Stop the hate

There are many international students on this campus. None of them are to blame for the bombings that ripped our nation apart. None of them were on the plane, or even remotely involved. They are the same people they were two days ago as they are today. They are fellow students. They go to classes, they go out on the weekends and they belong here, at an academic institution, as much as everyone else.\nThere is no reason for any student to show animosity toward any international persons in our community. There have been reports of students, most notably on both our campus and at Central Michigan, harassing Muslim students ever since the news was released that there might be some chance Osama bin Laden was involved. \nYes, some people on the other side of the world were celebrating on the streets after America was attacked. But no one is celebrating here. It is wrong to associate similarities in appearance with similarities of thought and feeling. Many on this campus would be horrified if they were assumed to be part of the Klu Klux Klan or the Nazis simply because of their appearance. \nEveryone deals with loss differently, and hate is sometimes a response. Blaming someone, no matter who it is, sometimes helps people cope with the pain. But it doesn't help heal, and it is certainly not productive to take your anger out on an innocent person. \nNor is it tolerable. \nNow is not a time for name-calling and "rock throwing." It will not help you or anyone else to cause more pain. Now is the time to unite with your fellow students. To help the people who need help and discuss your fears with others. Do not be angry at someone simply because of how they look or what religion they follow. Hate is one of the reasons this atrocity occurred. Some people, somewhere, hated Americans enough to take their aggressions out tens of thousands of innocent people. Please do not cause any more pain to any more people. Passing on the hate that caused this mass murder will not help anyone. \nHate is cowardly. Hate is ignorant. Hate does not heal.