Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1998
Photo of Leopoldus in pain inappropriate
As if Dan Earl lying in pain on the front page didn't make me sick last semester, The Daily Collegian now saves the horrid image of injured gymnast Missy Leopoldus for the sports section. As an avid fan of Penn State sports, I like to see all of athletes do well, and I feel awful when they fall.
I know that all aspects of each event must be discussed, but can
we please accentuate the positive? The small picture of Leopoldus
in mid-vault would have been more than enough without another,
bigger image of her sitting agony.
Please spare the athletes, who most likely read your paper, along
with the rest of the student body, from reliving these dreadful
events.
J.E. Hamer
senior-statistics and mathematics
Class gift not worth senior's donation
A University student called me at 11 p.m. Monday regarding my $50 general deposit fee and the Senior Class Gift. She asked me to transfer this $50 over to the HUB terrace project as my donation to the Senior Class Gift.
I did not vote for this little "patio project," nor
do I enjoy being solicited at home at 11 p.m. for my general deposit
fee. However, I did take the time to listen to her proposition.
In the course of the conversation, I learned that if this money
is left in my account, it will be refunded to me eventually, approximately
three months after graduation. I informed her that I would be
more than happy to wait for my refund check.
To the rest of you graduating seniors: I don't know about you,
but Penn State has spent enough of my money. I'd like my 50 bucks
back.
Amy Haagen
senior-public relations
Israel not completely innocent country
Sahar Oz's letter to the editor that appeared in The Daily Collegian on Monday regarding the policies and practices of the state of Israel is full of inaccuracies and biases. He complains that the United Nations has been harsh on Israel. I question his reasoning, especially considering the recent activities supported by the Israeli government.
Last September, two Israeli citizens working in conjunction with
the Israeli government entered Jordan and attempted to assassinate
a prominent Muslim leader by injecting him with a poison created
in Israel by the state of Israel. Israel refused to provide the
antidote stating that doing so would be a breach of national security.
The reaction of the world and the United Nations to this event
and others like it has been one of disdain, followed immediately
by inactivity to control or correct the problem. How can the world
operate under such biases? How can we ask Iraq, Pakistan and other
nations to dissolve all nuclear and biological weapons while there
is one nation that constantly violates all the rules and yet is
not pushed to adhere to the same standards given to the rest of
the world?
Finally, Oz complains about the deaths of Israelis throughout
the years of wars and strife in the region. While this is true,
he neglects to mention the scores of Arab deaths that the Israelis
are responsible for, not to mention the rubber bullet fiasco,
in which Israeli soldiers were given rubber bullets intended just
to hurt Arabs rather than killing them. This did not work, and
many more Arabs were killed as a result.
In conclusion, there is so much that we don't know about Israel's
activities. Any nation that does not allow Amnesty International,
the world's premier human rights organization, access to its land
to evaluate its activities regarding human rights needs to be
scrutinized as it probably has something to hide.
Dina Dajani
graduate-anthropology
