Flores should be shown compassion, not shunned

Two years ago, when the three nursing professors were shot, I was horrified. At the time, however, I was working as a nurse in Minnesota and I said to one of my coworkers, "That guy just lived out every nursing student's dream." We laughed about it because for the most part, it's true. I worked as a nurse for two years and in that time did not encounter another nurse who didn't think he or she had at least mild PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) after nursing school. I went to Cochise College (down in Douglas and Sierra Vista for those unfamiliar with Arizona) and to this day, I can't drive by the place without becoming mildly nauseated.

I'm not trying to justify what Robert Flores did, or make light of the situation. It just saddens me that the university seems to be focusing all the remembrance events solely on the professors. Every nursing student I went to school with, all the nurses I've worked with since and I have remembered days when we felt like shooting our professors and then shooting ourselves - or have just hated ourselves for ever wanting to be nurses. It's stressful, it's difficult and I only had a few instructors who helped me to feel confident and able to get through the program - and this was at a community college.

I support ringing the bell to remember the professors who were killed, but why can't we ring the bell four times to remember a student who was miserable enough to take his own life? I don't condone murder in any form - I just understand how Robert Flores may have gotten the urge to shoot up some nursing professors, and I find it sad and pathetic that his misery and that of his family will continue to go unrecognized and unremembered.

The man committed a reprehensible act, I understand that. I'm not blaming the victims here, I'm just suggesting that one victim is being disregarded. What pushed him over the edge? And in a profession that is based upon compassion, why can't the College of Nursing recognize the apparent compulsion of an ill man?

Leslie Johns
philosophy junior

Coulter pie assault was not a significant event

In response to Mr. Schultz's letter, "Applause for Al Pieda" in Wednesday's Wildcat, his hyperbole is unbelievable. Does he really believe that throwing a pie at someone has "done more for American political discourse than anyone is the past 30 years?" I'll bet his political science professors would disagree.

Does he really think that one pie (which missed) has moved America more than Bill Clinton's conversations with the disadvantaged or Jimmy Carter's peace accord between Israel and Egypt or Jesse Jackson's elevation of the race issues facing the United States?

Moreover, Mr. Schultz obviously supports censorship when he remarks, "If we don't like what you have to say, you're getting pied and you're getting pied good." Who decides which voices are heard and which are squelched?

I was hoping to discover the satire in his letter, but sadly it was missing. Come on, you're an adult now (and a poli-sci/philosophy major no less!); time to grow up, put down the meringue and let the real discussion begin.

Marc Berg
assistant professor
College of Medicine

Victim, lawyer shouldn't try to cash in on tragedy

Harold Hyams and the student who filed the lawsuit against the University of Arizona should be ashamed of themselves. This was nothing more than a shakedown, a petty attempt to cash in on a horrible crime. The world is dangerous people! Don't rely on others to protect you. Its time for people start taking responsibility for their safety rather than blame everyone else.

I cannot imagine the pain and suffering caused by this assault, but I'm sure it was/is great. I am not suggesting the young lady was in any way "asking for it." What I am suggesting is that she and anyone else who is in a public place that is prone to crime take certain measures and not rely on others for protection, and it must be noted that even when all precautions are taken it won't completely eliminate the threat.

Mr. Hyams, stop chasing ambulances; you're a disgrace to humanity.

James Van Olphen
UA alumnus