NOV 21, 2003
WWW.GUiLFORDIAN.COM
Truth, Lies, & Jessica lynch
www.jessica-lynch. com
Lynch stands by Pfc. Lori Piestewa, who did not survive the ambush
Emily Hantz
Staff Writer
Last May you could buy a magnet on
eßay that said, "America loves
Jessica Lynch."
I wonder if Jessica Lynch still loves
America?
Private Jessica Lynch, a 19-year-old
soldier, was injured in a Humvee
crash, treated kindly in a Nasiriyan
'iTospital, and taken without resistance
from the unarmed hospital by
American soldiers.
Private Jessica Lynch, a 19-year-old
soldier, took a defiant stand against
Iraqi soldiers, sustaining gunshot and
stab wounds. She shot several enemy
soldiers, firing her weapon until she
ran out of ammunition. She was taken
to a Nasiriyan hospital, where an Iraqi
security guard slapped her around.
Army Rangers and Navy SEALs
stormed the hospital, exchanged fire
with Iraqi soldiers, and brought
Jessica Lynch home. Oh, and luckily
they caught the rescue on tape and
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were able to broadcast the green-tint
ed, night-vision video of the mission
for all of America to see.
In a country where the news is either
affectionately or disgustingly referred
to as info-tainment, it is the latter of
these two versions of the rescue of
Jessica Lynch that originally ran.
Pieces of it were printed in
respectable newspapers like The New
York Times and The Washington Post.
Unfortunately, the latter version is
not true.
Lynch spoke after seven months of
silence on Nov. 11 to Diane Sawyer on
ABC's Primetime. She was bothered
by the military portrayal of her rescue.
Lynch said it's wrong that they used
her to symbolize all this stuff. She
questions the Army's choice to film her
rescue.
I question it, too. I also question
media that turn a person into a patriot
ic symbol through lies and videotape.
But then again, I question a country
that sends 19-year-olds, or any
human beings, to war.
FORUM
Emily Hantz
Staff Writer
Guilford College students
have been trickling into Miami since
Nov. 13. By Nov. 18, there were almost
40 of them. It is not the promise of
sunnier weather and exciting nightlife
that draws them, but the Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA) trade
negotiations that Miami is holding this
year.
The FTAA is an expansion of
the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). It involves 34
nations in South, Central, and North
America and the Caribbean. The
FTAA's objective is to perpetuate the
NAFTA model of increased trade liber
lization and privatization in the entire
Western hemisphere.
Guilford College students are
going to protest this, along with thou
sands of other demonstrators.
I went to a preparatory meet
ing held by the protesters. It was
strange to hear my peers talking about
the possibility of getting arrested,
when I knew the worst thing I would
have to deal with in the upcoming
week was an exam. I was curious
what their feelings are about the
protest and whey they are protesting.
"There is good hard data out
there to argue that NAFTA has not had
a lot of positive effects for the people
of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada,"
said sophomore Will Johnson. "The
economists that back up the FTAA
policies value short-term growth over
the long-term effects these policies
have on the environment, indigenous
cultures, and the poor."
Junior Liz Nemitz is going to
Miami to work with Food Not Bombs,
an international group that gives free
vegetarian meals to hungry people in
hundreds of cities, as well as serving
food at protests.
Nemitz recognized people's criticism
of protesters as being a bunch of
crazy white college kids who yell and
scream - and then return to campus
where things are fine. She spoke of
going to stand in solidarity with the
Student perspec
tives on the FTAA
GREENSBORO, NC
people who are really getting hurt, as
it is a matter of life and death for them.
"There is going to be an eclectic
group of people there," Nemitz said,
"working class folks, anarchists, and
anti-globalization people."
Junior Molly Lowe said, "I'm
really excited about going; it's a good
chance for people to get their voices
heard and opinions out. It's our right
and our duty to speak out against
social injustices."
Sophomore Lauren Reed
echoed these sentiments. "It is our
duty as citizens to creatively and nois
ily join with the international communi
ty to prevent these decisions from tak
ing place, all the while promoting alter
natives such as fair trade, horizontal
ism, sustainable living and local
knowledge."
This is some people's first big
rally, including first-year Eliza Hudson.
"I feel good about the protest,"
Hudson said. "I trust the people I am
going with. I am impressed with
Guilford and its ability to train people,
get them contacts, and not just send
them down."
This is what people are up in
arms against, what they're risking
arrest for. This is why they're going.
I
www.corbis.com
Almost 40 Guilford students have
gone to Miami to protest the FTAA
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