In Patrick Battle’s [March 26] column, he exclaims “So what?” in regard to Will Smith’s connection to Scientology and asks why this is even being discussed by the media. While the majority of the column does not involve Will Smith’s Scientology connection, this is what caught my attention. The reason Tom Cruise and other celebrity Scientologists are coming under scrutiny for their ties to Scientology is because of the issues surrounding Scientology itself.

For a while, Scientology seemed to be viewed by many as just an oddball religion with an unusual number of outspoken celebrity members. Recently, though, the Church of Scientology, which Tom Cruise and other celebrity Scientologists belong to, has come under fire for much more malignant activities. Over the last few months, there have been protests outside of Church of Scientology centers across the world due to church policies and activities.

At the risk of getting too high on my soap box, I merely ask that you research the groups that celebrities are being scrutinized for being a part of before you call said scrutiny unjust.

Dan Murphy

Junior mathematics education major