Letters to the Editor

Connotations of "crusade'

To the Editor:

I would like to make a pacific but nonetheless marked protest against a banner posted on Locust Walk; it displays the words "Campus Crusade for Christ."

Not only as a Muslim and an Arab, but also as a citizen of this increasingly small world, I must condemn the use of a word as heavily connotative as "crusade." Perhaps it is necessary to remind people that the Crusades were a series of bloody and brutal wars between the two proselytizing religions of Islam and Christianity. It cost the two groups countless lives and centuries of hostility to realize that peace, cooperation and the sharing of knowledge brought an infinitely better relationship.

I find it deplorable that a group could use a word reminiscent of one of humanity's most somber periods so lightly. This is especially deplorable considering the present atmosphere in the world, with both monotheistic religions once again pitted against one another. It is my understanding that the University of Pennsylvania and its students, faculty and staff are all architects striving to better the situation of the world. I understand that Penn takes great pride in its diversity, in whatever form that may be. Posting a banner with the words "Campus Crusade for Christ" doesn't really reflect that. Finally, one should keep in mind that the University of Pennsylvania was an institution that initially distinguished itself from other colonial colleges by focusing on public service and business, as opposed to education geared toward the clergy and religion.

Obviously, I don't suspect any group on the Penn campus of planning a new series of religious wars, but it is imperative that we demonstrate utmost cautiousness when communicating our ideals. These are confusing times we live in, and we must celebrate our similarities as well as embrace our differences for a real chance at a peaceful future. In any case, it is certainly not the time for people to speak of Crusades.

Fahd Tazi

Wharton '08 Misinformed on grad unions

To the Editor:

In his misinformed letter to the editor ("Few students want union," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 9/20/04) Andrew Geier states, "To view the University as anything other than a benefactor is to misunderstand the relationship we chose to enter." Yet he is the one who "misunderstands the relationship" he and all graduate employees enter.

Penn has yet to "pay our expenses," as Geier claims. In fact, most of us have consistently made poverty-level wages for the indispensable work we do for the University. In addition, the free health insurance Geier speaks of is not available to most graduate students; in fact, it remains unpaid for the vast majority. The premium is only covered for fully funded students in nine of the 12 schools at Penn, and not when they're in their final years of their programs.

So this year, I am not working for the Penn administration, not just because I had decided I would refuse to take a 50 percent pay cut, but because the job initially offered to me was then outsourced and given to someone outside of the department, willing to work for even less money than was offered me. So I am paying my own health insurance premium again this year, and it's over $2,000. I'm also paying my tuition with a job that takes me out of Philadelphia and will cause me to take even longer to finish my degree.

To view the Penn administration as a "benefactor" is to seriously misunderstand the relationship graduate employees have with their employer. The university (and not just the University of Pennsylvania) behaves and labels itself unabashedly as a corporation, doing whatever it can to raise revenue and cut costs, including exploiting cheap labor, outsourcing jobs and spending money on union-busting tactics. And it depends on people to remain uninformed and proliferate the misguided view of it as a "benefactor."

Joan Mazelis

GAS '08

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