‘Not our friends’ column offensive
This is in response to Mr. Harvey’s column “Not our friends.” Being a group of European students at LSU, we were deeply disappointed and highly offended by the hostile tone and flawed facts presented. We do not wish to retaliate in any way but rather continue the debate on a level adequate to the subject. We merely wish to clarify some of his gravest mistakes.
The NATO meeting Mr. Harvey referred to decided upon whether troops immediately would be deployed in Turkey or after a resolution by the Security Council. It was NOT a vote on a possible war with Iraq. If so, more European governments would have raised their opposition in agreement with their citizens. Concerning the sale of weapons, it is true some German and French companies provided material that could be misused for military purposes. However, this never has been conducted with our government’s approval. Besides, Germany and France never would jeopardize their good relations with the United States over only $4 billion.
Regarding the lack of virtue and honor of the French and Germans, we just hope Mr. Harvey has heard of the French resistance under Charles de Gaulle, who fought bravely against the aggressors. Regarding backstabbing, it takes more courage to stand up against the only superpower and voice your opposition.
For the sake of all Reveille readers, we hope future columns will be more accurate and less hostile.
Francis Reay-Jones
Graduate Student — Entomology
Jan-Hendrik Prinz
Graduate Student — Physic
Florence Fagot
Junior — Management
Lukas Konstanzer
Graduate Student — Psychology
Annett Moehner
Graduate Student — Environmental Studies
Marc Sindezingue
Junior — Political Science
Democrats wrong to block appointment
With an impending war on Iraq and ongoing war on terrorism, one would assume the United States Senate has many important issues on which to work and debate. However, the Senate is not considering important items, such as the federal budget, tax relief or homeland security, because a handful of liberal Democrats have resolved to prevent a full Senate vote on the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
A teenage immigrant to the United States with no knowledge of English, Miguel Estrada worked tirelessly in school and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986. His personal story is the embodiment of the American dream. As a result of his knowledge of constitutional law, Mr. Estrada was nominated by President Bush to serve as a member of the Court of Appeals. Despite having the necessary number of votes in the Senate to gain confirmation, the status of his appointment to the bench is uncertain because of a few selfish and childlike ultra-liberal Democrats in Congress.
These Democrats have begun a filibuster in the Senate to kill Estrada’s nomination, not because he is unfit for the bench, but because he is conservative. Allow me to explain. Liberals in Congress and across the country know the only method by which they can advance their agenda is through judicial activists on our nation’s courts, that is to say, judges who do not interpret the law but rather write the law from the bench. But the job of a judge is not to write the laws through judicial interpretations but rather to interpret the law in a manner which he or she feels is consistent with the U.S. Constitution. This is the only “crime” of Miguel Estrada.
I must say I am not surprised by the actions of the Senate Democrats, but it is time to stop acting childish. Miguel Estrada is a highly qualified, highly respected, fair and impartial individual, and he deserves to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Christopher Boudreaux
Sophomore — History
Reveille’s ‘ballsy’ honesty refreshing
In response to Miss Monsour’s criticism of the quote published in Feb. 14 article, “On Alert,” I must say I never thought I’d see the day when an LSU student could be accused of taking themselves too seriously. I found the article to be engaging and informative and the quote to be humorous but appropriate.
Sure, it’s no New York Times, but then again, The Reveille’s not trying to appeal to an audience of 40-something professionals. There’s a reason the New York Times never would include a comment like Chase Courville’s — they don’t concern themselves with the opinions of young adults. I’m thankful the Reveille staff not only cares about what we college students have to say, it has the balls to publish every word.
Christina Mickens
Sophomore — Mass Communication
Students apathetic to impending war
As the nation prepares for war, across the country millions of people are out buying duct tape and gasoline. However, here in Baton Rouge, most students continue to spend their money the same way they did all last semester, on cover charges and fast food.
An Orange Terrorist Alert level does not faze most students. I am disturbed to see the lack of war activity on campus. There seems to be no protest, no picket signs, not even lines of people signing up to support the country. The campus is genuinely indifferent. My generation with its whatever attitude has seen the “War Against Terror” turned into nothing more than what its catchy name suggests, fodder for primetime television. My age group never before has been faced with a war like the one coming; the sad part is, most of it does not even realize what is in store. Perhaps it was the media’s blitz of attention too early on. The news stations have been crying “wolf” since Sept. 11, and perhaps college students are just tired of hearing it. With a reported number of about a quarter of students on campus having no opinion on attacking Iraq, it seems to make me wonder what percentage of those students who did not care about war will lose someone or something they care about to the fight in the Middle East. I think of the college students of the 60s who came out in droves with reactions to Vietnam, and I look in disgust at my peers. Intelligence about the war needs to be raised. People need to speak out positively or negatively on this issue because sooner rather than later, the issue will affect us.
Kim Moreau
Freshman — Mass Communication