I am disturbed about two recent articles that appeared in The Northern Star. The first was an editorial about a recent incident in Virginia Beach, Va. (Sept. 7), the second being a reply to that editorial (Sept. 12). I find both to be lacking any insight into the other side of the dispute.

I am sure the NAACP has an agenda that calls for the equality of all men, not one that asks for treatment of black criminals with “kid gloves,” as was stated by the Star. On the other hand, I find Mr. Etzenhouser’s argument unconvincing that the students would have been treated differently if they had been white. I may not have “clairvoyance,” but I do have the common sense to realize that the police might have used excessive force in arresting the rioters not because they were predominantly black, but because the police were outnumbered and in a potentially dangerous situation.

While I do not condone the use of excessive force by police, I believe that both The Northern Star and Mr. Etzenhouser have overlooked an essential fact in the matter—the police were not arresting the student criminals because they were black; they were arresting the black students because they were criminals.

Jim Huguelet

Computer science