Letters to the Editor

3/27/08 7:00pm

Poor jacks hazardous to students, Beer-Bike

To the editor:

First off, I would like to express my empathy for Jen Pan and Daniel Jong. I was extremely outraged when I read about the unauthorized jack Will Rice students did in front of Lovett College ("Unauthorized jack injures student," March 21). While reading, I was contemplating how I could have been in their shoes, since I regularly ride my bike around campus. The possibility of riding into fishing lines unexpectedly gives me goosebumps because they can make deep cuts in human skin, which is not something I find appealing.

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The majority of jacks during Willy Week were funny but some, like others have mentioned, were dangerous. Several of my friends and I slipped due to an unauthorized jack involving splattered syrup on the Lovett floors and steps. I fell down the stairs because of the jack. Lovett students know that when the floors are wet, Lovett becomes a hazard zone - especially if you are wearing flip-flops.

I hope that next year people consider the consequences resulting from unauthorized jacks, because it would be unfortunate if the administration were forced to ban jacks entirely. The people involved with the fishing line jack should be grateful that Jen Pan and Daniel Jong's injuries were not fatal. Beer-Bike could have been canceled - again.

Tsz Wan Wong

Lovett freshman

Columnist misquotes, blurs troop surge, war

To the editor:

Reading Angelina Jolie's quote in Caroline May's column, one gets the impression Jolie supports the war in general; but really, Jolie is referring to the humanitarian side of the war, calling for "financial and material assistance" for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, not for a surge in troops ("Listen to celebrities; support the war," Mar. 21).

Moreover, May's column is about the surge, not the war in general. The surge and the war are different issues.

Jolie talks about stepping up humanitarian aid through UNHCR and says the surge has created a better atmosphere for aid, which is probably true. The surge has stabilized the region, but May ignores the fact that military specialists were calling for similar or still higher troop levels when the war started. The administration allowed the situation to deteriorate by sending in insufficient troops, disbanding the Iraqi military, alienating the Iraqi people, and failing to stop looting and the destruction of timeless and priceless Iraqi cultural icons.

The administration created a problem, then solved it. Big deal. So the surge is working, but what does this mean? That the war-mongers wanted a stable Iraq eventually, just not immediately? They had opportune times to help democratize the region and amass support, but that's not what this administration did; rather, they created instability which eliminated credible dissension. That is, extreme instability eliminates educated critical thinkers - who want grassroots democratic movements - and leaves extremists.

Richard Treadwell

Baker sophomore

Tree signs intended to show human war cost

To the editor:

Last week, Rice for Peace and Justice hung up cards on 500 trees on campus to commemorate the many lives that have been lost as a result of the war in Iraq, as well as the thousands of others who have suffered because of injuries and displacements. I want to clarify that these signs on the trees were meant as a memorial and not a protest or a political statement. They were intended to remind people of the tremendous amount of suffering that has occurred due to this war, and all war, for that matter. They were to move people to respect that suffering.

Rice for Peace and Justice is decidedly against the war and our other events last week reflected that sentiment. The signs on the trees, however, were not intended for the same purpose. Whether you support or oppose what we are doing in Iraq, I hope that we can all remember the human costs of combat.

If anyone still has questions or concerns, I invite you to contact me at sisi@rice.edu.

Karen Leu

Wiess senior

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