EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Joshua Gillin
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Brad Davis
Erin Gibson
Shannon Heffelfinger
Chad Lorenz
Jeff Randall
Guest
VIEW
Standing
strong
Hussein should
comply or face war
Indiana Daily Student
Indiana University
Bloomington, Ind. (U-Wire) - The Clinton
administration has come under some recent
criticism for the lack of support for military
stationing in the Middle East. While the num
ber of Middle Eastern countries publicly sup
porting the United States is certainly nothing
to Drag aoout, me unitea Mates, wim increas
ing numbers of Western allies coming to its
support, should be confident in its firm posi
tion against Iraq.
Secretary William Cohen’s recent trip to
the Middle East in an attempt to drum up sup
port for military action against Iraq might
appear to have failed because only three
nations - Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain - are
publicly supporting (though not embracing)
the possibility of U.S.- and British-backed
action against Saddam Hussein. These public
stances shouldn’t give the impression that the
vast majority of Middle Eastern nations
oppose action against Iraq. Many regional
leaders downright despise Hussein but are
afraid any backlash from Hussein will fall
upon their own people. Despite this absence
of support from major U.S. allies such as
Egypt and Israel, Secretary of State Madeline
Albright, after meeting with representatives
from various Gulf States, said the United
States should use force.
The United States is also gradually gain
ing more support from Western nations.
France has recently joined Great Britain and
the United States, making three out of the five
members of the U.N. Security Council sup
portive of a military operation. In addition,
other allies, such as Canada and Australia,
pledged their support Tuesday to the possible
U.S.-led action.
This pressure is needed now more than
ever. Analysts say, somewhat paradoxically,
we will come closer to a diplomatic end to the
situation because of the increasing threats of
war. They say Hussein has been backing down
little by little the closer we come to a military
confrontation.
But this game of wait-and-see can’t go on
forever. Intelligence information has shown
us Hussein does in fact possess numerous
chemical and biological weapons of mass
destruction, including some Western powers
have never heard of. We can’t let Hussein try
to circumvent the law and avoid inspections
any longer. The ultimate decision as to
whether or not we go to war will be up to
Hussein. To show him how serious we are, we
must continue to stand up firmly to his threats
and to rally others in support of an end to the
standoff.
Hopefully, military action will be a last
resort, and this end will be a peaceful one.
ciiiionii roiicy
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Haney’s
VIEW
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LETTERS
Toeing the line
As I have sat back and watched the
events of the past week unfold regarding
Dr. Hibler’s e-mail, I have been remind
ed of something that noted African
American scholar and activist W.E.B.
DuBois said many years ago. DuBois
said, “The problem of the 20th century
will be die color line.” Truer words have
never been spoken.
The people who know me in this
community know that I work hard to do
a great deal of diversity and cultural
education on this campus, in this city
and around the country. Frequently, I
talk to people about the challenges of
realizing our common destiny as peo
ples from different places in die world
now joined together on this blood
stained soil. Often what I say in my pre
sentations means absolutely nothing to
the person who for one reason or anoth
er has made the conscious decision to
tune out the inevitable. And often, more
now than in the past, my message hits
home with that person Who allows their
heart to be touch by the fact, not fiction,
of what is truly this country’s ugly side.
As I reflect on some of my success with
reaching people and as I read the cards
and letters from people who “got it,” I
realize one simple thing. It’s my
approach! It’s the way that I say what I
’ say that makes the difference. It’s die
fact that I am willing to be real and
tough, but rational and thoughtful.
Now, don’t get me wrong; some
times I scream and yell at folks for what
appears to be outright ignorance. But
then I realize, I was ignorant, too, once.
I used to refer to my African American
brothers and sisters as “nigger,” think
ing that is what we do. I used to call peo
ple - black, white, rich, poor, it didn’t
matter. You see anyone can be called a
“nigger;” it just depends on who is doing
the calling. Yes, I was ignorant, too. I
used to be mad at people who called me
“nigger,” but did not look like me and
not mad at the people who called me
“nigger” and did look like me. Yes, I was
ignorant too.
What’s the bottom line as I see it?
Well, it was Dr. Hibler’s approach; it was
all wrong. What Dr. Hibler did was
cross a cultural line that says, “African
Americans can call each other ‘nigger,’
but other people, especially white peo
ple, can’t.” You know, “I can call my
brother stupid, but don’t you.” It’s the
same thing in principle. Personally, I
don’t like what he did, and I know what
he was trying to do.
It’s called “getting a rise,” and it
worked Actually, it worked so well that
his anti-war message has been drowned
out by the one thing, among many, that
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this country has never fought effectively
-racism.
Dr. Hibler may have something sig
nificant to say about the United States
and this country’s seemingly perverse
desire to engage in military conflict But
few will ever really hear his message.
Why? Because he crossed the line - the
color line. So, I say to myself, “DuBois
was right; it’s still the color line. In 1998,
regardless of what people say to the con
trary, it’s still the color line.
John Leonard Harris
special assistant
office of the vice chancellor for
student affairs
Do the “right” thing
(Andrea Shahan,) to say that liberal
ism is responsible for Mr. Meredith
being able to enroll at the University of
Mississippi is ludicrous (“The liberals
strike back,” Friday). To say that liberal
ism is responsible for ending segrega
tion is just too much to swallow.
I believe it would have happened
despite any one person’s ideology
because it was immoral and stupid. The
people who fought against segregation
were not just liberals or conservatives or
Republicans or Democrats.
The contention that conservatives
want people to “sink or swim” is just
cliched garbage. I suppose you would
have wanted us to go on with a program
that cost $5 billion and has had no real
effect on poverty. The programs you so
dearly love to take credit for are not
need-based, they are race-based and do
nothing to help people with the core
problems of poverty. These programs
are nothing but a tool of the left to say,
“Vote for me; I will keep the handouts
coming. They want to starve you.”
This kind of rhetoric divides this
nation by promoting class envy. Saying
that these race-based programs were
responsible for the success of Clarence
Thomas and James Meredith discounts
their hard work and personal sacrifice.
Why is it if a person of color is suc
cessful, he made it because he had
“your” program’s help? Isn’t that say
ing that they could not have done it
without “your” help? Isn’t that just a
little racist? These men do not want to
deny help to anyone who needs it It is
the fact that these programs ypu so
dearly love to take credit for are race
based and not need-based so they are
inherently racist... by denying others
an opportunity because they are not of
a particular race and showing prefer
ence to another because they are of a
particular race. I hope you see the
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error of your ways, although your
intentions are good, the means are
unjust.
Wallace McNabb
Lincoln
Grading gripes
Regarding “Our View” from
Thursday’s edition:
On the subject of grade inflation,
too many have made the generalization
that there are few if any study areas at
this institution where grades are earned,
not just doled out above the average.
Though true for certain departments, it
is dangerous policy to apply a firmer
fist across the board to all departments.
Having never taken a political sci
ence course, I cannot comment on their
excellence. But grades earned in mathe
matics and engineering courses and a
majority of science courses are inher
ently defined by the material they
encompass to match grading to the pro
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those in math-related majors will tell
you, survival in calculus cannot be
secured with memorization. Critical
thought, phenomenon analysis and puz
zle-solving - the praised characteristics
of the political science department - are
the basis of engineers’ future work;
problem-solving and trouble-shooting
are what they do. Only hard work and
practice - i.e., studying, projects, and
homework sets - will earn die grade.
Several courses I have taken, partic
ularly in the physics and chemistry
departments, are already set on a curve,
so that the class average sits around a C
or C+. Even in upper level courses,
where the crossword fanatics have long
been “weeded out,” students are still
evaluated to put the average around 70
percent.
I implore Chancellor Moeser and
the faculty of all departments to exam
ine grade inflation and evaluation of stu
dent work with caution and scrutiny, not
generalizations, and to aim efforts at
lowering the campus-wide GPA by
altering individual department GPA, not
by lowering every student’s GPA
Anyone feeling underchallenged by
their department or that their GPA could
use some “variety” to the right of the
decimal is invited to hone their analyti
cal skills by taking a few courses from
the engineering college; you won’t be
disappointed.
John Kastning
junior |
chemical engineering and
.German jj
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