USG played little role in room draw guide
Regarding 'A government that works' (Friday, March 10, 2006):
As one of the creators of the Room Draw Guide, I thought the Editorial Board should know that the USG had little or nothing to do with the creation of the guide. Its introduction was due largely to a unilateral effort on the part of myself and the rest of the room draw guide group. We had to press for months to get access to the server. When we finally did receive access, it was only begrudgingly.
The USG never gave us any feedback, and when we attempted to schedule meetings or have discussions via email, we were largely ignored. It is also telling that those members of USG who did speak to us consistently pushed to have the Room Draw Guide become part of Point — the one true web portal.
I sincerely hope that the sort of trials I experienced in trying to help out the student body are emblematic of the past administration, and will not be carried forward into the present one.
Avi Flamholz '07
Credit attributed to wrong USG administration
Regarding 'A government that works' (Friday, March 10, 2006):
For the record, the previous administration worked on the SCG and planned to unveil it in time for spring course selection. Unfortunately, due to technical problems (I believe the server or computer on which the SCG had been saved crashed completely and lost the data), that did not happen. I'm not entirely sure that the new SCG is independent from the work done in the previous administration, but it is inaccurate to say that it is the fault of the prior administration that the SCG was not released sooner.
As for the Room Draw Guide, that is a project that was worked on during the Joseph administration; it is inaccurate to attribute its fruition entirely to the current USG.
Karis Gong '06
Double standard exists but wrongly attributed
Regarding 'Uncle Sam sends Muslims to timeout' (Friday, March 10, 2006):
Sarah Dajani and Emily Norris confuse a decision by the U.S. government to withdraw support for Hamas, elected by Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza, with a U.S. de-legitimization of democratic elections.
The United States defends democracy in the Middle East, but in this case, it has merely decided to reaffirm its policy of not negotiating with terrorist organizations and denying foreign aid to the new Palestinian government controlled by Hamas, a group America and the European Union designate a terrorist organization.
Hamas has claimed credit for scores of suicide bombings, targeted specifically at women and children, which have killed over 500 innocent Israelis and Americans.
The official 1988 Charter of Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel through Jihad. The charter's preamble states, "Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors."
It seems sadly ironic that Muslims worldwide have rioted and killed to protest the portrayal of Islam as a violent or intolerant religion.
These uprisings were not spontaneous, popular demonstrations but were well-orchestrated events, as evidenced by the abundance of Danish flags waiting to be burned at every street corner in Damascus, Beirut and Tehran.
Dajani and Norris are correct on one point: a "double standard" is indeed pernicious. Western governments, including those of the United States and Denmark, issued statements expressing remorse for the cartoons printed in a privately owned newspaper, whereas there is a complete lack of outrage in the international community toward the barrage of anti-Semitic cartoons printed in state-owned newspapers in the Islamic world on a daily basis.
Rob Bernstein '08, Phil Dobrin '08, Elissa Harwood '09 & Zach Hughes '08
Time for Pro-Choice Vox to ask exactly what "choice" entails
Regarding 'Letters to the Editor' (Thursday, March 9, 2006):
Princeton Pro-Life can't help but see a contradiction in last week's letter from the members of Princeton Pro-Choice Vox, which stated that "pro-choice" does not mean "pro-abortion." It is clear that Roe v. Wade not only enables abortion but also creates a culture that encourages it as one of several reproductive "options." For instance, there were certainly never 4,000 daily "back-alley abortions," but today, over 4,000 legal abortions are performed each day in America.
President Clinton often said he wanted abortion to be "safe, legal and rare," which is echoed by Pro-Choice Vox's position. Yet Planned Parenthood (the world's largest abortion provider) has always promoted abortion. The view that abortion empowers women is a tenet of the pro-choice rhetoric. But if abortion is empowering to women, why should it be rare? In view of all that Planned Parenthood does, it is clear that the organization has no problem with the fact that abortion is not only common but is the most common medical procedure for females in the United States.
When pro-choice students state their desire for abortions to decrease, they admit that there is something wrong with abortion, something profoundly unsettling. It's time to ask exactly what the "choice" of "pro-choice" entails. If Pro-Choice Vox really believes what it says and wants to see a decrease in abortions in the United States, it's time for them to act accordingly and cease to encourage abortion under the guise of freedom.
Members of Princeton Pro-Life
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