Opinion editor failed to do job\nIt is a bleak day indeed when one page -- just one page, cannot be filled with the opinions of over 35,000 students -- not to mention faculty, alumni and administrators of IU.\nI opened up the opinion page (my favorite) April 12 and saw that fully half of the page (2 columns) had absolutely no opinion whatsoever. Jeanne Wilson told us that she lived with her parents, while Sarah Meinecke, who's the sports editor and therefore has no business on the opinion page, said "Happy Birthday, Mom" in about 600 words.\nWho's running this page? Are we to the point in apathy where we all have no opinions? Is this campus so PC that opinions are no longer allowed?\nWhat's going on?! If there is no opinion in the article, it obviously isn't for the opinion page! I challenge Travis Thickstun to do his job rather than running filler. Otherwise, we might have to start reading the ald-Times\nRobert L. Oprisko\nSenior
Exams during race part of college \nI am writing in response to Bridget Graf's column ("Exams during race unfair," April 17). In her column, she complains about having to take an exam on Friday afternoon before the women's race starts. She later states that Saturday no one has to take exams. This is not true.\nMany students, myself included, took an all-day eight-hour exam on Saturday, which has more bearing on our future than any one exam a class might. It's called the MCAT. It is a national test and was scheduled on this Saturday. Contrary to Graf's belief, the whole world does not revolve around Little 500 weekend. Please grow up, Graf, you are supposed to be attending a place of higher learning!\nEmily J. Crane\nSenior
Whining columnists\nWhat was Bridget Graf thinking when she wrote her column ("Exams during race unfair," April 17)? How are tests during the race unfair? They might be inconvenient to a small portion of the IU population, but definitely not unfair. You have not been slighted and no one is out to get you. Was the test date on the syllabus you received in January? If it was, then you have no one to blame but yourself. I don't know your situation, but you could have dropped the class and picked up another if the race is sooooo important to you.\nAnd another thing, there are too many whiners on this campus. You and Erin White lead the whine pack. Maybe your next article should be an essay on seeing the bright side of things. At least you won't have to listen to Erin White's whining after the race is over! She probably would have told you, after her team finishes last, about how she trained soooo hard and then wrote a column a week about it.\nBart Phariss\nJunior
Support Catholic Community \nThere are bad people in every walk of life. There are no excuses for evil deeds and no reason to dismiss those deeds, regardless of the offender's high stature or assumed dignity. Having said that, it must also be said that targeting a particular group in this society in which so much crime occurs is utterly unfair. Heaven forbid a very easily swayed member of society read such an column as Sarah Payton's ("Calling All Catholics," April. 10). One must only have common sense to realize that any person in a position of trust could be liable to commit any crime, in any place, at any time. For example, doctors who anesthetize patients for surgery have been found guilty of rape and teachers, especially as of late, have been discovered all too often in their affairs with underage students. Of course it is an ignorant remark to say that one should, therefore, not have surgery or go to school, as discouraging Catholics from their faith on the basis of such crimes is similarly faulty.\nEven if the intention of the column was to discourage the silence of the victims of such crimes, it should have also encouraged abused women, date-rape victims and victims of other all-too-common terrifying crimes to come forward, instead of targeting Catholics.\nFinally, consider the suspicions that may have arisen due to such a biased opinion column. As a devout Catholic who has never met a priest at fault for the aforementioned crime, I'd like to support our Catholic community.\nAlison Jones\nFreshman
Columnist's sensationalism\nIn an April 10 column ("Calling All Catholics"), Sarah Payton makes one sensational claim after another.\nWith comments like "any community is fair game" and "at least 2,000 priests nationwide are fair game," Payton does her best to condemn as many priests as possible. As far as she is concerned, all priests are pedophiles and Catholicism is the cause. She writes: "If your son keeps his family rooted in Catholicism, you could have grandchildren who -- no matter where they live, or what priest becomes their 'Father' -- go through the same misery."\nThe laity have to be more active and present in their parishes, and the priests need to be more aware and swift in their punishments against those in their own ranks who betray the Church. Nonetheless, such "Judas priests" are a very small percentage of all priests, and they will be rooted out.\nStefano Galluzo\nCatholic League for Religious and Civil Rights Research Analyst
Babe Ruth, Hitler and Nick's\nInside the front door of Nick's is a picture superimposing Babe Ruth and Hitler together. Instead of doing anything irate I nonchalantly asked the waiter about the picture. I tried to remain calm, as I listened to a myriad of justifications.\nOne reason offered was that I should just "get over it" and not be so politically correct. Maybe I misinterpreted what I heard, but did someone tell me to get over the atrocities of World War II. Fifty years from now I hope that no one will suggest that I get over the World Trade Center attacks. I thought that maybe I was overly sensitive to issues relating to the Holocaust. After all, my great grandparents were murdered in a concentration camp. When I was young I could not grasp the horrendous events that ensnarl World War II. But I did learn to never forget what happened. I am now able to understand that the moment you forget, the opportunity arises that it can happen again. The notion of allowing a Holocaust to occur again did not seem a rational explanation.\nAnother explanation entailed the picture being an artistic expression of diversity. Apparently, the picture represents that at Nick's, people from all different backgrounds can come together. Unless I am misinformed, Hitler slaughtered any diversion from his ideal race. Associating Hitler with diversity is analogous to associating the Ku Klux Klan with desegregation. It is ridiculous and insulting to use someone of Hitler's nihilistic beliefs to represent diversity. This explanation leads me to consider that possibly the picture is an artistic expression.\nThis picture is no Annie Liebowitz, but I guess someone could consider it art. Since I am a strong First Amendment advocate, I won't ask that Nick's remove the picture. Instead I will just reserve my right to congregate elsewhere. Whether you choose to interpret the picture in a similar manner is up to you, but consider as well that there is a swastika hanging by the bar.\nGerald Sachs\nGraduate Student
Give peace a chance \nThis letter is in response to Vincent Carr's column ("Department of Peace a Waste," April 17) bashing the idea of a "Peace Department" in the U.S. government. His argument is essentially that this is just another sign of an "ever-growing government" that would waste millions of dollars. Further, he argues that such a department would merely do things that other departments already do.\nFirst, I must point out how ironic it is that the enemies of big government and peace programs see no problem with the fact that the president requested $396 billion in defense spending for 2003. The budgets of the next 25 largest militaries combined spend about $315 billion on defense! We also outspend the "axis of evil" and related nations by a ratio of about 26:1.\nIf you were to poll the people of just about any country on earth and ask them, "How do Americans solve international problems?" the overwhelming opinion would be that we solve problems with military force or the threat of force. A department of our government that would focus on non-violent solutions to domestic and international disputes might change the global perception of \nAmerica as a violent nation. More importantly than changing perception, however, such a program is likely to reduce threats from other nations that see the U.S. as a military adversary. Then, perhaps, our military budget could be reduced, and Mr. Carr could have a lot more bucks in his pocket. Think about how many billions could be saved if we could close down even some of our bases (many left from WWII) in Germany, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Italy, Turkey, Pakistan, etc.\nAs to the argument that other government departments fulfill the function of promoting peace, I would beg to differ. Federal funds promote law enforcement, they supplement state education funding, but almost none are targeted at finding non-violent ways to address international conflicts.\nSo, it may sound cheesy, but give peace a chance. A Peace Department will save us a lot of money in the long run, but more importantly, it will save lives.\nMatt Silverman\nGraduate Student
Abercrombie shirts offensive to Asian student group\nAn unfortunate event has happened. Abercrombie & Fitch, a major retailer, marketed graphic T-shirts that were intended to draw audiences through racial references. Some phrases used were "Buddha Bash," "Eat-in or Wok out." and "Two Wongs can make it white," a slight modification of the old "Two Wongs can't make a White" racial joke. \nThe Asian Student Union, together with our associations, condemn the actions of Abercrombie & Fitch, namely for having marketed graphic T-shirts that portrayed Asians and Asian Americans in a stereotypical manner with references to old racial slurs and commercialization of our religious deity.\nWe are saddened that the officers at the executive level in Abercrombie & Fitch could issue statements that seem to downplay the outrage Asian Pacific Americans feel all over the US as merely a result of when people cannot take a joke. It is ignorant to feel that making racial jokes is acceptable, and at the massive scale of the stereotype that was performed by Abercrombie & Fitch, we expect an unequivocal apology on an equally massive scale.\nWe are asking for Abercrombie & Fitch to issue a public apology on its Web site regarding this issue. It is pertinent that we confirm their sincerity of regret on their actions. We do not feel that IU is a place that tolerates racial degradation and marketing the product in stores that cater to the campus population (College Mall) compromises our striving for diversity and awareness on campus.\nWe urge everyone who purchased the T-shirts to return them or not to wear them. They are offensive, degrading, insensitive and an extremely disheartening portrayal of Asian American stereotypes. For those who feel the exigency to write personal letters to Abercrombie & Fitch, Asian American Association is collecting letters of complaint in its office, Indiana Memorial Union, Suite 672. Letters will be delivered in bulk to the Abercrombie store at College Mall.\nChristopher Chan\nChairperson, Asian Student Union
Cars should be banned from cities\nI believe that cars should be banned from cities or at least banned from campus and downtown/uptown type areas. Maybe there should be big parking garages somewhere on the outskirts of town with a shuttle service. There should be more earth-made wilderness around. I want more oxygen and fewer cars.\nIs that bad? Impractical? It is probably impractical with the way our society is. Isn't that sad? I am sick of breathing in fumes on a hot, sunny day. And I am sick of the danger. A car probably weighs close to ten times more than I do and I am 170 pounds of flesh and fragile parts. Beware cars please! People are important -- don't hit them even if they get in your way; they are fragile. I understand that transportation is useful, but there should be no traffic problems. Fewer cars! More oxygen! I am no environmentalist. I have been destroying everything around along with all of you since I was born.\nHuman beings are the plague of the Earth. How nice Earth would be if we never existed. How nice. But we do exist so cars should be careful.\nAndrew Barker\nSenior
Staff needs religious sensitivity class\nI do not know if there is a class here at IU for religious sensitivity, but I believe the staff of the IDS, especially Sarah Payton, needs to take part in one due to the amount of religious intolerance within this newspaper especially toward Roman Catholics. The fact that this is true creates a bad representation for IU.\nJohn Miklozek\nSenior
Hardee's could use empathetic heart \nAs a social work major at IU, I am intrigued to share my thoughts on the article, "Shelter finds ad offensive," printed March 27 in the IDS. This article gave light to a Hardee's recent advertisement, which suggests that two dollars can "make a homeless person really happy." Believing in the dignity and worth of every individual, I strongly agree with the position of representatives from Shelter, Inc., in Bloomington. Too often, this country targets populations of people to make a joke, or in the case of Hardee's advertisement campaign, to make money. People who are homeless are a population with challenges in their lives that they must struggle with every day. Targeting them is like targeting other populations that face challenges in our society, such as those with disabilities or minorities. It saddens me that a country that strives to eliminate discrimination would encourage and support a company that promotes the opposite.\nHave corporate members of Hardee's ever experienced homelessness? Judging from the ad and from their comments on the issue, I'm guessing not. Have I ever experienced homelessness? Luckily, no. But there is a great and significant difference I must state: I and many of my fellow Americans have empathetic hearts.\nThe homeless certainly do not need a measly two dollars, nor do they need to be at the subject of a "joke" to sell hamburgers. What they need and deserve, but so often do not receive as human beings in this country, is respect and support from those who have been lucky in this so-called democratic society.\nI recommend that Hardee's emerge from corporate heaven and come back down to the harsh reality here on earth, where children are hungry and people die because of homelessness.\nHomelessness is not a humorous matter when you think about it in that context, is it? So, Hardee's, attempt to grow an empathetic heart. Trust me, I am sure you will be "really happy" when you do.\nAlicia Chambers\nJunior
Little 500 coverage inaccurate\nI was amused by the inaccuracy of yesterday morning's front-page headline "Independents Rule Race." In keeping with a common sentiment of the paper's reporting, the headline is both anti-greek and fails to accurately report upon the makeup of this year's Little 500 teams. While the IDS would like to have its readers believe independents dominated the race, the fact is that the 1st and 2nd place teams of the men's race along with the 2nd and 3rd place teams of the women's race are from the greek community. Certainly the IDS would not want to accurately report The Corleones was actually Sigma Alpha Epsilon's team and that Gafombi is made up of former members of Beta Theta Pi. Both teams were riding under independent names as a result of Betas being kicked off campus and SAE being on probation for violation of the alcohol policy. While the IUSF officially classifies these teams as "independent," anyone who believes these are not greek teams riding under artificial names is simply kidding themselves. Sororities comprised seven of the top 10 places in the women's race while seven of the top 10 men's teams were also greek, if you count the Corleones and Gafombi. These statistics hardly point to a race that was "Ruled by Independents." While it is certainly fair to criticize the greek system when they are in violation of University policies, I urge the paper to at the very least make an attempt to accurately report the facts rather than continuously display an overwhelming anti-greek sentiment in its reporting.\nKane McCord\nSenior
Support death penalty to save money\nSorry to disagree with columnist Jim Harper ("Human rights for everyone," Apr. 19), but I don't think you've lived long enough to witness and experience how killers "uncivilize" the United States -- the most civilized of any country on earth. Frankly, I'd like to keep it that way. The more killers we keep paying for their room and board in prison, the millions that must be spent to build more prisons, more guards must be hired to police inside those walls and the more high-priced lawyers it takes to fight their cases; the poorer this country becomes. It is absurd to say that capital punishment is ineffective. It's a fact that with each one who deserves and receives this penalty, that is one less serious felon left to commit another crime and one less criminal to feed for life; and good citizens' lives become safer each time a hardened criminal receives the death penalty. Nobody's inalienable rights are taken from him as long as he is a law abiding citizen.\nCriminals bring this upon themselves. They choose this lifestyle for themselves by carrying out unlawful actions they know in advance bring consequences. Do you prefer to live in a peaceful place of law and order; or a place where thieves, drug addicts, vandals, molesters, gangs, rapists and murderers are kept and coddled? That should settle the dilemma for us all.\nKaren S. Johnston\nBloomington Resident
