Editorial
Both car and blaze
sent wrong message
I <uth Week was supp.isecl to be a peaceful relebr.c
hull of tin; environment. designed to t rente awareness
ol ilif problems !.t< ing this* planet In emphasizing
vvlint people r ail <lu hi solve them Instead .1 beal-up.
Ilovvei-filled vvrcik of a car in (mill of tin* I-All lias
been tin: majui (upii o( disi us.sion Ibis berth Week
rhu ulna of filling .1 car with household toxic prod
in Is and [Hilling tl on display sou mind pretty good
u lien tl was tiisl advanced II seemed a lightheaded
w av ot show ing people the ugly dangers tnc ing I In- «• n -
\ iroimiciil
Hut wlial happened wasn’t taken in a lighthearted
way In some
first oil event organizers angered and offended a
substantial number ot students bv burning an Anien
1 an flag and .hi effigv of (ienrge Hush The burnings
turned the ear into a pro-anarc In political proclaim!
lion instead of .1 pro-environment statement
Kartli Week was supposed to ml across politic.at
boundaries and incorporate a variety ol people, empha
sizing that even one must share concern about the en
vironment. Blaming environmental destruction entire
Iv on capitalism. Republicans or Americ a isn’t entire!)
honest, and it’s ceitainlv not going to win over labor
groups, right-wingers and fellow Americans who’ll
need to help out in any long term environmental
movement
A small segment ol the population can’t make <1
difference in the light to save the environment, espe
cially il that segment is perceived as a collection of
dangerous radicals, l'he greatest success of this year's
Karth Day has been the public legitimacy granted to en
vironment.d issues at a time when the need lias never
been greater These large' coalitions ol people are need
ed to effect substantial change Those who burned the1
ettigv and the flag Monday hurt their own cause by a!
leiiating people’ who might otherwise have been recep
tive’ to their message
Some ol those alienated people spoke out Tuesday
when they decided to set the toxic s-stuffed car ablaze.
That was another misguided statement No matter
how vou look at it torching the oar wasn't a bright
idea Dousing anything in gasoline and setting a match
to it is dangerous, even more so when the thing is
filled with products that release toxic fumes when
aflame Hurtling the 1 at to register disapproval was just
plain dumb
While we can't approve either side's actions last
week, those who burned the c ar deserve a bigger share
of our disappointment The event organizers were at
least trying to make .1 statement a statement that
should hav e been positive but went aw rv W hile one
can disapprove oi their methods it's hard to criticize
what the'v were Irving to sav The people who torched
the car w ere just causing trouble
•Xjvn lufut/rui (faiMtisfai/s i
L~fa 7'liM /W #c/ "
•o:
.of: .jf. '
Planned Parenthood worthy of support
On April t>. (IHS \cws i<■ jmut<•( 1 \meri
i an Telephone \ I i■ 11• uI• 11 > 11 1 i' had decided
In withdraw its financial support hum
I’l.miied Parenthood to avoid am assoi iation
with abortion controversv YT\ 1 should re
i onsider
Planned I'aicnthood is a non profit or
ganization tli.it di'pimds on pnv.iti* dona
turns in provide low cost gv ni'i nlogn al i am
to women who otherwise ma\ not he aide to
atlord it These services include educating
men and women in the best anti abortion
strategy ot all birth t ontrol
The politic.al climate and budget < ut
bill ks id the Keaguii era have .dreads taken
theii toll on health care options and repro
ductive choices available to women \ I \ I
is compounding the problem In refusing to
support an organization that serves a need
the government would rather not recognize
Hv pulling its substantial i ontribution.
AT\T m.iv suffei more negative public itv
than d it had continued to support the or
ganization The tail that A I \ I gave linan
t itd support to Planned Parenthood was
pruhahlv not widely known before the an
in Mini ement. and d is doubtful AT&T lost
nun h business over its support of the organ
i/.dtion
Alter the uationw ide announi emenl th«*
broad-based pro-< lioii e network will now
inevilablv mobilize its tones to bo\cott
AT\ 1 loi tbe i orpor.ition's dei ision to den\
women the opportunit\ to make educated
del isions in tbeir lues
In tbe past. A 1 \ I presurnablv consid
ered Planned Parenthood a valuable and
worthwhile organization. Planned Parent
hood lias not (hanged it mission and tbe
need tor its services lias certainh not disap
pealed
I be dei ision to pull its corporate sup
port Irom Planned Parenthood make
AT.V 1 s motives tor anv charitable donation
suspei I il A 1 \ I gives ninnev to non-prolit
organizations as a pulilii relations i amp.ngn
to create an illusion ot social responsibilitv
perhaps it is more disserv ing ot i riticism and
an e< onomii hove ott than tins one in( ident
suggests
However, it A I I is geiniinelv interest
ed in helping disadvantaged people and in
contributing to soi iety s geneial good as
all corporations should tie it should le
store its tiuam ial support for Planned Par
enthood immediate!v
Letters
No puppy love
IIimi kafhx Ynnker (Ol)l
\prit 1 ri Hull' Hull' Hull' Mow
tlit ii’ you sax V ou 'if i' ‘'also con
cerned .11HMI! 'those hum.ills
w ho sutler Yeah right
\ leu mouths ago Iheo- u.is
.in .iniin.il lights booth in the
I Ml I he seemingly llhei.l!
people there mlormeii me that
no medical t ore has ever truly
i time from animal testing 1 he
hexed them, thev seemed so
i aring and their |)ani|»h!et sup
I>< a ted their i lain) \\ ell. it is a
sli h lie
M\ uni le has been a dot tor
tot more than all years He lias
dexoted Ills lde to helping peo
ple I in sol r\ hut u Ill’ll lie
tells me that animal testing has
saved millions ot lixes I refuse
to heheve that he is just some
sadistii animal killei In- s
the most compassionate ill.in
ahx e I shall believe dm tors he
tore I x\ ill listen to animal
lights a< tivists
N (inker hoxx dare you cipiule
animal sultering to rat ism or
homelessness:' !)u you tin mi in
jest '
i uuultl rathei sUughtfi .1
thousand i uli‘ puppies if if
could possibly savp am hum.in
life i would hook up inv Drum
Kr\ k itlfii to t'ltn tin shot ks foi
ten wars it it would save im
uu 11in• n11 trom .■.fit iiijj severe
pneumonia In short Id rather
st-f Here Ilfs Spot than
I lure I ies Tommy
Nnimal rights at tivists n
mind me ot tieor^e Hush
both avoid dealing with human
stitfermn Aimiiih. tiithls iias
\ er\ little it am plat e on
a left 1st humanist agenda
I’hil /in kernian
Sot iolom
What goes on
In \ \onne 11.ill's letter U )I1I
\11111 lti| sin- indie ales that an
liu.il 11y:Ills at 11\ isis make ,u i u
Nations about animal rescan li
"when in fait they don't know
u hat nuns on
\fid win dun 1 we kiH>\=\
w hiil gnrs iin:' Well mustl\ Ik*1
( UVISI* thu lulls .in* t losrd !u us.
although it seems in iin* th.it d
these animals arc mi well cared
t. a and 11.11111\ that \ nil d hr
linin' than willing to Irt tin*
general puhlii 111 In srr thrsr
animals
Indeed w In dnn I von Id Us
ill In sir tluisr lia|i|n kittrns
with rotalrd eves and il the
primates dn return how altoul
letting iis get a |it‘i'k at those
h.t|i|i\ mat ai|iirs aftei lirain
surgerx ! II things arc su great
Ihrrr should hr nil problem
l )h 1 in forgetting v\r did
get a tour ut llir ni'ii 11 iii\ «*rsit\
lali animal housing Hut (hr
only animals housi'd Ihrrr at
I hr lime v\rrr sumr rahhits in
small i ages with tun thu k. un
stable Ilnur grating Ur also
saw sumr shuelnn si/rd cages
that i an house up tn five mice
apiei e
At tualh animal rights ai tn
ists dn kiinu what goes on in
animal research labs, often
from the people who work nr
have worked there and were
Kalin ^ unkci
1‘olitii al st tent r
Burning Bush
After attending llif Iiist rail v
Im I .art it U eek I din tl is< out
aged Speakers uric saving
l aiili 1 ).i\ means tunti.inifiit.il
i hanges in lifrst\ lr and the
ua\ ivi' priteivr uur rule on
the earth 1 nutltletl in agree
men!
Soon an effigN ol (ieurge
Hush was burned along with
an Ament an flag and a dollar
hill The t rout! t heered At
this point I shook m\ head anti
left
I he hurtling of Hush repre
sents a monumental cuntradit
lion that hurts us all The
blame for staggering environ
mental problems in the world
lodav tails etjuallv on even
one's shoulders
Karth Dun is not siinph a
chance for politically correct
people to congratulate them
solves iul living 111 .1 pUSltlVi
wa\ i iiitli IJiiv Is slum! taki i
responsibility Ini \uui .» turns
mui tilt' eftei Is lht'\ have tin tin
planet .inti milking i imsi inns
mfurini'tl det isiuns to live in *i
nun ilt'striK ti\«• wax
Above .ill 1 .nth U.'iv is mi .it
trm|it to slum everyone th.it lit'
or sin- i .m iii.ike .i dilterem e
thlit it is not too late to lf.trli
.inti i hange 1 ’it lull's ot .i bum
mg ettigy on the evening new s
i onlr.itlit t .ill tlic pi mt ipli's ot
K.irth I >.i\
l lit'V s.iv tn'orge Hush is rr
sponsible and we want him to
fix it'"
They also show all tin' "aver
age A merit tins" watching that
environmentalism is extreme
and unreasonable Aren't these
the people we are tlx illg to i oil
vert to a new wav of lixing:'
Now is not the time to point
lingers II is time to join hands
Knvironmentalism is lor every
one
Krit Tocld Smith
Knglish