Letters to the editor- December 8

Protestors commended

Thank you for your Dec. 6 editorial on protesting war at BYU. While the time and place of the protest may not have been the best, I commend these students for being willing to go stand out among the majority of BYU students and let their voices be heard. Peaceful protests are a tremendous right we have in this nation and it is great to see them carried out respectfully.

I am glad to see that there are students who realize that we do not need to agree with everything that our President does or believes in; I volunteered for George W. Bush's 2004 campaign, but I do not support the continuation of this war, so do not assume that everyone who is against this war is a ?left-wing fanatic.? I?m pretty far to the right and I stand with them too. Thank you to all the students at BYU who are willing to think for themselves and stand against the crowd.

Bush like Captain Moroni

One might think no one on the editorial board reads the Book of Mormon very often by what was said in your recent editorial regarding protesting the Iraq war on BYU campus. From the remarks made by President Bush, the reason we are in Iraq is to stop the same type of people and things Captain Moroni covenanted to stop.

The President said, ?These people cannot stand free societies, they have no regard for the human condition, they?ll kill women and children at the drop of a hat; all aimed at frightening the American people and trying to get us to withdraw ? The lessons of Sept. 11 are lessons this country will never forget ? In the long run, a democracy will help eradicate the conditions that allow these people to find any kind of support.?

Obviously, the church opposes people like the Gadianton robbers, of which Bin Laden is a modern day copy. Saying people protesting the war on BYU campus was ?somewhat refreshing? and they made good use of their time, is like Captain Moroni saying the king men?s actions were ?somewhat refreshing? and they made good use of their time.

Balanced protest coverage

As one of the student participants in last Wednesday?s peace demonstration, I?d like to thank the Daily Universe for your continuing balanced coverage of the event. In the past I have sometimes been disappointed by your paper?s superficial reporting of campus events, consistently failing to report on the more openly critical questions asked of President Samuelson and others during BYUSA?s Q&A sessions, for example. But I found that both your initial story and your choice of Readers? Forum editorials have fairly presented the valid perspectives of both sides of the dialogue.

One of the major concerns that the peace demonstration was trying to voice was the ways in which BYU campus policy effectively gags activists that are not ?conservative? enough. Thanks for helping to prove us wrong. We still have a long way to go before local activists get the freedom of expression that real progress will require, but your fair treatment of this issue should be some small relief for many of us that often feel ignored or actively silenced by the university.

Support, bring home troops

The current wave of support for a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq has sparked a lot of heated debate and unfair assumption. Many believe (correctly, in my opinion) that we need to support our troops. But a ridiculous argument has arisen that in order to support American troops we must support the Iraq war. Even more fallacious is the argument that anyone in favor of bringing our troops home is unpatriotic or cowardly.

Unlike the case of Afghanistan, the justifications to invade and liberate Iraq have evaporated, namely alleged stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Saddam?s alleged ties to Al Qaeda. Instead of letting facts determine policy, Pres. Bush allowed his anti-Iraq policy dictate the ?facts? used in support of invasion. As of today, not one WMD has been found in Iraq and even Gen. Colin Powell said to USA Today that he ?never evidence to suggest? there was a tie between Saddam and Al Qaeda. I believe the humanitarian aid and support for a democratic Iraq that America gave was a blessing for the Iraqi people. However, I don?t believe the ends justify the means. Mr. President, over the next 6-12 months, bring our troops home.

Troops want to stay

As far as bringing our troops home, U.S. service members have willingly joined. knowing that the country is at war. Don?t suppose, you protesters, that they never considered they would be defending freedom in the manner they have been trained. My brother is currently a soldier in Iraq, and I am a soldier too. Do any of you protestors have family members in Iraq or Afghanistan, or personal experience in the military to warrant your protest?

I?ll tell you this: next to the family members of those who are currently and those who have given their lives, no one feels their loss more than those of us who have served or are currently serving in the military. We, also, are a family. We mourn when our brothers and sisters in arms give the ultimate sacrifice. So, we who have made decisions to be over in Iraq and Afghanistan would like to ask you protestors to do us a favor- save your ?Bring the troops home? rhetoric for people who actually want to hear it, because we of the military family know what our job is, and are proud to be in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cheaper than free

As an unwilling co-author of the PS 100 textbook referred to in your story of Dec. 5, (?BYU publishes cheaper textbooks?), I would like to comment on your opening line: ?Physical Science 100 students will not have to spend as much money on their textbook next semester.?

The 1st edition of ?Physical Science Concepts? by Mason, et al. was produced off-campus using private capital. The 2nd edition appeared in 1997, for which I became the producer. The 400-page book sold for about $16.00 in the bookstore. (The cost of printing the book, with 8 pages of color plates and binding was $9.25)

The 3rd edition was copied against my will by Pearson Publishing about 2002 and sold during this past semester in the Bookstore for $32.50. The 2nd edition is the same book as the 3rd edition. Moreover, the 2nd Edition including color plates has been available online this past year for free and about 300 students this past semester thought free was better than $32.50 and downloaded it.

So, unless the bookstore can beat free, it is false to assert that students will be paying less for their Physical Science 100 textbook next semester.

Racism in English

This semester I took English 315, where I was shocked at the racist comments some students made. For example, some students stereotyped Hispanics as lazy and wanting to drop out of school. Despite the blatantly racist comments, these students argued that they were only referring to ?facts? about illegal immigrants. How is negatively stereotyping an entire class of people, illegal or otherwise, not racism? Another comment that appalled me was when a Caucasian woman turned to an African-American woman and asked her, ?Do you know what color your skin will be when you die and go to heaven?? Rather smugly the Caucasian woman answered her own question, ?You?ll be white.?

Thankfully, the professor and other classmates later pointed out the inaccuracies of these comments. However, I was shocked ? not because I?ve never encountered racism before, but rather that I encountered such flagrant racism here at the Lord?s university. As members of the church, we have the responsibility to show love to all of God?s children, regardless of race or ethnicity.

I hope that in the future all BYU students will be better examples of Christ-like love.