Letters to the Editor

To the Editor: As the world passes into a new century humanity is faced with a much larger choice than war or peace, we are faced with the question of existence or non-existence. There is more at stake here than is being addressed by the administration or the media.

To the Editor: Power is an elusive commodity. But like the dollar, it is essentially the currency of politics. A state must secure it, build it up, whenever possible, but invest it with the greatest possible care. As a teacher of international relations, I consider myself a student of power politics, a realist with regard to power's value and uses.

To the Editor: The issue of sanctions against Iraq is one where thoughtful people often hold opposite views. I described the sanctions on Iraq as an atrocity for which the US holds significant responsibility. The consistent, reliable figures from UNICEF and from public health experts hold that something on the order of half a million Iraqi children under the age of five are dead as a result of the sanctions.

To the Editor: "No student at Fairfield University was affected more by the Sept. 11 attacks than Sharon Hoey, '04. Patrick A. Hoey, Sharon's father and a Port Authority of New York employee, was killed that day." Those are some very bold statements; untrue, but bold.

In response to the article about Sharon Hoey and the 9/11 Memorial Scholarship, it angers me that I attend a university that regularly forgets its responsibility to students in the intangible ways. I refer to that "Jesuit spirit" they expect us to uphold, when clearly so many administrative officials do not.

The worst part about the most recent calamity, the hostage crisis, is that I found out the news from a friend in New York City while I was standing in front of Xavier Hall at 5:20 p.m. over an hour after the situation began. I drove through campus without any obvious sign of increased security or restriction on campus or at the main entrance. This lack of information or reaction is unsatisfactory and leaves me wondering about the preparation of our school in the face of emergency.