Uranium Attack Misinformed

To the Editors:

Nick Stillman's March 17 article "Father of Student Faces Jail for Protest" fails to address the military's actual use of depleted uranium, choosing instead to rely on Plowshare propaganda. Indeed, Kate Berringan's question that these "weapons even exist at all when obviously their only purpose is to kill civilians" reveals her failure to understand the issue.

Depleted uranium should not be confused with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. As it is DEPLETED, it is no longer hazardously radioactive. Stillman is correct in stating that it is "toxic," but no more so than lead, a common metal used for ammunition. Depleted uranium is an exceptionally dense metal placed on the tip of large ammunition shells. These shells, fired by the A-10 attack plane among other vehicles, can pierce straight through a tank or other heavily armored vehicle, instantly destroying that target. While these shells could be fired against civilians, that is not what they are designed for. The U.S. has far cheaper and more effective weapons for use on unfortified targets like civilians.

In fact, depleted uranium saves civilians. Using an A-10, which is essentially a flying tank, the military can perform 'surgical strikes' on enemy targets in heavily populated areas with virtually no collateral damage to civilian property and lives. Thus, the use of these weapons result in far fewer indiscriminate strikes against cities in a 'carpet bombing' fashion, a tactic frequently used by the U.S. in World War II and Vietnam which caused tremendous civilian destruction.

If the Plowshares want to protest weapons which they feel are responsible for civilian deaths, depleted uranium and the A-10 are poor targets.

--Josh Hart; College junior,

Senators Must Be Here, and Now

An open letter to the Student Senate c/o Editor:

Student Senators,

I was pleased to hear of the General Faculty (GF) voting to remove Chris Anton from the GF meeting. Although we may not always agree with the motives and the outcomes of their decisions, I believe that at large most Oberlin College students will agree that the GF are all smart people. Each professor brings something different to Oberlin, but all of them, no matter what their specialty, are experienced and very intelligent. Which, unfortunately, is more than I can say for the opinion that my friends and I hold about the student senate. I believe that it was quite a bungle to admit Chris Anton as a member while he is not a student. You can say that he is only one semester removed, so he is still intimate with the issues surrounding students, and in that respect he only violates the letter of the rule and not the spirit. But by allowing Anton in the senate after being removed a semester, how can you say no to the senator gone two semesters? Or three, four or five semesters? Soon, perhaps kids from Langston Middle School will be on the ballot for Student Senate. Then to hide your folly, you make accusations of the GF ganging up against you, or holding you down. You have become a farcical comic to the general student body. I told my parents about the Anton debacle, and they just laughed. Many students read about you and laugh too. They believe as I do that the GF may make daft or foolish choices sometimes, but they do have the student as a priority, because without students, they would not have a job. When we have senators that acknowledge this, perhaps they will work with the GF instead of against them to solve problems instead of making problems and hopelessly complicating nonsensical issues. When that happens, I will be represented. But I am NOT represented by the blunderous dolts that have been making all the media rabblement recently.

--Richard W. Pierce; College sophomore,

Oberlin Alumni Value College

To the Editors:

For just about 24 years I remained in exile from Oberlin. There was no reason for this; I had lost touch with Oberlin because of my own apathy. In 1998 I returned to Oberlin as part of the steering committee of the Oberlin Lambda Alumni. When I arrived at Hopkins Airport I was met by several of the other members of the steering committee, all of whom were strangers. But as we rode to Oberlin together, I felt an instant bond with my colleagues. We had all been students at Oberlin during different years, but Oberlin had had profound influences on all of our lives. When our car entered Oberlin, I was gripped with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and comfort, a feeling I still feel every time I return to campus.

Not only did my experiences at Oberlin mold me intellectually and musically, but my fours years there had great impact upon my social, political and creative thinking. Freedom of thought and acceptance of diversity at Oberlin are two values which I have tried to keep in my own life over the years. It was at Oberlin where I first "came out" and accepted my own sexual orientation. It was at Oberlin where I realized how useless the war in Vietnam was and how important it is to voice one's dissent. It was at Oberlin where I also learned to listen to views which conflicted with my own. My four years at Oberlin shaped the next 27 years and have given me courage to live my life as a gay man openly in a conservative community and to speak freely on the somewhat provincial campus where I now teach.

This weekend, April 7 - 9, the steering committee of the Oberlin Lambda Alumni will be gathering on campus. We represent a significant portion of the Oberlin Alumni Association, and our steering committee includes alumni from the class of 1950 through the '80s. We are not only committed to the queer alumni of Oberlin, but we share many concerns for current members of the Oberlin campus community. On Friday evening we will be hosting a reception beginning at 8 p.m. in Peters Hall. Our dear friend and liaison Tori McReynolds has organized this event for us. We hope to see many students at this reception. We would like to talk and mingle with Oberlin students in order to try to understand the current climate on campus, particularly for those in the queer communities. We want to know how we, as a large group of alumni scattered throughout the globe, can help you when you leave the unusual nest Oberlin has created for you, and we want you to become active with us once you enter the world outside of Oberlin.

I hope that you, as current students at Oberlin, will not wait 24 years to become active alumni and supporters of the most wonderful college in the country. We look forward to your joining the alumni community!

--James Harrington, OC '73; Co-Chair, Oberlin Lambda Alumni Member, Executive Board of the Alumni Association,

In House Security Problems Mask Whole Story

To the Editors:

This letter is a response to the Oberlin Review editorial and the letter written by Professor James Millette, which appeared in the March 17, 2000 edition of the Oberlin Review.

It's always easy to judge when you're on the outside looking in but when the shoe is on the other foot it's amazing how things can suddenly become crystal clear. For nearly five years now the Oberlin College Safety and Security department has been in a state of mistrust. Until now only a few were the wiser as to what was really happening largely due to the fact that the employees in the department are professionals and have attempted to keep things "in house". Every possible avenue has been exhausted in attempts to rectify and resolve the problems in the department, from holding scheduling meetings with various administrators in the President's office to meeting with the Dean of Students, to having an outside consultant come in (twice) thus putting to rest the statement in the Oberlin Review staff editorial that an outside administrator should come in to analyze the situation. As for the schedules that personnel have been forced to adapt to, let it be known that each and every officer (be it a road or communications officer) has adapted to whatever schedule has been assigned, thus putting to rest the statement in the same editorial that the scheduling was causing a hardship on the employees' personal lives. In the field of law enforcement as in the health care and fire/safety fields one knows that the schedules that one works can never be categorized with any sense of "normality". It's a part of our lives to have to report to work at all hours of the day and night, be it for an emergency situation or because of a shortage in the work force. As for the "paper trail" mentioned in reference to grievances filed, let it be known that OCSA had no other alternative but to pursue that route because of the following reasons:

(1) The repeated violations of the contract by management (2) Management's failure to respond to grievances in a timely manner (as outlined in the contract) (3) The advice of the unions national representatives.

As for Deb McNish (interim director of Student Life) taking an active role in the everyday running of security, Mrs. McNish only met with supervisors (in the presence of management) but failed to meet with the other members of the department. We are not a group of "disgruntled employees" who are whining about "trivial" and "petty" issues, but consummate professionals who between us have quite a bit of experience on this campus and who operate under a contract that was fought over in tough negotiations long before the current management team ever arrived on the scene. It is a contract by which every member of the union must abide. We are not the least bit "uncomfortable" or "insecure" about our functions in this department but rather with the style in which management operates. Professor Millette what relevance do any of the questions that you asked in your letter have to do with any of the real issues that are at the core of the situation (i.e. personal security by employees and familial or other personal relationships)? Where do you propose that the employees of this department be reassigned?

I have but one piece of advice to give to all. If you truly want to know the facts behind the allegations, then perhaps you should ask those involved instead of speculating.

--Jane Macarthy; Senior Communications Officer, Oberlin College Safety and Security,