Letters to the editor

>Anti-Semitic worries

I was appalled at the anti-war/anti-Israel/anti-Jewish demonstrations Thursday at the University. Marching past Hillel brandishing their racist, ignorant, inflammatory banners and cat-calls, these students have no place on our campus. These students intimidate and ostracize Jewish and Israeli members of our academic community and further the divide between groups who, now more than ever, must be working towards common, mutually beneficial goals. These students' blatant anti-Semitism should be condemned by University officials as well as spokespeople for student groups from across the spectrum. I call on all students, academics and Minneapolis citizens to demand an end to these demonstrations which give voice only to hate.

The war in Iraq and Israel's right to exist, the right of Jewish people to have a home free of terror, are separate issues and should not be conflated. Using the war as an avenue to showcase anti-Israeli sentiments is usury and dishonest. Supporting an end to the Jewish state is supporting an end to the Jewish people.

A recent Reuters report published worldwide stated, "Anti-Semitism, including government-promoted hatred toward Jews and prejudice couched as criticism of Israel, has risen globally over the past decade. The distinguishing feature of the new anti-Semitism is criticism of Zionism or Israeli policy that - whether intentionally or unintentionally - has the effect of promoting prejudice against all Jews by demonizing Israel and Israelis and attributing Israel's perceived faults to its Jewish character" (Friday, March 14, 2008, Reuters.com). The demonstration today, and indeed the anti-Israel currents on campus promoted by professors and student groups alike have truly shaken me. As a liberal, as a student and as a member of this academic community, I am ashamed of the demonstration today as we all should be. As a Jew I am terrified.

Amanda Hillman
President, Roosevelt Institution Minn.

Factory farms prevent global warming

My gut response to Gowri Koneswaran's camouflaged animal rights essay is to suggest the alternate possibility. Factory farmers can stop global warming.

Factory farmers will soon realize the dual use of their animals. As Koneswaran pointed out, the waste from agriculture presents amazing possibilities for the green energy industry. By containing animals in tight spaces it becomes easy and cheap to harvest waste for energy.

Gases can be collected through forced air systems and solid wastes, corpses and extra feed can be gasified on sight to create additional high-quality fuels. Waste heat from each animal can be harvested for heat engines or low quality process heat. In the era of high energy prices, factory farmers can satisfy our lust for cheap meat and our growing demand for carbon neutral energy. This is in contrast to all natural, free range meat, which will continue to destroy the earth by providing completely uncontrolled greenhouse emissions.

Josh Quinnell

University student

The U and West Bank

In a third installment of the "Crossing the river" series, Jon Collins talks about the University's impact on the West Bank community. Collins describes the struggle between local residents and the University and cites scholars who side with his opinion. For instance, Randy Stoecker, an associate professor of rural sociology at the University of Wisconsin, is quoted saying that the fact "the University has legal ownership of the land doesn't absolve it of responsibility for the institution's effect on residents." In a similar line, Collins cites Tim Mungavan, executive director of the West Bank Community Development Corporation saying "Hanson Hall (the new Carlson School/Economics Department building) made some of the same old mistakes" because it "isolated residents and oriented students away from the neighborhood."

Collins fails to ask why, in particular, Hanson Hall has been built with its back to the neighborhood. Had he scratched a little beyond the surface, he would have found out the design of this building was done out of security concerns. Just last weekend, there were break-in attempts in three offices in the economics department (which sits on the top floors of Heller Hall until May, when it will move to Hanson Hall). Doors and locks were damaged, although unsuccessfully.

This kind of situation, which unfortunately has become more common in recent years, drove designers and the University to opt for a secure (and therefore, isolated) design for Hanson Hall. I do not disagree with Collins and his interviewees about the fact that the University cannot neglect its impact on the neighborhood. However, I do believe that the University's first priority should be the staff, faculty and students (and their safety).

Miguel F. Ricaurte

Graduate student