Letters to the editor

A day for Darfur

I walked across the campus and it was just another day. I saw a flag at half-mast, but that was it. That was my only commemoration of 9/11.

I believe some students attended events to mark the day. It's what we do. We choose a cause for a day. And then it dies.

In reference to the genocide in Africa, President George Bush said, "Not on my watch."

"Not on our watch," chanted the protesters at a rally in Washington on April 30, 2006 and the September 17, 2006 "Day for Darfur" rally in Central Park, urging the president to remember his promise and try take action to stop the genocide in Darfur. And now it is 2008.

The genocide in Darfur still exists; in fact, it has escalated. And China is not helping. Instead, it is trading with Sudan, giving them the arms they are using to persecute the people of Darfur. China has provided Khartoum, the seat of the Sudanese government, 90 percent of the weapons they have bought since 2004, according to a report by advocacy group Human Rights First.

Right now the United Nations has an arms embargo on Sudan - one China is blatantly ignoring. We must do our part to make this stop.

Do not let action against the genocide in Darfur become a dropped fad, like patriotism after Sept. 11. There are actions we can take. This Wednesday, we all have an amazing opportunity, given our proximity to Washington. American Jewish World Services and partnering organizations are holding a lunchtime rally at noon outside of the Chinese embassy to call on China to use its leadership position to improve the situation in Darfur, and to urge our government to do more against this horrible abuse of human rights and dignity. Tzedek Hillel is sending a bus from Hillel at 11:15 a.m. and will get back before 2 p.m.

This event will show the Chinese government, the American government and people around the world that Americans still care about the atrocities taking place in Darfur. We have the chance to be a part of this incredible moment and make a statement. We will show that Darfur is not a fleeting issue but something that the American people are invested in changing. We cannot abandon our efforts to help the people of Darfur.

Miriam Langer President, Tzedek Hillel

Not so radical after all

In his Sept. 11 column, "Book: A force that gives the campus meaning," Malcom Harris describes Chris Hedges' War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning as a one-sided, "polemic" and "unambiguous" rejection of war. Harris expresses surprise that our university would tolerate, let alone encourage its students to read, such subversive material.

But does Hedges really claim that war is always wrong? In his introduction, Hedges writes, "despite all this, I am not a pacifist. I respect and admire the qualities of professional soldiers. ... There are times when we must take this poison [of war]." Certainly Hedges spends the bulk of his book explicating war's insidious cultural effects, but Harris misses Hedges' crucial introductory qualification.

Maybe Hedges isn't so radical after all.

On the other hand, maybe it's not as big a surprise as Harris thinks that the university welcomes criticism of those in power. After all, there was no controversy about Carl Bernstein using his 2008 commencement address as a platform for criticizing the Bush administration.

Kyle Garton English Graduate STudent