Letters to the Editor

Peace protests not to blame

To the Editor:

Dominick Bonavitacola's depiction of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the attack on the U.S.S. Cole and the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa, as the result of government yielding to anti-war protesters ("The pursuit of peace, the necessity of war," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 11/30/01) is without basis and misdirects evaluation of the real root causes: our continuing folly to react to crises rather than to exercise stronger leadership to forge coherent policies for both the short and long terms.

There was no overwhelming call for peace during those prior attacks, nor was there an active movement opposing military action. Instead, I recall a government in constant fear of such possibilities, refusing to take any action that might upset a largely apathetic populace.

In fact, prior to Sept. 11, the Oklahoma City bombing was the only terrorist act that profoundly affected the American people.ÿWhere does Oklahoma City fit intoÿMr. Bonavitacola's equation?ÿHisÿlinking the current peace movement to those shortly before World War II fails to recognize that a major reason behind the desire for peace then were the horrors of World War I.

I can understand Mr. Bonavitacola'sÿdesire forÿconcrete response, and I understand the anguish that we all share, notably concern for family andÿfriends, but his reasoning is flawed, and to use those three terrorist bombings to justifyÿa "necessity of war" logic is dangerous.ÿBy the nature of these times we are supposed to be more enlightened; if that is the case, this conflict should conclude within a court room in The Hague and not before a firing squad.

Weÿmust initiate a reexamination of supposed American ideals and start exposing the myths that cloud our consciousness and thusÿcompromise our actions. The anti-war protesters, such as Penn For Peace, are at least trying to initiate that process. Those whoseÿautomatic response is to write off those who are not outwardly patriotic fail to truly grasp theÿwrenching complexitiesÿof these times. Penn For Peace's "tent city protest" took far more courage than it takes to write an guest column.ÿFor Mr. Bonavitacolaÿto insinuate thatÿbyÿprotesting against popular opinion regardless of that popular opinion's validityÿanti-war protesters are somehow denigrating theÿactions and sacrifices of America's heroes is grossly misguided -- it conveniently ignores the Constitution while pressuring individuals toward the mass mentality. Anti-war protesters provide a valuable moment for reflection onÿour motives,ÿand Mr. Bonavitacola may ask, "What has the blind march for peace cost us now?" ButÿI counter, "What does blind allegianceÿcost us?" I would rather have dissent than the monotony of acquiescence.

Peter Schwarz

College of General Studies '04

Forget something?

To the Editor:

In Penn's official admissions packet, it's noted that there are four undergraduate schools, a fact which Alyssa Litman ("One university, split along the lines of two schools," DP, 11/28/01) seems to have missed. Writing about Penn's demographics, she seems to subscribe wholly to the theory that the majority is the only group whose opinions and actions matter. She ignores the many undergraduates in the Engineering and Nursing schools to write a binary article about the College and Wharton. It may surprise her to learn that Nursing and Engineering have their own cultures, issues and stereotypes of other schools -- Engineering students consider the much-vaunted Wharton curve to be a joke, while Nursing students get more practical training during the course of their undergraduate career than most students get during their summer internships.

Ms. Litman also excludes dozens of students in the Management & Technology and Health Care Management programs, Wharton students in Engineering and College students in Nursing. If you've never laughed with a male nursing student as he tries to decide who to partner with for physical assessment, or been there for an Engineering friend as she agonizes over whether to do a B.S. or a B.A.S., you've missed out on a valuable part of the Penn experience.

Lydia Dowlath

Engineering '04

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