The media told me bin Laden is THE criminal and I believed, like many a million did. But I have yet to see any proof.
Reflecting back at the events I ask myself, “Is there any justification for this war? Could this war have been avoided? Why did Bush refuse to negotiate with the Taliban?”
It is the last of these questions which dazzles me. How can a country standing up for world peace refuse to settle this crisis in a peaceful manner? The Taliban sees bin Laden as someone who helped them fight against the Russians and who saved Afghani lives. Is it not their right to ask the United States to provide them with evidence against bin Laden? They offered to hand over bin Laden to be tried under Muslim law in a neutral country — a very acceptable offer — so why did the United States reject it?
All of this leads me to question whether we even have enough evidence to prove bin Laden was behind the Sept. 11 attacks. If the United States does, then why doesn’t it show it to the Taliban and end this thing? Do we have to play tit for tat and take 4000 lives in return?
Asif Pesnani
UW student
I am writing to inform people about State Assembly Bill 360, one of the worst bills ever to be introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature. I call it the “Don’t-worry-your-pretty-little-head-about-it” bill. Why? Because this bill would protect physicians and other health care workers who deliberately withhold information from an expectant woman or couple.
This bill would even protect a physician who refuses to tell a woman she is pregnant, by shielding him or her from all civil liability. Why? Because the anti-choice groups in Wisconsin will try anything — including denying women basic information about their own health — to prevent them from making their own educated decisions. That’s right, just don’t worry your pretty little head about it.
Why do I say “anti-choice” rather than “pro-life?” Because if these groups were really pro-life, they would want to ensure that women knew when they were pregnant, so they could get the necessary pre-natal care. They would want women to know if there were a problem with a fetus, so that if she chose to continue the pregnancy, she and her family would be prepared.
They would want women to know if there were a threat to their own health.
But they don’t — what they want is for women to be denied the right to make their own decisions.
But, this bill has only been introduced, and there is a legislative hearing scheduled at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 6. Go and register your opposition or contact your state representatives. Let them know that you want women to have the right to medical information and that you oppose AB 360.
Rebecca Congo
UW Law Student
I am writing to voice my displeasure with the process by which the senior class officers chose a student speaker for the December graduation ceremonies.
Interested in delivering the speech, I went to my interview confident about what I had to say. However, I was surprised by the ridiculous questions I was asked. For instance: “In seven words, describe your experience at UW-Madison” and “What would you give UW as a senior class gift?” Well, if anyone can answer the first one, they obviously lived in a hole during their time at UW. They also asked me what advice I would give a freshman and who I wanted to see as the main speaker for graduation. Not once was I asked what I wanted to give the speech about.
I wanted to deliver a reflection on my time at UW and give the audience an opportunity to think of someone who truly made a difference in their time at UW. However, I was never given the opportunity in front of these students to let them know of my intentions.
Goldstein said at the end of my interview that he would let me know by the end of the week who had been chosen. I got an e-mail less than one hour later saying they had made their decision on who would be speaking at commencement, and it was not me.
This leads me to believe they already had their minds made up. I think the fact that I may not have been involved in student government may, in the end, have hurt my chances. I am tired of these events becoming arenas for people to give a political viewpoint. The proper commencement speech reflects on the past and gives direction for the future.
I don’t say I was the right choice, but I should have been given the opportunity to explain to these fellow students what my plan was and that it truly was a great idea for me, my fellow graduates and the university as whole.
Greg Sutcliffe
UW senior