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Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
Student calls for sophisticated, not grotesque demonstration
Is this the level of discourse at Appalachian State?
Upon arriving on campus on Wednesday, I found anti-abortion protestors occupying a large section of the mall with metal bars around their exhibit.
Inside were pictures associating abortion with Nazi Germany, or barring that - simply the most graphic images they could find.
In college, we are supposed to work on our reasoning, our critical thinking skills, and to become mature adults.
However, these disingenuous tactics simply appeal to the lowest common denominator, and merely try to elicit an “Ewwww.”
Aren’t we capable of more than that?
Theo Saslow
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graduate student
Faculty member responds to recent letter
To the Editor:
I am writing in response to Cinthia Pratt’s letter regarding the noose
incident in Chapell Wilson. While I certainly support her freedom of
speech (as would everyone I’ve ever known in this current ASU
administration), as well as her defense of a friend, I have to disagree
with her conclusions.
The problem, as I see it, is not one of intent, but rather one of
interpretation. In our culture, the noose is a universally recognized
symbol of racial hatred.
As someone who studies a difficult period in our nation’s history
myself (in my case, the literature surrounding slavery), I understand
the importance of an academic community in which these subjects can be
introduced.
However, a wall ornament does not provide the necessary academic
context in which to tackle as difficult and emotionally charged an
issued as lynching.
If one of my students, (or for that matter any of my colleagues),
stopped by to ask that faculty member a question, or to discuss a
paper, and for one moment was unsettled, fearful, horrified or silenced
by the sight of the noose, it is one moment too many.
It is never appropriate to hang a noose in a university office. Never.
Sincerely,
Janet Beck
235 D.D. Dougherty
Student Support Services, Learning Assistance Program
262-3054
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