This is intolerable. I can’t take this anymore. In my years here as a student at NIU I’ve read more crack pot hair brained letters in this paper than I can throw a stick at. Just last week Mr. Tom Rogers was kind enough to inform me that he and his associates were forming a caucus to provide counseling and information to military people of their right to be discharged as conscientious objectors.

As a veteran, a reservist and a student who has completed NIU’s R.O.T.C. program, I fail to see why the need exists for Mr. Rogers’ service (although his offer to enlighten me is appreciated). First off, my fellow service members and myself are volunteers, fully aware of the risks (and often enough, lack of appreciation) for what we do. Further, with the recent Congressional cut-backs, no one is being forced to stay in the military against his will. Quite to the contrary, positions don’t exist for many who want in the military. If Mr. Rogers can find someone at NIU’s R.O.T.C. program who is there against his will, it will be a surprise to me. I think that the only ones who need counseling are Mr. Rogers and the rest of his friends at the John Lennon Society.

Don’t get me wrong, I value the Constitutional right of Mr. Rogers and the rest of his associates to say whatever they want (Lord knows they’ve been doing it long enough). If nothing else, they have provided me with hours of amusement. What I object to is the fact that, at least in the area of political commentary, common sense does not reign in the majority of letters which I’ve read here. Mr. Rogers and the John Lennon Society deserve to stand on their soap box, but what about something with common sense?

James Dorn

senior

political science, international relations