to vote on going to war

The guest commentary on Thursday regarding the "necessity of war" was a very neutral and idyllic screed, but it overlooked one debilitating fact: the American public did not have the opportunity to vote for a war in Iraq. All that nonsense rhetoric fell to pieces when they failed to recognize that not even the U.N. Security Council could stop the juggernaut of the U.S. military. It will have its way, and it does so by not giving dissenters the chance to voice their opinion in a national vote. The invasion of Iraq will set no precedents that haven't already been set in Vietnam, Cuba, or Nicaragua, so please go elsewhere with your tired dictums like "These consequences may ultimately damage the long-term interests of the US by antagonizing the world community."

I don't have enough money or leverage to buy senators, and the protesters already made their futile attempts, so please, give us an opinion and not a bunch of garbage about the graveness of our responsibility. Most of the "international progress" that has been made (largely by Western nations) has come at the expense of weaker nations. The majority of this country didn't even vote for Bush, and if you think they "rely on us" any day except Super Tuesday, then it's time for you to GRO some political science courses.

Brooks Kary
agricultural economics sophomore

Soldiers in commentary show courage, patriotism

This is in regard to the guest commentary of April 17. Todd Arena and John Hustad showed what I believe to be an absolutely amazing display of courage and patriotism in Thursday's Wildcat. These are two men (members of the U.S. Army Reserve) who have everything to lose, but are not afraid to call this war as they see it and encourage us to do the same. I would just like to applaud these guys for saying what they said and also give props to the people at the Wildcat for running the piece. 'Cause ya know, it is not even that they're right or wrong, it's the fact that they dared to be right or wrong in a sea of extraordinarily delicate circumstances. Cheers!

Ben Turner
media arts senior

Propaganda gives American public slanted view on Iraq

The American public has been bludgeoned about the head and neck over the past year by the most intensive propaganda offensive in history. The American public has been led to believe that a third-world country that didn't even control its own airspace, and which had been bled white through 12 years of murderous sanctions, posed a threat to the most powerful country on Earth. That counts as one of the most spectacular achievements in history.

Now we see that the propaganda offensive continues apace as the U.S. ruling class attempts to retroactively justify the monstrous crimes it has committed against the people of Iraq.

The UA is doing its best to aid in this propaganda attack. As one enters the campus bookstore, one is assaulted by Fox News blaring from an oversized television. It is impossible to escape from the continuous stream of hate and lies pouring forth from the TV as one shops.

As outrage piles on outrage, one's senses become numb, yet the presence of Fox News in the bookstore is one more to add to the list. Couldn't the administration play some public access or something? Even the fascistic CNN would be an improvement over the Nazi Fox News.

Tyler McMillen
applied mathematics graduate student

Common facemasks will not work against SARS

Just wanted to respond to Thursday's Cat Poll. I wouldn't wear a facemask to protect myself from SARS because they do not work. The SARS "bacteria" is a 3-micron germ, and the face masks that you and I would be able to buy only offer protection of 5 microns and larger, that's why they are commonly referred to as "N-95s."

Jim Redasky
CCIT staff

Library resources should be available all weekend

Since when has the library closed so early on the weekends!? At nine o'clock my access to every library resource has been cut off! I've got papers to write; I'm a busy guy and I can't afford to wait 12 full hours until I can get the materials I need. I have to budget my time, just like anyone else, and cramming a trip to the library into my already-busy day schedule is often impractical. The weekend is easily the best time for lengthy writing, but how can I most efficiently find the materials to supplement my work if the entire library has been closed? Its closing is, to say the least, an extreme inconvenience! We're so busy worrying about war and politics and whatnot, but what about our immediate worries and demands? What about the continued advancement of intellectual thought? Don't limit the availability of knowledge! Open the library and make intellectual advancement available at all times! Besides, I still have papers to write ...

Aaron Fortner
media arts freshman

Apply research funding to other scientific disciplines

I'm delighted to hear that the UA is being funded for a technology center dedicated to biotechnology. This type of research funding should also be pursued and applied to the area of materials science, physics and chemistry, all growth areas for nanotechnology and interdisciplinary research. Congratulations.

V.F. Golubic

UA alumnus, 1990
Raytheon Company, Plano, TX

Recent incident involving UAPD not first of its kind

This incident that happened against Dr. Kunnie, while it maybe debatable, is not the first of its kind concerning UAPD. In the academic year of 1999-2000, a student by the name of Nurdeen Lawal went through a similar ordeal. He was handcuffed and slammed down to the ground by the UAPD. I remember him even undergoing shoulder surgery. After a while, Mr. Lawal was released and, upon his release, it was noticed that Mr. Lawal was Muslim and one of the cops joked at him, "So do you have a hand grenade on you?" Mr. Lawal is a black student from Nigeria and that night another man had done some burglary. I am pretty sure the archives of the Wildcat will have details of that burglary. It's interesting to see that the actual burglar was not even a black man! In addition to that, Mr. Lawal was a great electrical engineering student and also a well-respected member of the Islamic Center Tucson where he led translated sermons for the Imam who only spoke Arabic. In addition to the Imam, he himself preached moderation, spirituality, and many good things about life in his sermons. Many local Tucson Muslims called him a unique and different preacher and an asset to the American Muslim community. Worse than Dr. Kunnie, Mr. Lawal had to suffer a great deal. Even President Likins ignored Mr. Lawal's case when then former Senator Ahmad Saad Nasim had written several letters to hear Mr. Lawal's plea.

I have personally visited seminars with the UAPD and have the utmost respect for them. However, there are spoiled crops among all groups. UAPD may or may not have done the right thing, but indeed an apology is needed for Dr. Kunnie and Mr. Lawal! In this post 9-11 era, we have been chanting punch lines of fighting for freedom. Yes, do fight for freedom, but practice it in your daily life too! At the same time, the UAPD deserves respect and credit for great deal of proactive programs they have to taken to make UA a better and safer place to study. UAPD, ASUA and the UA administration should consider a forum or town hall meetings to discuss their problems.

Robert Balla
Pima Community College freshman

Professor benefits from sensationalizing race rifts

Along with the entire Wildcat-reading UA community, I have been following the statements of and reactions to Dr. Julian Kunnie over the last couple weeks, and I would like to point out a problematic dimension of the issues at hand.

The problem is this: Dr. Kunnie, director of the African-American studies department, has a vested interest in sensationalizing the rifts in race relations in the U.S. Just as the so-called yellow journalists of the late nineteenth century had a vested commercial interest in goading the U.S. into war with Spain (and indeed, we have probably just witnessed the same phenomenon occur in our current media with respect to Iraq), "yellow academians" would utilize sensationalism not only to call attention to their disciplines and individual efforts, but in this time of financial crisis, to perhaps give themselves a high enough profile to avoid the budgetary axe.

The past guest commentaries of Dr. Kunnie seem to fit the criteria, considering the ratio of attention they received to the amount of substance they contained. Now to his great fortune, his recent incident with UAPD has given him the opportunity to further sensationalize his academic pursuits with the zeal and weight of personal testimony.

I advise the campus community to listen intently to what Dr. Kunnie has to say, but at the same time to ponder what incentives he may have in doing so.

Mike Urbancic
UA alumnus, class of 2002

Unsubstantiated claims of racism desensitize campus

Well, it looks as if our beloved Dr. Kunnie has played the race card one too many times. Although none of us know the explicit details of what occurred the day of his run-in with the UAPD, it seems as if the majority of the UA campus, myself included, are at least suspect of his allegations because of his past statements in regards to race. One needs to look no further than the brilliant guest commentaries on April 3, 2003, October 7, 2002, and November 13, 2001 to see a clear pattern of frivolous racism charges on behalf of this professor.

By consistently using the charge of racism as an ideological crutch, Dr. Kunnie has done himself, and his cause, a disservice by desensitizing the UA community to the seriousness of racism. After all, it is for this very reason that most are now quick to dismiss his current allegations as fictitious, even though there is a possibility that his claims of racism could be valid. The moral of the story? There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.

Devin McNamara
political science senior

Cutting back A/C may save more money than closures

If the biggest cost of maintaining the UA's buildings is temperature control, then why are classrooms often unbearably hot during the winter and overly chilled in the summer? Closing the school on Fridays would be pointless if the money saved would just be wasted to keep the buildings even colder on the remaining days.

Kris Brown
electrical engineering senior

Symphony's decision to cancel concert Îabsurd'

"Symphony cancels Holocaust memorial" has to be one of the most absurd decisions ever made on a college campus · you are a college campus, aren't you? You know, a community of students where young adults are encouraged to explore issues, no matter how controversial they may be.

If you need to be reminded of how important it is to remember the men, women and children victimized, tortured and killed during the Holocaust, then you have failed to enlighten your students.

On the evening of April 28, concerned Jews and non-Jews participating in the Yom Hashoah Yellow Candle Lighting program will be lighting a candle to honor the memory of the 6 million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust. Organizations like the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs, www.fjmc.org, have for years worked hard to remind humanity of the horrors of genocide.

You who have chosen to cancel your concert do yourselves and your students a tremendous disservice. The 6 million tortured souls deserve more than that. They deserve to be memorialized, eulogized and remembered for as long as humankind continues to commit crimes against humanity.

Steven Ference
parent of UA student

Concert cancellation fuels controversy; doesn't avoid it

My response is in reference to the front-page article, "Symphony cancels Holocaust memorial," April 11, 2003. If Lisa Hunter's decision was to "stay out of the way of controversy and possible protests" by canceling the wind symphony's performance for the Holocaust Remembrance Day, she did the exact opposite of this. Ms. Hunter did not consider what her actions meant. There is a traditional Jewish tale that speaks about the enormity of one's decisions. A man goes to a rabbi and tells him he has wronged people and begs to be forgiven. The rabbi answers that he should get a feather pillow, open it, and put one feather at the door of each person he hurt. The man does this and returns to the rabbi. Then rabbi then tells him to go back to each of the houses, pick up the feathers off the doorsteps, and then he will be forgiven. The man goes to do this but discovers they have all blown away. Once someone does something wrong there is no easy way to fix it. The Holocaust teaches this to the world. Hopefully Lisa Hunter will one day realize that she has created a big hurt in the UA community, and make an enormous effort, never fully possible but still important, to try to make up for what she has done. Are lessons that can save lives and fight hate really to be silenced because someone fears that they will cause controversy? Have we learned nothing from the Holocaust yet? If so, this performance was more important that I could have imagined.

Lauren Brody
anthropology and Judaic studies senior

Letter had incorrect view of article it responded to

I would like to respond to Bradley Pack's letter entitled "Letter and Nazi comparison unfair attacks of Israelis." I wholeheartedly agree that any attempt to compare the Jewish population to Nazis is disgusting propaganda.

Simply put ÷ such a comment would be racist. But I went back and reread Greg Shnaar's article and nowhere in there did I see the statements or ideas that Mr. Pack is accusing Mr. Shnaar of supporting. Nowhere in his letter did Mr. Shnaar compare Jews to Nazis or the massacres in Jenin to the Holocaust.

These are serious accusations that Mr. Pack has unfairly made ÷ perhaps based out of emotions rooted in his family's tragic loss. I would urge Mr. Pack to reread and reconsider such serious accusations. I would also urge anyone who read and agreed with Mr. Pack's letter to reread Mr. Shnaar's letter (from April 11th) to see just how baseless these accusations are.

The only comparison made was between deniers of the alleged massacre in Jenin and Holocaust deniers. This is much different than suggesting that massacre in Jenin was as bad or even comparable to the Holocaust.

In fact, Mr. Shnaar raises a very good point. How can people from the Arizona-Israel Alliance or anyone else be so sure there was no massacre in Jenin when Israel blocked the international community from investigation?

They cannot, and to be so confident in denying it happened is very wrong and very dangerous. Believing the side you want to believe, the side that only reinforces your personal bias, and ignoring the other side is exactly how Holocaust deniers can convince themselves that the Holocaust did not happen.

No one knew of the horrors of the Holocaust before the fall of the Nazis.

Without a doubt, what is happening in Israel is not even comparable to the Holocaust, but once America stops helping Israel hide whatever it is that they are hiding (not only in Jenin), I am sure that there will be horrors and atrocities beyond what anyone could imagine from "the only democracy in the Middle East."

Armand Navabi
computer science senior

Individual opinions about war make little difference

If there's one group of people on this campus that I can't stand, it's all those anti-war folks being as loud and obnoxious as humanly possible. If there's another group of people on this campus that I can't stand, it's all those pro-war folks yelling back as loudly and obnoxiously as humanly possible. For all the people against the war: you are college students at the University of Arizona. You are not political players on the world scene. Your opinion most likely adds nothing of relevance to the debate. By the way, the debate is not whether or not there should be a war. That one has already been answered. The debate as of today is how we can get all of our brave men and women in the armed forces home in one piece.

In the future, try putting away all your clever signs and slogans and just stay quiet so you can say a few prayers for those people in far worse situations than yourself. For all the people for the war, you are obviously operating at a very sub-standard level of thinking. It is a war. It is not some video game that you play on a nightly basis even though it might appear to be exactly that on more than one occasion. These men and women fighting over there are not the heroic characters we were brought up hearing about. They are unlucky souls who were put in the wrong place at the wrong time. We should not worship the bravery and heroism that is no doubt being displayed by soldiers on both sides of this conflict. We should simply hope that the worst is over so the world can evolve to a level where such atrocious acts are no longer deemed necessary by the powers that be. To both anti-war and pro-war folks, just take a break from all these activities you partake in that serve to add purpose and meaning to your life. Please just take a break from all this nonsense and take stock in those things in life that really matter. The world will be a better place if you do.

Niall O'Connor
business management and marketing senior

War protesters should not decry defense of freedom

We cry "Peace." Do we truly understand what we cry for? Baruch Spinoza once said, "Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice." It is for this sake, of our own consciences, that we cannot sit idly by when others suffer. Malcolm X espoused the credo, "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom." As a nation of people who had been the downtrodden, the underdog, we have come to understand that we must always stand up for those who have been oppressed. "With liberty and justice for all."

Patrick Henry said, "Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusion of hope." Is this the part of wise men, engaged in the great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things that so nearly concern their temporal salvation? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and in-action; shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?

Gentlemen may cry, "Peace, peace" ÷ but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! Our Brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Is Freedom so unimportant when it is not for ourselves, that we would protest its fight?

And I know in 50 years an Iraqi woman is going to be telling her grandson of the only three nations in the world who cared enough to die for her liberty. In hushed reverence, she will speak of the strangers who defied the world. You tell them this war is unjust. You tell them that the soldiers who died for them were not sent in your name. You tell them they are on their own. You tell them, because I cannot, and thank God we have a president that could not either. Perhaps Nathan Hale said it best as he was hanged for spying, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

Nicolas Brown
creative writing sophomore

Government should focus on liberating Americans

Before anyone starts to celebrate too much over the liberation of Iraq, let us hope that our leaders can see fit to finish the job. Two years ago Osama Bin Laden attacked us on our soil, and as far as we know he is still hanging out in his cave, seemingly impervious to the wall-to-wall bombing job we did on Afghanistan. Our country lives in terror of this man to this day. Children are afraid to take a plane to visit their sweet, sweet grandmothers because our government is powerless against Osama.

This time, the stakes are even higher. According to our own government, Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein helps terrorists, is in possession of WMD, and is crazy enough to arm terrorists (like bin Laden) with them. Now, we have spent three weeks slogging through Iraq and have not found either the mass amounts of WMD or Saddam Hussein. This can only mean one thing: Saddam has escaped and is currently arming terrorists.

If our government wants to make good on the promise that they are doing this to protect us and our interests, they will not stop until Saddam (and Osama for that matter) are captured. Just knowing that they live free sends the chills down my spine. They should leave the interim government and the awarding of contracts to the paper pushers at the U.N. (let them be relevant for a change!) and get on with the business of liberating the American people from Saddam and Osama's cruel reign of terror.

We have the most finely trained soldiers in the world. They should not spend the next year babysitting the new Iraqi government; they should be out tracking down the greatest criminal minds the world has ever known.

Mauricio Cafiero
UA alumnus