Dear Editor,
I have a very strong interest on both sides of the current concern over Military Recruiters on campus. I attended the recent debate on campus between a Marine Officer and a lawyer from the ACLU. A recent issue of the Star reported an incident on campus on recruiters that I did not have an opportunity to observe. But what I want to address is Emily Mead's Editorial in the same issue and her courage, conviction and strength in the face of disrespect, vilification and unceasing, annoying noise. When Emily refers to our right to "whine" I am reminded of a very conservative cartoonist (who would have made Rush blush!) back in the day, who referred to student protestors as Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything: SWINE. He was focusing on those brave student demonstrators who demanded amnesty and offered sets of non-negotiable demands; before they burned the President's office.
Yes, I support the rights of students to demonstrate. I support the rights of professors to entice and encourage students to rise up and be heard on concerns like the current debate (and noisy demonstrations!) on student's' rights to vote on items directly affecting them. But I would more strongly support honesty and openness and professionalism that I find sadly missing on the part of some one who is literally wildly indignant about nearly everything. I would never go so far as censoring such persons. Sometimes their presence makes my day in a rather perverted kind of way. Many times they challenge me and my convictions and that's a good thing. Sometimes they tinkle me off (one of my children coined that) so much I just want to scream and shout and beat on a drum!
I cannot say for certain who that is behind those Foster Grants on the front page of the April 12, 2006 Star but if his presence is intended to suggest "See No Evil" and "Speak No Evil" (take out a copy and see to what I refer) then it's not who I thought it was.
Keep up the good work, Emily. And God Bless the non-apathetic, caring, passionate students and faculty. May they beat their drums until the rain stops and the grapes grow.
--Jim Robertson, Dean,
School of Business and Economics
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