Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Sept. 27, 2001, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Page 2 The Blue Banner Opinions September 27,2001 Si Editorials How Can New York be Rebuilt? What do we do with the remains of the World Trade Center? Currently, 16 acres of shattered glass, pulverized concrete and shredded steel cover downtown New York City. New York suffers not only from the loss of lives, but also from an enormous loss of office space. So, how do we create the office space we need without forgetting the tragedy or disrespecting the victims in volved? How do you restore life to a lifeless place? The debate began just hours after the terrorist attack. Ed Koch, former mayor of New York, suggested we rebuild the 110-story towers exactly as they were before, according to The Washington Post Web site. Senator Charles Schumer suggested that a new office building, not an exact replica of the former World Trade Center, should be constructed. "It's not only important symbolically to show that we won't be intimidated, it's important economically," said Schumer in The Washington Post. However, who would want to work in a new World Trade Center? Who would even work in a building on the site of so much pain? Most Americans refuse to even ride a plane right now. The director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philippe de Montebello, said he wants to preserve the remains of the World Trade Center. De Montebello said the ruins act as a metaphor for the attack, according to The Washington Post Web site. However, if we leave the ruins to stand. New York will struggle to move on with life. Every morning, on the way to work, they would have to pass by the crushed building. Every morning, they would be forced to re member the tragic deaths of loved ones. So, what do we do now? Who's in charge? No one has been given any definite power to decide what will hap pen to the space. We just hear whispers of dreams and plans to reconstruct or remodel New York. How would you restore life to a lifeless place? Campus Parking Needs a Facelift Everyday while walking or running up Founders Drive, vultures can be seen soaring towards at high speeds as they start their next trip around the parking lot. A vulture, if you are wondering, is a car that continu ously drives up and down a parking lot in hopes that it may swoop down on a car as it backs out of a choice space. There is no good reason for this. In September, North Carolina's universities took a very active part in passing an educational referendum that would allow for millions of dollars worth of educational building on all college campuses. As students, we need to understand that this means this campus is going to be in a state of major flux in an effort to improve all of the educational buildings on campus. We need to learn to be patient with the construction and understand that parking relocationing is to be expected, and thus, we should expect to have to walk farther. Some might argue that it is tough to even know where and when one may park without being sniffed out by the Bulldog police and given multiple citations (when a vehicle is unattended for days at a time). A shift needs to occur in public safety's approach as well. Everytime a warning or ticket is issued, a detailed color-coded map indicating all updated parking options for drivers should also be placed under the car's wind shield wipers. At least this would allow drivers to make educated parking decisions, so that future citations could be avoided. What's worse is those who park any possible place they can find, and unknowingly take away from others' parking spaces by parking in the wrong lot. For example, numerous times, vehicles without parking decals can be seen parked in the residents' or commuters' lots, thereby taking away their limited spaces. Maybe with some tolerance, patience, and creative thinking we can improve this campus safely. Staff Member of the Week Congratulations to Stuart Gaines of the News Depart ment. Stuart is The Blue Banner’s Staff Member of the Week. Letters to the Editor Peace will not Resolve Anything Dear Editor: I’m stunned. I’m amazed. I’m angry. That pretry much sums it up doesn’t it? Not by a long shot. Like every American and other people throughout the world, I was stunned to stupefaction by the events of Sept. 11. I am angry by what transpired, and am both amazed and agitated further by many of the things I have seen and heard since that day. When this event first transpired, there were many automatically as suming Islamic-terrorist guilt. I admit that I also thought this (one would have to be completely naive not to consider this the main possi bility), but I had reservations due to the Oklahoma City bombing. Therefore, I thought it best to see but reserve judgment until the evi dence indicated that was the source. I did not have long to wait. Evi dence mounted rapidly and impli cated not just a single person (Osama bin Laden), but also in sinuated the involvement of vari ous other terrorist groups and pos sibly some nations. I still heard people saying this was a rush to judgment. I humored them, believing them ill-informed. But they continued. Not only have I heard people say that we should not “rush to judge ment,” but I’ve heard many say that we should not act at all, especially not militarily. I have been invited ro various meet ings on campus which seek to “send out waves of love and understand ing amongst all the peoples of the world.” Ifonlyall thepeoplesofthe world were willing to receive such feelings and reciprocate in kind. I’m afraid “warm fuzzies” won’t have much of an effect upon terror ists, and good thoughts won’t cause them to waiver in their resolve. As a Christian, I believe in the message of the Gospels, and can understand the wishes of peace- loving individuals. I only hope these folks realize that if everyone in one society were a saint, there would be no one left to venerate them, and they’d be a na tion of forgotten martyrs. There is another message from the Gospels that plays continually in my mind when I hear people reject any punitive action: “Thou shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Tempting God is exactly what we would be doing were we to simply ignore the threat presented by ter rorist organizations, or not even attempt to deal with the groups that bear such vehement hatred for the United States. Were we to ignore this threat, or attempt to sugar coat it, might we not as well trust God to protect us as we hurl ourselves from a cliff of our own free will? To ignore this threat would be foolish at best and treasonous at worst, considering the lives at stake. It must, however, be made clear that one need not condemn all Muslims for these actions anymore than someone should condemn all Hindus for the acts of the Tamil Tigers or Thugs, or all Christians for the actions of anti-Semitic groups, such as the World Church of the Creator. But one must bow to reality and face the truth without fear: There are terrorists in this world, and some of them have targeted the U.S. These groups do not follow the morality of the majority of Mus lims, nor do they answer to any law, spiritual or secular. They must be made to answer for their crimes in this world, and it must be assured they will never be able to launch an attack similar to, or worse than, what we have wit nessed. Our response must be measured and our targets chosen wisely so that we may say without reserva tion “justice has been served.” But, justice must be served. I have heard some people over the past few days claim that we have “brought this upon ourselves.” We have only brought this upon our- See RESOLVE Page 7 Israelis are not ‘Fair Targets’ Dear Editor: This week, the Jewish celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of 5762, and we commerated the beginningoP'Yamim Nora’im” (The Days of Awe). Last year at exactly this time, the forces ofyasset Arafat, in conjuction with Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad, began attacking legally established Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria, more commonly known as the West Bank in the United States. I am simply overwhelmed at how almost not a single Islamic group in the U.S. would condemn the acts of Arafat and his terror gangs com mitting acts of violence against Is raeli civilians. Since last year, 173 Israelis have been killed by well- planned attacks by the Palestinian Authority. Last week, the U.S. lost over 5,000 people and we are still counting. Only now we, as Americans, are hearing wide-spread condemna tions from Islamic groups. I recently read a column by pro fessor ElmoizAbunura and he stated something that was very interesting to me. Abunura stated the following, “Jihad as a military action is justi fied in two cases: struggle to defend oneself or others, from aggression and struggle for freedom of religion and justice.” Therefore, do Arab-Americans believe that what Palestinians are doing in Israel is self-defense, and if so, what are they defending them selves against? Do Muslims in America distinguish between an innocent Israeli life or an innocent American life? I fear that the U.S. and numerous Muslim groups felt that Israeli lives are not important, and are worthy of being victimized by terrorists. Where was Arab condemnation when a pizza restaurant (three days before the attack, I ate there with a good friend from New York) in Jerusalem was blown up by a Pales tinian terrorist, killing 18 innocent people? If Arab groups are to stand with America, then they must con demn acts against Israelis. The Israeli military have made many mistakes in the past, how ever, Israel maintains a professional army which has never purposely targeted Palestinian civilians! There must not be a double stan dard. When a 21 -year-old Palestin ian woman attempted to blow up the Central Bus Station in Tel- Aviv, there must be a unified stance of rejection of such acts. As I am writing this, an Israeli motorist simply going home from work was killed by two of Arafat’s henchmen, and of course there is no reaction or sympathy from Arab- American groups. How sad! I suppose Jihad is bad policy against Americans, but Is raelis are fair targets, Avi Mechanic Junior, Economics WNC Hillel Member America Did Not Deserve Terrorist Attacks Dear Editor: As a former UNCA student, I have been tempted many times to respond to the opinions of those submitted in The Blue Banner. Never have I been more com pelled to respond than after reading the opinions of those who seem to think that peace is the only answer to the murder of over 6,000 inno cent people from countries all over the world. The United States, by no means, has been completely innocent in its foreign and domestic policies throughout history. There is absolutely no way that you can justify the cowardly acts of Sept. 11 by saying that the terror ists were just trying to proveapoint or that we got what we deserved. Over 6,000 Americans and people from many different countries around the world left for work that morning not knowing that it would be their last day of life, not knowing that it would be the last time they hugged their husbands, wives, sons, and daughters. These people were not fighting a war, and they were not responsible for bombings or U.S. foreign policy. They were simply going to work to provide for their families and to fulfill their hopes and dreams. Some people would say that to retaliate for those attacks would only result in the escalation of vio lence. I would respond to that by saying that no matter what the U.S. does in response, these terrorists are plan ning, and will inevitably succeed, in further attacks against innocent people. They will not be happy until this country is completely destroyed and all of its citizens live their lives in fear. If that’s the America that you dream of, by all means, let’s sit back and let this happen. I, for one, will not allow my gov ernment to sit back and let this country’s actions be dictated by a bunch of brainwashed cowards. My father just completed 20 years of military service. He also served in the Gulf War. I know first-hand the feelings that families must feel when their loved ones are all the way across the world fighting and putting their lives on the line for this country. I am not one who always responds to violence with violence, but when you are dealing with people who think their religion commands them to kill Americans, even if that in volves losing their own life, what other response can work? You can not have peace talks with Osama bin Laden, Islamic Jihad, or any of those other fanatical groups. These people thrive from brain washing young Muslims and con vincing them that Americans and Jews are such evil people.' If these people believe so strongly in their faith, why is it that they send others to do their dirty work? Why do they hide instead of show ing themselves? All I can say is that I’m proud to be an American and I will not hide in fear or let these idiots ruin our way of life. You can not rationalize with people who are hell-bent on mur dering innocent men, women, and children. They have succeeded in the bloodiest day in American his tory. They will attack again and again and again until someone puts a stop to it. I would venture to say that many of those 6,000 who were murdered were innocent, peace-loving people. That did not spare their lives and next time, it could be you that gets in the way of terrorists. The only way to stop this is for the U.S. and the rest of the world to stand up and root out this evil. Marcus Dover UNCA Alumni, 2000 Only Change can End Terrorism Dear Editor: Several letters last week expressed opposition to military action. The writers missed an important fact: a one-sifled war has been going on for a decade. The Al-Qaeda militia and others have stated that their goal is to kill Americans and de stroy America. They’re very efficient at the first goal. If we do not defend ourselves, they might achieve the second. Over the past decade, the Al- Qaeda has been involved in killing American soldiers in Somalia, bombing the World Trade Center, two failed bombing attacks on American service members, bomb ing the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, at least one failed bombing attack on millen nium celebrations, attacking the U.S.S. Cole, assassinating the Af ghan opposition leader, and mul tiple attacks on Sept. 11. They’ve killed over 8,000 people to date. On Sept. 11, the terrorists’ goal was a spectacular event for televi sion screens everywhere. They didn’t intend to shut the cities down. Their next action could be a chemical, biological, or even a nuclear attack with potentially mil lions of victims. Most people think of war as a “Desert Storm”-like operation. That’s not necessarily so. Yes, there will be some military attacks. How ever, the Al-Qaeda and related groups are loose networks, not mili tary organizations, and have differ ent strengths and weaknesses. Attacks against terrorists do not always require military forces. Dip lomatic pressure, coordinated po lice efforts, raids on terrorist fi nances, and other attacks will not be military. Anything that disrupts their operations is our weapon. War against the terrorists is only part of the picture. In the long term, we have to give their poten tial recruits no reason to join. This means significant changes in gov ernment and private business. Fifty years ago, the U.S. was seen as the friend of the Arabs. Now, we are seen as the Great Satan, the power behind Israel, and the coun try that props up oppressive re gimes. These beliefs have some foundation.If ever a country’s im age needed a makeover, ours does. So, yes, this is a war. In the short term, we must destroy the terrorist networks. In the long term, we must reconnect with a large slice of the world’s population. If we just sit here wishing the problem goes away, the terrorists will become even more ruthless, and millions more will die. Skip Rohde Senior, Fine Arts C a n y o u d r a w ? Consider submitting a cartoon for The BIuf= Banner. Eaeh published one receives $10. Drop off at Karpen 244. I > Sept NPI nurr thot of re busi clair four solid I spew ardl) and . you I W( sand: and ; ever, consi The the ij ernm and 1 two ^ Osa be re tacks puni; blam peop. ment even Th cratic worn* ingv. bilitjf front ity to 1 “So k secure Met; It’s ai n An onsic ibout rhe r ively :vents :ven t ive. Ther icultii vorks in exp )een i ^evieu using Stic aces c Ind c >oind :an tel evere till h: he ail he gu Ove air an ome j ng to 'US, c k'hen It’s k lisplai ome I or the c. Don’ k'ar at inies1 lative.
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 27, 2001, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75