I am (again) writing in response to the response of this campus regarding the ROTC. In speaking with dozens of people about this issue, I have heard many people voice their support (to getting ROTC off campus) but not show it by joining the struggle. I have also heard people laugh off police brutality and express no interest in listening to accounts of the rally and arrests (a topic journalists seemingly find most important) other than what they read in the newspapers. Whether you support gay and lesbian (human) rights, are anti-military, or support the constitution of NIU, let your presence be known. Take a stand.

The university’s sidewalk censorship is absurd. The Star’s coverage and the cartoon accompanying Mark McGowan’s column on March 23 are absurd. The contradiction between NIU and ROTC policies is absurd. In a struggle concerning human rights, fear of acquiring a label because you support the removal of ROTC from campus is absurd.

I am pleased to see some groups and individuals taking stands, but it disgusts me when groups like the Student Worker Alliance have invitation-only meetings to seemingly plan a forum, in which an elite group does the thinking for the masses—or when the Students Environmental Action Coalition doesn’t see a strong enough connection with human rights to the saving of the planet.

It also disgusts me when certain letter-writing individuals link three separate groups (the Forum for Marxist-Humanist Thought, Freedom Now, and the Feminist Front) together, condone the arrests and generally slam those with philosophic opinions different from their own without saying what side they are on. This issue is not dead; take responsibility and be a part of the ban ROTC struggle.

Cynthia Doyle

Senior

Special Education