Maybe Acevedo is the close-minded one
Upon reading last week's Letters section in The Signal, I was interested to find that I am, according to Student Finance Board executive director Leonardo Acevedo, close-minded and unworthy of being a student leader because my opinion happens to differ from his. I am on the executive board of multiple clubs and as far as I can tell I've been doing just fine as a student leader; yet somehow I had the audacity not to enjoy Passport to Programming or to find it particularly informative or helpful in any way.
Yes, SFB did outline what clubs are supposed to do with their base budgets. And yes, the vast majority of the room stopped paying attention after the first 10 minutes of someone reading directly off a screen. I'm not entirely sure how Acevedo finds this effective, but, of course, that could just be me being close-minded.
I don't deny that Passport to Programming could have a lot of value. In fact, I do think it should be mandatory. However, the way it is now, passport is a waste of time.
While I don't agree with everything Lauren Kohout wrote in her editorial, I do agree that many of the programs are not suited to the clubs' needs.
The majority of people (by which I mean every person) with whom I spoke that attended passport found it as worthless as I did. Perhaps this means that the majority of student leaders are unfit to be leaders. Perhaps this means that we are close-minded. Or maybe Acevedo is the close-minded one, as he has decided that anyone with an opinion that does not match his is incorrect.
As a side note, I had fully intended to sign my name on this letter. However, I remember Acevedo stating in his letter that no clubs need to be SAF funded, and I would prefer that the clubs I belong to stay SAF funded. That is, of course, if any of the members of my clubs are open-minded enough to use the funds in a way Acevedo would deem proper.
Anonymous
Thanks, Todd Stoner
To Todd Stoner, I'd just like to take a second to thank you for crossing a police barricade. Thanks to you, and a small handful of others, the American government is now afraid of its people. So afraid, in fact, that many government representatives are now crisscrossing the continent seeking to pander to our every want and need.
Word spread through congress like wildfire - adolescents? Walking? What if the others learn? Thanks to you, Stoner, everyone now knows about Todd Stoner and the example he's set. Forget about yourself! Listen to what other people are saying! Do what they want you to do, not what you want you to do.
Someday I hope to find as much meaning as you in getting beat up by cops, but I'm not there yet. My life is a hard one - fraught with woeful self-indulgence and mildly entertaining sitcoms. Perhaps someday my professors will assign me something, and I'll read it this time. Maybe it'll be that time that I become "aware!"
Until that day comes, I'll be watching "Scrubs" reruns with my cat and reading mindless literature and biology textbooks after having enjoyed the outdoors playing some opiate of a game. You've shown me how hollow my life is. I've never wanted a speeding ticket so badly.
Greg Capriotti
Protesters are true visionaries
In response to an opinion titled "Protestors show that Liberals don't get it when it comes to Iraq" by Brian Hackett in the last edition of The Signal, I would like to give the side of the story that Hackett left out.
First of all, this debate would be a lot less hostile if people would stop viewing this issue as a war of words with the Liberals against the Conservatives. There is enough fighting in this world without us waging war against one another as well. Not every Liberal thinks that the war in Iraq is unwarranted, just like not every Conservative believes that we should continue the fighting in Iraq. The fact of the matter is at one point less than 30 percent of Americans supported the war in Iraq, meaning that Liberals were not the only ones who thought the Iraq situation was out of hand and that American troops should come home.
Calling the anti-war supporters "loony defeatist lefties" and their ideas "loony assertions" is not the way to get people to support the war effort and no way to try and get those who are anti-war to consider changing their opinion.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is the Sept. 15 protest in Washington D.C., or as it was so tactfully called, the "shameful, ridiculous, troop-demoralizing freak show." This was a legitimate protest to show Congress how the majority of Americans feel about the war. I think that those people who protested that day are commendable and I only wish that I could have been there that day protesting with them. The people who were out there are true visionaries who know that the only way to bring about change is to fight for it. If every visionary decided to play it safe and did not fight for what he or she believed then this country would not be the free nation that it is today.
The protesters were in no way demoralizing or disrespecting our military forces already in Iraq. The protest was because we want to bring them home safely so they no longer have to risk their lives for a war that should have never happened in the first place.
As for the "protesters that were idiotic enough to get arrested," as they were labeled, these people knew what they were doing and crossed that barrier in full awareness of the consequences of their actions, and they deserve to be revered, not condemned. These people believed so much in their cause that they were willing to get the point across and their voices heard by any means necessary, even if it involved personal sacrifice and putting themselves into a trouble situation. Anyone who considers them to be "rebellious ignoramuses" should take a good look in the mirror and ask himself if he could ever have the courage to do that and if he can ever feel so much commitment to a cause to do whatever it took to bring about change.
Everyone knows this war has been mishandled from the very beginning and was rushed into with very little consideration of the consequences, how long our troops would need to stay there and how many lives would ultimately be lost. It is plain to see that the Iraq situation is out of hand and we need some plan of action for getting our troops home. But there is none whatsoever.
However, the American public needs to know that there is at least some idea and strategy of getting our military out of Iraq and see that the government makes it happen. If the government had some plan, even if they didn't make all of the details available to the public, the American public would be satisfied knowing that it was getting done.
Finally, as much as Hackett claims he is not attacking the patriotism of Liberals and protesters, almost every assertion made by Hackett was an attack upon it. Speaking as a "loony defeatist lefty" I was insulted by some of the comments made about the Liberals and protesters.
In closing, I too have some "heartfelt advice" for those attacking the anti-war movement. The anti-war protesters and supporters are passionate enough to go out there and do whatever it takes to bring our troops home. They are amazing people who want to show the world that, just like with the Vietnam War, if enough people stand up and fight for change it can happen.
I hope that Liberals and Conservatives can unite on the war and can try to end the bloodshed and violence in Iraq and bring our troops back home.
Catherine Murphy
