I recently received an Oct. 1 letter from President Gerety that addressed the events of Sept. 11. In it, in addition to two somewhat welcome references to "attacks," there were numerous vanilla allusions to "this tragedy," "devastating events," "the disaster," "Tuesday's events," "our great national tragedy," "recent events" and "horrific events," rather than calling it what it was: "intentional mass murder by Arab terrorists."
As a volunteer firefighter who lost 343 brothers in the attacks, my question is simply this: Why? Why do we soft-pedal this massacre? I even saw one guy on the news refer to the events as "the accident." Accident? What gives? As an Amherst graduate and a lawyer, language is important to me. Rather than drop some incendiary bombs and tell you what I think, I ask the soft-pedalers to explain themselves. I suspect that more than simply "good taste" is at work here.
Mike Pelletier '71
Gerety misses the mark
In a recent statement posted on the College's website and in a slightly expanded version that appeared as an opinion in The Boston Globe concerning the burning of an American flag as part of a protest at Amherst, Tom Gerety, president of the College, provided only the weakest support for expressions of dissent. While noting that those who burned flags were exercising their constitutional rights, he condemned the protesters for offending sensibilities and for not engaging in dialogue with the organizers of the rally for patriotism where the dissenters issued a written statement and burned their flags.
Gerety contrasts "us" with "them" throughout his statement, speculating about the motives of the students, emphasizing the emotional impact that flag-burning by "them" may have had on "our students" and conflating "civility" with civil society. In this he used the bully pulpit of his office, not to wholeheartedly support robust expressions of dissent at a time when and in a political context in which dissent is especially difficult, but to condemn the motives of dissenters substantively, while formally continuing to support the First Amendment.
I think it is of utmost importance in times of war fever, such as this one, that the right to dissent is supported robustly and fully. For the denizens of colleges and universities especially, I think it is crucial that we embrace as fundamental to our mission as students, educators and citizens the value of free dissent. Some forms of political participation are easy to perform: waving flags, singing patriotic songs, expressing affection and love of country. But the rigors of citizenship in a democratic republic require much more-a willingness to put the needs of honest and passionate dissent above the conventional requirements of "civility."
When we conflate civility with civil society, we damage the principles of freedom of expression that Gerety claims to support. I hope that students and faculty at Amherst and around the country will not be intimidated by statements from administrators which purport to support, but which actually condemn, the exercise of this freedom. I hope we all continue to support the idea underlying the First Amendment-that it is both our right and responsibility to express ourselves with passion and creativity.
Thomas L. Dumm
Professor of Political Science
When stereotypes fail to fit
The Amherst that Sam Wilkinson wrote about in his Oct. 11 Daily Collegian column, "The Spoiled Stereotype Still Fits," must be different from the one which I attend, because I fail to fit his profile of Amherst's student body in every way.
At the end of the semester, I may either have to drop out or force my parents into near-bankruptcy, because I can no longer afford to be here and the College's financial aid is proving less dependable than I had expected.
I have been working since junior high in one way or another. Over the summer, I scrubbed toilets at night while my friends went out. Over Interterm my job involved intense factory labor requiring me to wake up at 5 a.m. and rendering me tired and immobile.
I work on campus with my parents in mind, feeling like I have to be the next Janet Reno in order to make them proud. I have to witness opulence day in and day out, wondering why I can't enjoy being here. I can't be flippant, because my presence here is full of guilt about the cost. My parents literally shed tears over this-feeling like they've failed me. My 14-year-old brother has volunteered to give me his college fund, believing he'll manage without it in four years. Little does he know that he has no college fund.
My parents have worked the same thankless jobs for 19 years, saving money, settling for a middle-class lifestyle and never lying to or taking advantage of the government. Their reward is to get exploited by expected family contribution formulas.
What doesn't appear in the calculations is that they eat out only once a month, drive 10-year-old cars and have made it an understood crime in our home to spend over $40 on apparel. I have a personal knack for finding and wearing $10 jeans and $3 shirts. My cap on any article of clothing is $15.
I choose between dropping out and going into debt. If I drop out, I will go home to my fellow classmates working minimum wage jobs and caring for their babies. If I stay, I will graduate with a debt that will more than double in interest over time, totaling some $53,000 for myself, and $60,000 in loans (plus interest) for my parents.
I feel the bitterness that resonates in Wilkinson's editorial, but sometimes I calm myself and stop to think; I wouldn't have my life any different. I wouldn't trade the way my parents raised me for anything, because I have had the perfect balance between a degree of privilege and hard-earned success.
I don't know if I can hold on to my posh education. I will be miserable if I do but a failure if I don't. In a time when my family is going through this kind of tribulation, I don't need jealous claims on my place here. I have worked my ass off, my parents have worked their asses off, and I may still become an instance in which virtue and hard work will get a person nowhere and nothing.
Vanessa Esteves '04