Letters to the Editor

A challenge to OWL's Bicker Bill of Rights

You may have noticed that as President of Tower Club I 'signed' OWL's 'Bicker Bill of Rights'. Well, Why wouldn't I? And why wouldn't any other president? No president wants his or her club to be the one that 'endorses' sexual harassment. All OWL is asking is that we respond to an email saying that we do not support sexual harassment, and in return, they're offering an advertisement in the 'Prince' vouching that our clubs are a safe choice for sophomores. But now I must ask: If every president is going to sign this statement out of media pressure, and OWL has done no investigating of its own into the policies of the clubs, wherein lies the safety?

Tower, like many (and most likely all) of the clubs, is concerned with sexual harassment of both males and females on the street. Over the years our club has put several policies in place, including Positive Bicker to ensure that the process is as safe and enjoyable as possible, yet OWL has not asked about the measures we currently take to create a comfortable environment. And while claiming to be, "opposed to leaving the responsibility up to each sophomore to research the individual policies of the clubs," OWL has not conducted any research into the policies of the clubs, instead relying on a simple signature by the individual presidents.

Every club needs to have broad and comprehensive policies in place to ensure that no Princeton student, male or female, is placed in an uncomfortable or compromising position during bicker. If OWL wishes to be part of that fight and wishes to offer students a list of those clubs it feels are safe, then I urge OWL to do the research necessary to legitimately make such a claim. OWL members should meet with the leaders of each club to discuss their bicker policies. OWL could then offer suggestions for improvement, in consultation with SHARE, to those clubs whose policies they find lacking. Once the clubs have had a chance to address the issues raised by OWL and SHARE, OWL could publish a list of those clubs that have complied with their suggestions and have adequate policies in place to protect the welfare of Princeton students.

Until that independent research is conducted, I personally urge every concerned student interested in bickering a club to contact the president of that club directly to ask what safety policies are in place and not to take this ad from OWL as anything more than that: an ad. The presidents are here to actively protect the interests of Princeton students, not just to sign a petition. Jon Sprouse '03 President, Princeton Tower Club

An apology in response to Princetonian column

It has recently come to my attention that Dr. Pini Gurfil felt hurt and slandered in a letter I wrote to the Prince on April 5, 2002. My letter was a response to a piece he had written on April 3, 2002, in which he criticized two Jewish undergraduates who had published a March 27 editorial calling for divestment from Israel.

On Dec. 4, 2002, Dr. Gurfil sent me a personal email in which he expressed his consternation at seeing my letter in the 'Prince.' He alleged that I compared him to Yigal Amir, the assassin of the late Israeli Prime Minister Rabin, and called him a fascist and a Nazi. I did not call him a Nazi, but I admit that I called his views fascistic and comparable to those of Yigal Amir. Although I felt genuinely offended and even threatened by Dr. Gurfil's original letter, I realize now that my response was strongly worded. I would not have written the same letter today. There was no need to even implicitly draw any of those analogies. I hereby wish to apologize to Dr. Gurfil for any pain or suffering my letter has caused him. Amos Bitzan '03