This is my last column as a Forum Editor. I’m sure that many of you are breathing sighs of relief. No longer will you have to read about justifications for infanticide, the unconstitutionality of marriage, counter-intuitive statistics on sexual and domestic violence, arguments for affirmative action, and vegetarianism.

Many of you were kind enough to give me feedback on my thoughts, whether via e-mail or by stopping me outside of Holmes Lounge. I am sincerely grateful for these comments, both critical and positive. Sometimes, I was asked, “Do you really believe what you wrote?” To greater and lesser degrees, I do.

Over Passover, a fellow student prompted me to write about my thoughts on Israel. I’ve been reluctant to address this issue, but seeing as it’s my last column, what the heck.

My opinion is that we are not thinking deeply enough about the ethical questions in the Israel-Palestine debate. Every week, I’ve seen vitriolic op-eds on these pages making ad hominem attacks against other writers, condemning Israel for human rights abuses, or labeling Palestinians as terrorists. My personal experience also validates that many students are just sticking to the party line and only making the weakest attempts to appreciate the other side.

Ethical problems are not black and white, despite what our President says and despite the fact that many fellow Americans seem to agree with him. Life, and certainly the Middle East, has shades of gray. Does Israel commit human rights abuses? Absolutely, and it’s time everyone acknowledge that. But we also should acknowledge that Israel is attacked continuously by Palestinian terrorists and has a right to self-defense.

We should explore the full set of solutions to this problem. Israel was established to secure Jewish safety; it does not exist for its own sake. If such safety is better guaranteed without Israel, then maybe we should reconsider whether a Jewish state is warranted. If the world would be a better place without Israel, should it exist? By no means am I implying that it shouldn’t; my feeling is that Israel is a net plus in the world because of its respect for gay rights, religious freedom, freedom of speech and press, and democracy. But we have to be ready to make hard choices, should those choices turn out to be the most ethical.

We always talk about how “conversations” and “dialogue” lead to mutual understanding and ease tensions. But merely listening to others is not good enough; people often talk past each other. The best way to understand the complexity of an issue, and appreciate the opposing view, is to argue for it. For example, I’d love to see a debate where Students for Life speaks in favor of abortion rights while Students for Choice argues against them.

This university isn’t forcing us to navigate moral gray areas, and it should. I’d like to see professors assign papers where it is mandatory that you argue for a view opposite your own. After writing six pages on why abortion was wrong for a term paper, you better believe my pro-choice convictions were seriously questioned and I appreciated the issue (especially pro-life arguments) much more.

I stand by the reasoning I’ve presented in my last 35 columns, though in some cases I no longer agree with my conclusions. In others I never did, but I strongly believe in playing devil’s advocate if no one else will. My thinking has evolved as a result of my columns, and I hope that yours has as well. I’d like to especially thank Prof. Joan Brockmann, Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, Rabbi Hershey Novack, Ojiugo Uzoma, and Kevin Vallier for inspiring and challenging my thinking these last three years.

We have four new talented Forum editors on their way, and I’m sure they’ll have no difficulty coming up with topics to write insightfully about. I’ll inherit the section from my senior editor, Stacie Driebusch, who did an amazing job with Forum this semester.

While I may be the editor, Forum is your page. If you have an opinion that would contribute to campus discussions, I’d love to have it in Forum. I want to emphasize that this is a place for constructive opinions of all ideologies, from all campus members. You are always free to contact me with questions or comments about Forum.

Who better to guarantee the encouragement of critical discussion in the Forum than a Roman?

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