Regarding the incident with Dr. Berthold, freedom of speech has once again been brought into the spotlight. Many of us, if not all, understand the importance of the right to free speech, but what is free speech?
In response to numerous inquiries as to how the University will deal with the remark made one of its professors about the tragic events of Sept. 11, I want people to know that the University will vigorously pursue this matter through its internal disciplinary procedures.
The remark that Professor Berthold made about the attack on the Pentagon was out of line and insensitive, but that doesn't change the fact that he is still one of the best professors this University has to offer.
Tuesday proved to be a very sad day for UNM, with several students and community leaders calling for the resignation of Professor Richard Berthold and the Faculty Senate and administration distancing themselves from the matter.
Regardless of all the controversy surrounding history professor Richard M. Berthold's backing of the recent terrorist bombing, he taught quite possibly the best less of his 30 years. The real reason why the University and community is outraged is in response to Berthold showing that even a professor of 30 years is still human and still searching for answers.
Anti-war protests, loud-mouthed professors, bullying legislators, and confused students. This is not a flashback to your father's or mother's 1960s, but the reality of campus life in 2001.
Who is tired of paying for an education and getting left or right wing propaganda?
UNM is like most universities, it fills the minds of students and faculty with fantasy misinformation that numbs us to reality. Everything around us becomes a statistic and desensitizes us to the fact that people - mothers, fathers, partners, lovers, children and unborn babies - of all ethnicities and religions died in the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Pennsylvania attacks.
My letter is in regard to the article in Monday's Daily Lobo concerning Richard Berthold's remark about the Pentagon.
For years, I have had to endure the ranting and raving of Dr. "Tricky Dick" Berthold. His views on the Ethnic Centers of UNM have been appalling, ridiculous and racist. I avoided taking a class with this man like the plague for the simple reason that I did not want to subject myself to listening to what he had to say.
Friday evening started out pretty normally. Speeches, chants, leaflets, some radical cheerleading, the creepy spirit of resistance -- you know, the usual. Then, they started singing: "All we are saying is give peace a chance."
On Sept. 11, at the beginning of my 8 and 11 o'clock classes, I made a number of callous and insensitive remarks to those classes, including a flip remark about anyone blowing up the Pentagon getting my vote.
The shock is beginning to wear off and people are responding in their own ways to the terrorist attacks that rocked the nation nearly two weeks ago.
America needs to start fighting the war against terrorism domestically before focusing on nations abroad. The recent tragic and horrendous events in New York and Washington, D.C. have brought to light some very serious concerns regarding past American foreign policy and its poignant implications today.
Most of us are lucky to have grown up in an environment that listened to our needs and interests. Schools, clubs, families, and jobs can provide us with a safe environment. I have lived in several neighborhoods and attended several schools and have found that not all places are as encouraging as I wish everyone could experience.
We can all agree, at least I hope we can, that peace is what we want. Some people will argue that we must all unite, now or never, in uprooting the evil that has scourged this earth with terrorism. Others argue that cheering for war with the attitude resembling a Monday-night football pep rally is a dangerous statement towards humanity; similar to what happened on Sept. 11.
I have been following the letters in the Daily Lobo recently and felt compelled to speak. Not to agree or to disagree with any of the writers, but merely to offer an idea that may have escaped the attention of so many emotionally-charged minds.
This morning in Kabul, Afghanistan, a baby girl was born - a baby girl with a very special mind. Maybe her neurotransmitters are in a slightly different balance; maybe her neurons form connections faster than usual; maybe her cells hold memories of hundreds of past lifetimes.
For more than a quarter century I have been an ardent supporter of the Palestinian cause, of freeing their homeland from Israeli soldiers and colonists and all the brutality and suffering involved in the Occupation. This has not been easy path to tread since most Americans know little about Palestine beyond what they are told by a biased media and elected officials utterly terrified of Zionist money opposing them in their next election.
On behalf of the Muslim Student Association, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude for your support and encouragement in Wednesday's Islamic Awareness Day.
Solutions by The State News
