To The Editor:
In several years of reading The Spectrum, I've never felt compelled to address the often ridiculous stuff that gets printed on pages four and five. Until today.
Clearly the Denis Muradov letter on Oct. 29 was printed (presumably unedited) to provoke a response, or for the personal amusement of the Spectrum staff. Either reason is suspect from a journalistic standpoint. I, for one, would rather see the feedback column blank - such incoherent and irresponsible letters don't have to be printed just to make a comment about an empty mailbox.
My second gripe is with Stacy Dopko's opinion piece; aside from the painfully astute title, the entire thing was a rambling mess. When she does make up her mind about whether or not she's an adult, I would ask her to please avoid entering the teaching profession because it seems like an "easy way out." I think I can speak for those in UB's TEI program when I say that this is the worst possible reason she could have. Good teaching, even of small children, is highly intellectual and even political; it is more of a vocation than a simple job, and will definitely require those Milton-class analytical skills.
Thirdly, I'd like to respond to Elizabeth Fox-Solomon's (also engagingly titled) op-ed piece, but how could I possibly dispute a world expert on military affairs and foreign policy? Yet it seems to me that the number of civilian anthrax infections here is very closely matched with the number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan. War is hell; there are always innocent bystanders. What alternatives, as an expert, does she propose?
And how about some support, in the student newspaper, for fellow students who are paying for their education as veterans or by serving in the reserve forces? They have, in a sense, mortgaged their lives to protect yours, and your freedom to insult the military, the government, and whatever else to your heart's content. Please don't forget that.
