Thanks to all who purified, supported nursing college

While attending the Nursing memorial service and reclaiming ceremony with my husband and 10-month old daughter yesterday, I was awed by the support shown by the UA community. Thank you to the students, faculty and staff who took a moment out of their lives to stand, pray and cry in silence and respect while the College of Nursing family processed through the university. You gave us energy to make the journey.

Thank you to all the maintenance staff who physically cleansed and purified our home. You helped our building heal physically so that we can begin to heal spiritually. Thank you finally to President Peter Likins. You demonstrated the utmost caring and regard for the Nursing family. I will always remember the comforting presence you provided while kneeling with the students on the floor of the classroom where Cheryl and Barbara were killed. You honored us in our despair.

As we followed the route the killer took through our home, a suffocating, oppressive energy weighed heavily upon our souls. But as we continued with the Native American healing ceremony, this vile energy was driven out of our space, and a renewing energy of hope and purpose began to etch its way into our hearts.

We will heal, and I thank the university community for helping us to begin this process.

Jennifer Runquist, MSN, BSN
nursing doctoral student
GPSC nursing representative

Educated look at Prop. 103 shows threat to due process

It's not that I am opposed to differing opinions; in fact I encourage them ÷ it sparks conversation and forces people to stand up for what the believe in. I whole-heartedly agree with Jason Winsky (Friday, "Friday Face-off") in that people should take a serious look at Proposition 103 if they have serious concerns about sex offenders being released on bail back into our communities.

However, take a look at it in an educated way. Ranting and raving about bad guys needing to be put in jail and corrupt judges has nothing to do with whether or not Prop. 103 should be passed. If the judges in the state are corrupt enough to set a $5,000 dollar bail for an accused (and later convicted) sex offender, then you should be attacking the judicial system in the state.

I agree with Caitlin Hall in that there should be no leniency or sympathy shown to perpetrators of such crimes, but in no way should they be denied their due process. It may sound far too utopian for our country, but people are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. To automatically assume that every person accused of being a sex offender is actually guilty of the crime is the kind of activity that makes our system ineffective. If the person has been accused of the crime and seems to pose a threat, then nail their ass to the wall, but don't take away the freedoms of those that are wrongly accused.

I think the long-term effects of Prop. 103 could make me feel just as unsafe in my community as far as being offered a fair judicial process is concerned. Jason Winsky needs to heed his own advice in future articles and take a serious look at the issue at hand. It is too often that his thoughts are superficial and his statements uneducated. Articles like his in the "Friday Face-off" don't benefit our campus community in any way ÷ they encourage students to make decisions based on partial information and it needs to be stopped. Observation, fact and scary thought: Jason Winsky is a political science major. Wow.

Cullen Bouvier
vocal music education junior

UA football not in line with Focused Excellence concept

Until this past weekend, I have to admit to some lingering skepticism about the "focused excellence" concept, but now it seems to make a great deal of sense and I'd like to suggest a way it could be applied immediately.

Let's get rid of UA football. It is clear that in this area we have mediocrity at best, and no sign of excellence, focused or otherwise, anywhere on the horizon. There is surely no need to duplicate the fine program up the road at ASU, and think of the cost savings to the good people of the state of Arizona: We could get rid of Makovic (and his obscene salary), along with the 13 other assistant coaches, as well as the travel costs of transporting dozens of players and their gear to away games. Of course the number of games per season is mercifully low, but still. This way we could build in those areas where we already have demonstrated excellence: women's softball and volleyball, and possibly men's basketball. The time for bold leadership and strategic planning is at hand as we further differentiate the missions of the three state universities.

Marv Waterstone
associate professor, department of geography

Muslims unfairly slandered when all are Îone humanity'

In response to Silas Montgomery's Thursday hate statement toward Muslims ("Chechen rebels not the victims in Russian hostage situation"):

Why is it that Islam and Muslims are slandered in America more than any other country in the world? Can you say or publish such statement about another faith? I dare anyone to say something like that about the Judaic beliefs. You will be attacked from right and left and will be called all types of names: anti-Semitic, evil non-American, anti-Israel etc., while it is perfectly alright to call a well-known faith, a faith of 1.3 billion people, a terrorist faith just because some miscreants attacked the U.S.

We all belong to one humanity ÷ there is no need for such hate-statements toward Islam or any other faith. Go back to history, your major subject of study; you will find that the Muslims are the one who saved the Jews when they fled from the European persecutions. Also you will find that between the years 1939 and 1945, more than ten million allied servicemen and nearly six million military men from the Axis countries died in the war that was started by non-Muslim nations. I'm not going to list the positives and negatives of other faiths, but just some examples to show the other side of the picture.

Please let us not attack and slander followers of a faith for the actions of few. As humans, we should learn how to love one another not to hate each other.

Nasser Alnuaimi
civil engineering graduate student