Columnist brings doom
Response to "No Hard Drugs" by Jacob Stewart, \nSept. 22:\nWe're doomed. If the incoherent ramblings of Jacob Stewart in his column published in the IDS Sept. 22 are any indication of the thought processes as well as the writing ability of his generation, we are all doomed.
Bruce Symington\nMedicine Hat\nAlberta, Canada
'Hard drugs' not as dangerous as \nalcohol, pot
Response to "No Hard Drugs" by Jacob Stewart, Sept. 22:\nI want to ask Jacob Stewart to define "hard drugs."\nDid he mean it in terms of the likelihood of death? In that case, the "hard drugs" would be tobacco, with about 400,000 deaths per year, and alcohol, with about 100,000 deaths per year. By comparison, all the illegal drugs combined would be "soft" drugs, with about 10,000 deaths per year.\nDid he mean it in terms of the potential for addiction? In that case, tobacco and alcohol are among the best of them. Some heroin treatment programs don't even try to get their clients off tobacco because they know it is hopeless.\nDid he mean it in terms of damage to health? Once again, alcohol and tobacco would certainly qualify as hard drugs. Abusing either one of them will do serious harm to your body. Under proper medical conditions, people can take large doses of heroin for years with no serious damage to the body. One example of this is the millions of people currently using long-term medical morphine. Another example is William Stewart Halsted, the "father of modern surgery," who revolutionized surgery while he was an addict.\nDid he mean it in terms that someone might become a danger to others? In that case, alcohol is the clear winner, and there isn't another drug, or combination of drugs, that even comes close. Alcohol accounts for about half of all deaths from auto accidents, homicides, fires and drownings. It is associated with about half of all domestic abuse and about two-thirds of all sexual assaults on children. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, alcohol is the only drug with any real association with drug-induced violent crime.\nJacob has exposed two problems here: One is that his AI could use better judgment. The other is that Jacob needs to do his own homework on drugs. He should start with the collection of Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy at www.druglibrary.org/schaffer.
Clifford Schaffer\nDirector \nDRCNet Online Library of Drug Policy
Sex distinctions are a good thing
Michelle Manchir's column "Ladies First?" (Sept. 18) addresses key questions regarding gender and society. Unfortunately, she misunderstands the realities of our world. She advocates a society where all sex distinctions are erased, where there is no difference between how a man interacts with a man and how a man interacts with a woman. For her, different treatment in virtue of one's sex is inherently discriminatory and unfair. As she says, from this "modern viewpoint, how unfair for men it is to be expected to provide food for their date." But nature's God is not so unimaginative as to make us all identical. From the beginning of our lives, we have been given a wonderful biological diversity called sexuality, which we ignore or deny to our own peril. We are starting to experiment with this denial, and we are seeing the consequences: a society filled with divorce, spouse abuse, deadbeat dads and the holocaust of abortion. \nThink about what happens when you teach a man to interact with a woman the same way he interacts with a man. You have taught him that if she starts annoying him, then he can leave her. If she's a drain on his resources, he can drop her. If he gets angry at her, then physical intimidation is a live option. You have taught him that he, as a man, has no special responsibility to care for, and protect, women. But this, you see, is exactly what we need in our "modern" world. Without this and other noble goals, men have begun turning to the aimless distraction and apathy of video games, alcohol and pornography. Unable to be men, they are settling for being beasts. They lack a noble goal, a fight that needs to be fought, a responsibility to which they are by nature an heir. I am opposed to any view which holds women to be of inferior value to men or thinks of women as property. I agree with Ms. Manchir's lament over the commercialization of sex that goes on in local bars. But denying sex differences will not solve our problems.
David Talcott\nGraduate Student
Use athletics money for Assembly Hall
Response to "Trustees Approve $55M Athletics Facility Upgrade" by Chris Freiberg, Sept. 25:\nHave you ever been to an IU football game? Yeah, I didn't think so.\nThis is my fourth and final year here at IU, and I have been to every single home football game. The problem was and still is nobody goes to our football games. Come on, Memorial Stadium can hold 52,180 people.\nThe biggest attendance that I have seen has been about 40,000 -- and that has only happened once. And now the trustees want to extend the north end of the stadium. Please answer me just one single question:\nWhy? We can't even fill our stadium now. All this is going to do is make the stadium feel even emptier. We have all seen students leaving in the third quarter. Hell, during the Southern Illinois game, I saw students leaving in the first! And it's not limited to the students. On the other side of the stadium, our alumni and other patrons can't even fill it up. Come on, we are not at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, where they are overfilled at every single game and have the capability to expand. I know we want Memorial Stadium to look even better than it already does, but honestly, nobody is going to care. We are just going throw that money down the drain, just like our bowl game hopes. \nIf we want to use this money appropriately, I suggest that we throw it all in to remodeling Assembly Hall. Here is something that everyone will care about. Students are already getting screwed by the limited number of seats for students who actually want to go see our Hoosiers in action, so we should solve that problem first. And when we finish that, we can finally give it the name it deserves: Robert Montgomery Knight Assembly Hall. But hey, I'm not telling you something that you don't already know.
James Michael Davis III\nSenior
IU Athletics \nDepartment must put a price on losing
Response to "Trustees Approve $55M Athletics Facility Upgrade" by Chris Freiberg, Sept. 25:\nThe idea that IU's Board of Trustees would even consider approving $55 million in renovations to Memorial Stadium is an absolute joke, especially on the heel's of last week's lost to Division I-AA Southern Illinois.\nWhy should Memorial Stadium be upgraded, a project that will presumably add more seats, when the football team can barely fill Memorial Stadium as it stands today?\nI would be more than supportive of having a college football experience in Bloomington that is on par with those in Columbus, Ohio; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and even West Lafayette, but the team's recent performance, frankly, doesn't justify spending $55 million in upgrades and improvements.\nThe whole notion that a facilities upgrade in IU's Athletic Department, especially as it pertains to football, will promote a culture of winning and result in more wins, is a reach at best. There is nothing to suggest that this is the case. And what happens if the board votes to approve the Memorial Stadium renovations and then the Hoosiers go 2-10 this season and 4-8 next season? Can the board demand a refund?\nI'm as much a fan of coach Hep as anyone. I wish him a speedy recovery, and I'd love to believe that he can turn this nightmare around. But after last week's loss, my faith is wavering. I'm not sure how many more losses to Division I-AA opponents and kickers-turned-defensive backs I can take.\nIf the football team wants the facilities of Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan, the board must require them to perform like Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan.\nAfter all, nothing encourages a culture of winning more than actually winning.
Patrick Donohue\nAlumnus
IU needs a Big Ten stadium
Response to "Trustees Approve $55M Athletics Facility Upgrade" by Chris Freiberg, Sept. 25:\nLet me start by targeting all the students and Bloomington residents who oppose the new renovation project aimed at Memorial Stadium. What do you think of when you hear Big Ten football? I think of big stadiums, tough crowds and even tougher teams like Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa. Where does IU fit into the picture? I think of Carmel High School when I think of IU football, primarily because Carmel's football stadium is the same size. \nEvery team in the Big Ten has upgraded its football program except IU. All these teams have experienced success because of their improved facilities. Both Illinois and Northwestern have seen the light of success after improving their facilities despite having horrible seasons prior. The point is that newer, updated facilities bring bigger crowds and better recruits, which in turn bring in more greenbacks. If you think there is plenty of life left at Memorial Stadium, then you obviously haven't been to a game nor do you care about this program. If you really cared about turning this "high school" football program into a Big Ten competitor, then you would understand the need for a new stadium. If you still don't understand what I am talking about, then I suggest you take a road trip to stadiums at Michigan or Ohio State for an away game. When you walk into those stadiums, a chill runs up your spine, and when all 100,000 fans start cheering, you know you are experiencing Big Ten football at its finest. \nWhen am I going to feel the chill run up my spine when the Indiana Hoosiers run out onto the field? The time has come for IU football to grow up and take part in the rich tradition Big Ten football has to offer.
Jeff Hanson\nIU Student
Social night owls?
It's Monday afternoon, and you're making your way to class. The sidewalks are a little congested, but there is still room to walk at a fairly fast pace if need be. You watch the people walking by. The first person is on her cell phone (no surprise there). The second -- listening to his iPod. Well, I guess that's OK. Then the third -- another cell phone user. You make eye contact with each of them, but not a word is passed. Naturally, they all seem quite busy in their own worlds. \nI'm not blaming them of course; I'm just as guilty. However, I'm waiting for some kind of sign. Some nod of existence, maybe even a hello. Why is it so impossible to say hello to our fellow students? I guess it must be common knowledge to avoid contact with all people during the day. However, what I don't understand is how we manage to smile and work up the courage to say hello at night. I'll walk down to the residential dining room, and during that two-minute walk, I'll get about five hellos (but only after 9 p.m., of course)! \nAre we turning into night owls who can only acknowledge our fellow classmates if it's past midnight? Why is that? Are our minds too busy during the day to relax for a second and smile? I guess so!
Erika Gustafson\nFreshman
Putting 'La Terreur' in terrorist
When contemplating the recent congressional rout in the battle over the use of torture, a certain observation must be made. It is interesting to note, a little over two centuries ago, another "patriot" defended terror as a virtue against the enemy of liberty and freedom. It did not work for him, so why should we let it work for the Bush administration, or ourselves? Do we, in the model of Robespierre, excite the same bloodshed that we would prevent? Or do we cease the terror in an attempt to heal and halt what we are creating? As analysts have recently said, we have created more "terrorists" with our program against terror than ever existed during and immediately after 9/11. By allowing torture, we are playing Robespierre in a contemporary dramatic version of a new "La Terreur." I am not saying that it will result in our downfall. This lumbering goliath we call a superpower has more inertia than to be literally stopped by this. However, metaphorically we have already gone the way of Robespierre and the Jacobins. We have lost our virtue in the ill-conditioned and ill-conceived attempt to preserve it. If we had any moral head to speak of, it has been taken off in the guillotine of public opinion and increased hostility against the U.S., which we can firmly lay at the Jacobinite-like feet of the current administration. They advocate terrorism against individuals in order to prevent terrorism against the common good. The irony should not be lost on any of us. Who said history could teach us nothing?
Andy Gipe\nStudent
IU needs popsicles!
It has recently come to our attention that campus morale and overall happiness are low. We propose a radical solution that we believe will completely eliminate the problem. It is in our opinion that it would be most beneficial to the students and faculty if IU partnered with a Popsicle distribution company to place Popsicle stands on several street corners on campus. Not only would this provide a tasty treat to many a pedestrian, but it would also create a new source of revenue for IU.\nBut, you might ask, what about winter months? We have a solution for that as well. During the cooler months of winter, these stands can be converted into tasty hot chocolate stands to provide much-needed warmth to a shivering student.\nNow you may already be thinking, "This sounds to good to be true!" But our proposal gets better yet. Not only would these stands accept both cash and credit, but you could also use your Campus Access Card to purchase either a refreshing Popsicle or heartwarming cup of cocoa.\nWe think this would be a great idea, and if you feel the same way, voice your opinion with us. Bring the attention of the trustees to this most important matter, and we may just see these amazing stands lining the sidewalk yet.
Caitlyn Kuhs\nFreshman
English language \nmisused by politics
Response to "New group focuses on politics" by Beka Mech, Sept. 18 and "'Democracy for IU' a Hill front" by Tara Virgil (Jordan River Forum, Sept. 21):\nThere is a crisis in current American political discourse, and the crisis is that everyday English words -- the ones we use and need to use -- in order to talk about politics, have been hijacked by those who want power, as a means of achieving it. Common and necessary words such as liberal, conservative, democracy and freedom do not have the same meanings in the current political discourse as they do in ordinary use. \nThis can be clearly demonstrated. Just think about how people use a certain word in everyday use and compare that to how they use it when they talk about politics. For instance, if a friend tells me at a wedding that I am wearing a conservative tuxedo, does this mean that my clothes have doubts about gay marriage, or that my clothes hate lazy welfare cheats? Next, apply lotion liberally. Does that mean you should do it with a certain atheism, or with a resigned je ne sais quoi?\nFor us to be able to talk about politics in meaningful, descriptive language and, no less importantly, to return current political discourse to civility, a tuxedo needs to be conservative like political beliefs are conservative; a liberal application of lotion needs to be liberal like political beliefs are liberal. For a word's meaning to be preserved, there needs to be no dissonance between multiple intelligible uses of it. If indeed Democracy for IU is a Hill front, then this alleged controversy and Tara Virgil's retaliatory letter to the editor are an affront to political discourse. In direct response to Tara Virgil of the IU College Republicans, Democracy is a noun. It is an abstract idea, and it means a form of government where the leaders are chosen by the led. It is not an election result, or any concrete thing. To use 'democracy' like Democracy for IU and the College Republicans do damages American politics.
Ted Wells\nSenior
'Scholars for 9-11 Truth' pursuing \nscientific inquiry
Response to "Group seeks 'truth' about 9/11 attacks" by Chris Freiberg, Sept. 12 and, "9/11 conspiracy theory debunked" by Hal Kibbey (Jordan River Forum, Sept. 21):\nHal Kibbey's comments that the article about 9/11 truth is merely the dribble of conspiracy theorists is wrong on many levels. Competing theories are the basis of true scientific inquiry; to blindly follow what you are told is not how knowledge advances. To follow this line of reasoning means we should have accepted the story that the Earth was flat and at the center of the universe, sickness is created by bad humors and everyone outside of Western culture is a primitive savage and should be enslaved. Today, we all know none of these things are true, but at the time, to speak otherwise was heresy, treason or worse, punished by burning at the stake. \nTo dismiss the call for an new investigation of the 9/11 attacks is truly a "disservice" to the families who lost loved ones in the attacks and the veterans of the ensuing wars, both of whom are involved in seeking the truth about the 9/11 attacks. In an effort to get their stories heard, the Jersey widows who pushed for the original 9/11 commission hearings and Paul Thompson, who created the Terror Timeline, have released a new film titled "9/11 Press for Truth" (check it out on Google video). It details the opposition they received from the administration, as well as the lack of public interest, during their quest for truth and justice. \nThe 9/11 commission concluded the attacks were a lack of imagination on the part of the American government, and George W. Bush himself reiterated it. However, several specific warnings to the government before the attacks, including one presidential briefing titled "Bin Laden determined to strike within the U.S." that outlined terrorist attacks on several targets including buildings in New York, and several NORAD drills taking place the same day involving identical scenarios, point to a very real knowledge of this possibility. Thus, failure of imagination is a false conclusion given these facts. This is not speculation but documented facts. Do the research and then make an informed choice before you dismiss alternative 9/11 theories as a conspiracy.
Amy Ward\nStudent
IU health care shortchanging graduate employees
The fall semester may be moving forward, but IU is moving backward. As if being the sole Big Ten school without a graduate employee dental plan wasn't bad enough, the health insurance for graduate employees was reduced for the 2006-2007 school year. The University's refusal to cover newly raised premiums for graduate employee health care forced cuts and introduced co-pays, as well as an overall increase for adding dependents to the plan. Few graduate students can afford their own health care right now, and the University refuses to acknowledge these glaring defects in their treatment of graduate students. We are the ones who do the research, teach the undergraduate classes and represent IU in the academic and professional spheres, yet our health care is being stripped away by the University. Please join us as we continue to fight for what we deserve as employees of this school. The fall meeting of the Graduate Employee Organization will be held this Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. in the IMU Persimmon Room. Help raise our voices, so the University can hear!
Sharyn Emery\nOfficer-at-large\nGraduate Employee Organization
IU needs late-night bus service
I've lived in Bloomington for almost all of my life -- that's right, I'm a townie. With the title comes certain benefits. Specifically, I'm talking about knowing this campus and all of its secret doors, so to speak, like I know my backyard (just ask me about how to get on the roof of the education building).\nBut even though I know my whereabouts on campus pretty well, campus is huge, and without reliable transportation, one can be greatly hindered in his or her academic or not-so-academic endeavors. As long as I've lived in this town, and particularly in the later years of high school when curfew meant coming back home sometime before lunch the next day, I've noticed how unreliable both the city buses and the IU buses are at night. Actually, it's not even a question of their reliability because they don't even operate at night. That's exactly the problem! Now, I should probably explain myself when I say that the buses don't operate at "night" -- because they do, and they do a great job at it.\nHowever, as soon as it becomes around 11:30 p.m. on a weeknight or 9 p.m. on the weekend, you have as much chance getting around town as you would, well, on a bike (and what kind of American uses a bike?).\nAnyway, my point is that there should be some sort of late-night bus that one can rely on besides the drunk bus. I mean, as much as I would love to be completely sober, riding the drunk bus while sitting next to the guy screaming an alcohol-inspired rendition of Queen's "We Will Rock You" all because I wanted to get a late-night snack, there should be a more practical ways of getting around. Plenty of students are out until 2 a.m., even on weeknights, running errands and in need of transportation. Honestly, to most college kids, midnight is like the new 4 p.m. I guarantee that the buses would find themselves with an immense amount of loyal customers (especially on weekends) if they were to extend their schedules.
Zach Rozycki \nFreshman
SH: Love from our peeps \nUpon arriving to this campus I was astounded by the feeling of community that surrounds Bloomington. I felt immediately that I had made the right decision in moving here and I have, so far, worked to include myself in activities on campus (such as various dance and volunteer-related organizations). I always appreciate the work that the Indiana Daily Student promotes in covering the news on such groups. The IDS is most simply a good collegiate newspaper, doing its best to give equal coverage to sports and other clubs on campus.\nThank you,\nCristina Turino\nIU Student
SH: Not part of Sam's Club\nLetter regarding: Sam's Club: Discrimination against breeders\nI was thrown out of Sam's Club on Sept. 26 at about 2 p.m.\nWhat was my egregious error? Was I running naked, breaking jars of beans over my head? Was I having an argument with an artichoke? No. I simply had my daughters in the front of the cart. Told by an employee to tell my daughters to sit, I was informed I would need to leave the store if they did not. Because they are toddlers, we left.\nIronically, before I left the store as requested, a very nice associate asked if I would like a cart for my children.\nIf Sam's Club is going to have such a policy, then it needs to be posted and evenly applied by all associates. I realize the front of the cart is not the safest place for children, but neither is running, potentially amuck, through a store of exposed plugs and breakable items. I understand that we live in a litigious society and they were looking out for the store's interests. Singling me out for the brunt of her haughtiness and insinuating that I was not cognizant of the safety of my children might not have been most effective avenue to take.\nKaren Sweeny\nLabor studies employee\nIUPUI
