Letters to the Editor

A painful comparison

To the Editor:

We feel it is necessary to respond to yesterday's PETA "Holocaust on Your Plate" display at Wynn Commons. The display, which juxtaposed images of Holocaust victims with images of animals in slaughterhouses, trivializes the murder of 11 million people, including 6 million Jews. While we feel it is important to oppose the abusive treatment of animals, the painful comparison to the Holocaust is offensive and undermines the uniqueness of human life.

The Holocaust Education Committee of Penn Hillel works to increase awareness of the Holocaust and promote tolerance on campus and in the surrounding communities in order to emulate the work of Holocaust educators and survivors over the past 55-plus years. PETA's exhibit desecrates the memory of Holocaust victims, survivors, their families and educators in an effort to promote its cause.

On behalf of all those who are offended by this gross misuse of Holocaust photos, we join the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in its demand that PETA discontinue the exploitation of these Holocaust materials. As U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council Chairman Fred Zeidman said, "An organization so concerned about inflicting pain on animals should not be so oblivious to the pain it is inflicting on humans."

Ilana Katz Wharton '03

Risa Small College '03

The authors are co-chairs of the Penn Holocaust Education Committee.

Doing a thankless job

To the Editor:

If you passed through Wynn Commons yesterday, chances are you saw the group from PETA promoting its new national campaign. And it was not a campaign, I believe, that deserved to be well-received.

Like many of the students who witnessed the stand, I was appalled by this campaign. I was offended that PETA would trivialize the victims of the Holocaust to propel its own credo, and I am even more shocked by the fact that a well-respected group such as PETA would attach its name to such a tasteless campaign.

What I was more outraged by and ashamed of, however, was the response of the student body to the activists. I see no problem with lively debate and, thankfully, there was plenty of it to be had. Fortunately, it was for the most part carried out in a civil, if not at times heated, fashion. I am all for people expressing their opinions. We need people to express their opinions if we want to call our system a democracy. But I saw it taken too far today, as I heard a select few students all but say that they -- and only they -- should have the right to free speech.

The PETA activists I saw today have a thankless job, and I cannot help but feel a little admiration for them for believing strongly enough in their message to be willing to take the abuse that they do. You don't have to agree with what they say. I couldn't agree less with what they say! But it is our duty to let them say it. And if you can't perform that one simple task, then you are no less than a discredit to this institution and to the system of democracy as a whole.

Peter Bonilla College '05

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