To the Editor:
I believe it is important, especially as college students, for us to recognize the men and women who so bravely serve in the armed forces of the United States. They give their lives so that we can live in freedom every day. I am upset though, at the way I feel the university has used these men and women’s dedication as an opportunity for advertising and promotion. The campaign FUSA has been advertising across campus is a good idea; troop appreciation cards would be made available so that university students wire small notes of gratitude to those serving in Iraq. When I was asked to sign a card though, I was startled when I looked at it. The cards look strikingly similar to the materials Fairfield uses to entice prospective students through the admissions office. The pictures alone on the front of the card are frequently used on publicity materials. As I thought about what to write on the card, I realized how silly I would feel if someone in Iraq actually received my message. Many of the men and women who serve in the armed forces are the same age college students, and as we are here learning and having a great time, they are putting their lives on the line for our freedom. I wish the cards at least had pictures of students on them; faces of real people, not just a distant university where deer graze by a pond. Simple construction paper and markers would have done far better justice to what FUSA wanted to achieve.
Sincerely, Mandy Johnson ’05
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