Lack of war coverage disappoints
Wednesday night I was sitting in the Vieux Carre in the French House when a hush fell over the room and the radio was turned up as a group of students listened to the words of President Bush. I thought to myself, “This is a moment I will never forget.” When I got home, my roommates and I watched CNN until midnight. We read articles over the Internet. We thought the fact that our country declared war on Iraq was a major deal.
I’ve always thought The Reveille was an incredible student-run newspaper and look forward to reading it on a daily basis. But I must admit, I was angered and disappointed by the lack of coverage for what was occurring in the “real world” outside of Baton Rouge. Our country is facing a serious threat, and this is a major deal. Let’s give the issue the respect and attention it deserves.
Mitzi Orkus
Sophomore — Petroleum Engineering
Student questions readiness for war
As I sit here watching the first images of missiles flying over Baghdad, I cannot help but think, are we really ready? I am only 20 and have yet to truly understand or experience a real war. I have been following the President and his battles with the United Nations and understand his point. I cannot, though, say I am for the war. I will back the troops with all I can because they believe enough in the war to participate. I will not tell them their beliefs are wrong. But I will not back the President. I do not feel strong enough to do so.
My main problem with the war is this: Am I ready to hear the stories of lost loved ones? Am I ready to be any given person’s shoulder to cry on? Can I handle the possibility of spending more time at a funeral home than I have spent in my life so far? I know people who are already deployed and have yet to have any close relationship enter. I don’t know how I would handle losing anyone to a war I am not in support of enough to take part in myself. I guess I don’t have a choice anymore. I sure hope I and everyone else will be ready.
Caleb Timmreck
Sophomore — Apparel Design
Where were the protesters then?
I have a question that I would like to hear answered by anti-war protesters. Where have you been these last 12 years? I ask because in these last 12 years, there has been an oppressive regime that has completely disregarded the orders and legitimacy of the United Nations, deprived all of its citizens of the most basic human rights and liberties and assembled an arsenal of banned weapons of mass destruction. The people of Iraq are not living in peace and their dictator has on every chance rejected the measures he knows must be complied with to bring about peace.
Why, then, are peace protests of this scale only appearing now, not just in America, but around the world, when one small group of “dissenters” finally decides enough is enough? But the most ironic thing to me is that they are protesting military action that will remove from power a regime that brutally suppresses the right of its own people to protest at all, a right that these protesters in free countries obviously cherish. I am not opposed to organized protest, but I am saying that the time has come for everyone to stop being anti-American and to start being anti-Iraq.
Ben Couhig
Freshman — Political Science
Serial killer terrorizing students
Women of Baton Rouge and South Louisiana,
You are the target of DOMESTIC TERRORISM. Whether you realize it or not, your lives have been changed by one man, a sick coward, who intends to alter your life by forcing you to live in fear every day for your safety. The Baton Rouge serial killer lives among us. He is the next door neighbor, the man working next to you in your office, the man who you run in to at the grocery store, the man parked next to you at school. He may be the guy sitting behind you in class, watching you as you walk in your front door, spying on you as you turn on the lights in your apartment. He is everywhere and he is dangerous. HOW MANY OF US ARE WE GOING TO LET HIM KILL? In these unfortunate times of war abroad, we must WAGE WAR at home against this disgusting, spineless parasite who is feeding off the fear and hysteria surrounding these murders. Every time the local news reports on these monstrosities, he is watching and he is enjoying every second of it. WE MUST UNITE TO STOP HIM!
There is no excuse for letting him take another member of our community away from us. We must get our lives back and it is the women of this community that will find this ignorant, insecure killer among us. EVERY WOMAN MUST think of EVERY MAN you know, family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. and SERIOUSLY QUESTION whether this man could be the serial killer. He is among us — we must expose him. One of us knows him! He is watching; we don’t want to make it CONVENIENT for him to kill another one of us.
Rachel Mentz
Graduate Student — French