Dear Editor:
For the last few weeks, the pervasive bombardment of election propaganda on campus has been impossible to avoid. Socialist realism artwork, T-shirts, posters (some ironically stapled to trees) and my personal favorite, the ridiculous “I Vote” buttons, are seemingly endless and everywhere.
By the way, can I still get my hands on one of those poster-boards with “change” written on it? That particular item still confuses me. Now perhaps my constitutional education needs some refreshing, but I was under the impression that whatever the outcome, George Bush will no longer be president next year. Maybe I can snag the closest person wearing a “Hope” T-shirt to clarify my ignorance.
Even better than the propaganda are the three times in the last two weeks I had students affiliated with the Obama campaign come to my physical residence, knock on my door and ask me if I was registered to vote.
The point is that it is insulting and annoying. Everyone here was smart enough to gain admittance into a consistently top 12 university and probably smart enough to exercise their voting rights. So while I appreciate you disturbing me at home for the third time this week, I already voted a month ago.
The other problem is the notion that by voting, you are worthy of some sort of social admiration. So you voted; congratulations, here’s a cookie and a megaphone to go tell the world how special you are. What happened to voting simply being a civic duty and a personal choice?
This is not to say that people cannot be enthusiastic about candidates. By all means, hold your rallies, wear your T-shirts and hold intelligent discussion about issues. But just in case someone might have an opinion that differs from yours (a hypothetical, of course), maybe refrain from slapping Obama posters on the side of the law school, trees on campus and all door-handles in Village East.
Please be respectful of this campus and the students who attend it before deciding to turn Washington University into a cesspool of partisan propaganda.
Brian Jones
Class of 2009
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Dear Editor:
This year, my American Politics course has given me a myriad of insights into the complexities of the United States government, the most important being that political discourse is demonstrative of a healthy democracy: The clash of ideologies keeps the United States true to its Constitution. Inevitably, it was in this class that I saw an example of such a battle. On Monday, a disgruntled student made it very clear, during a comment in class, that he believed the professor to be placing an intentional liberal swing on information by carefully selecting which facts to present.
I believe the student’s claim to be absolutely unfounded and unwarranted. My professor has done a commendable job in presenting both sides of issues, even portraying weaknesses of Democrats. For example, the only readings that have been assigned pertaining to the current candidates were one that presented a sweeping patriotic portrait of John McCain and another condemning Obama’s move to the center after receiving the nomination.
Even if there has been a slight bias, I would argue that, first of all, it is hard to avoid a bias because of natural human tendency (not excluding this article). Second, there are political science realities that my professor has conveyed through lectures and readings that are independent of party affiliation or political persuasion.
Yet, I can understand why the student may have been frustrated. From the letters to the editor that I have read in Student Life, I have been made aware of the persecution of minority ideology on campus. It is evidenced by more visible attempts of students to cover up McCain signs during VP debate coverage and the less visible squelching of the conservative minority in our very dorms.
Washington University students, including the student from my American Politics class, should take a look around to make sure they are helping to create an environment that fosters respectful political discourse. This includes listening quietly and respectfully when speakers with different beliefs are invited to campus (i.e. Alberto Gonzales from last year) and making sure that our friends and neighbors aren’t, for fear of attack, condemned to keep their opinions to themselves: Our democracy depends on it.
Eliot Walker
Class of 2011
There are rules, indeed
Dear Editor:
As I was going back to my off-campus apartment, I saw something quite disturbing on the overpass. As I was going down the ramp that leads to the sidewalk, someone was walking on the left side of the overpass. Did this person not see the instructions on the overpass clearly telling bikers to walk their bikes and pedestrians to keep to their right? Perhaps, I should give this person the benefit of the doubt, but after thinking about it, I realized that many people walk on the left side of the overpass. There are rules, people.
This blatant violation of the rules by all the pedestrians thinking that they live in Britain made me wonder, what’s next? First, people walk on the left side of the overpass. Then, drivers are going to drive faster than the speed limit. Before you know it, 20-year-olds are going to be drinking alcohol and 17-year-olds are going to be smoking and watching R-rated movies. Or things could get completely out of control, and college students—whether they know it’s illegal or not—could start smoking marijuana or doing even harder illegal drugs.
Any violations of the rules will likely lead to more severe violations. This thought convinced me that from now on, when meeting someone who is walking on the left side of the overpass, I will stop him/her and lecture boringly and sternly about the importance of obeying the rules. Even if there have not been any accidents resulting from people walking on the left side of the overpass (while, as far as I know, there have not been any accidents resulting from bikers riding their bikes on the overpass, though there have been many accidents resulting from speeding, drinking, smoking and other illegal activities that are still practiced), that should not be an excuse for pedestrians to create a safety risk by walking on their left. If bikers are required to get off and walk their bikes, thereby actually increasing the width required for them to get across the overpass, then people absolutely cannot allow themselves to walk on the left side of the overpass.
Dima Galkin
Class of 2010
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