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An open letter to Kerry voters
By Carly
Hawkins
I know. It sucks.
It sucks because we thought we
had energy and momentum behind our movement. It’s almost
incomprehensible to think that another four years of this are
what we are left with.
But that’s the thing about
democracy – we don’t always get the outcome that we wanted. Not
everyone agrees with us, even when we can’t understand why not.
And I’m scared, too, of what this president and this Congress
will do with their perceived “mandate” that the American people
“agree” with their agenda. I’m scared to see how this war
progresses, I’m scared to watch our national debt spiral even
further out of control, I’m scared of what seems like a
tyrannical majority.
For inexplicable reasons, though,
I’m a little hopeful as well. While the Bush administration has
given me no reason to ever think that they will take dissenting
viewpoints into consideration, I don’t think that I could go on
right now if I didn’t have a little faith. Maybe this time when
he says that he wants to be a uniter and not a divider, he means
it. Maybe this election season has shown him how truly wide the
gulf between the right and left, the red and the blue, has
become.
I’m giving Bush another chance
because I don’t want to believe that 58 million people are
stupid enough to re-elect someone that is as horrible as I think
he is. I want to believe that those people see something that
somehow I don’t, something redeeming. I hope that you can have a
little bit of hope as well, because the way I was feeling on
November 3rd is no way to go through four years.
The other thing about democracy
is that when, almost inevitably, these hopes prove to be
misguided, we get the opportunity to speak our minds loudly and
often. We have a free press, even if they are rarely allowed to
question our re-elected president. Let’s all hope that they are
vigorous and tenacious over the remainder of Bush’s tenure. And
– this is the fun part – we also have the right to assembly. We
have the right to protest.
We have to make it clear to this
president that he does, indeed, need to earn our support, and
that is not going to be an easy road. That despite his 51%,
there is no mandate. Because there are 55 million of us – 56
when you count third party voters – who can stand tall and get
loud when the Bush administration, with the Republican Congress
as an accomplice, takes a sharp right turn.
Civic responsibility doesn’t end
when you step out of the voting booth. We may believe that
Bush’s re-election is just the beginning of a long road toward
disaster, but it can be up to us to make sure that doesn’t
happen. Let’s hold the Democrats in Congress accountable; let’s
make them fight the good fight instead of lying down in front of
the Republican majority. And let’s continue to fight our own
good fight as well. The movement that took root with the
Democratic primaries doesn’t have to die out. Over the next two
years, we need to define and solidify our party so that we can
first take back Congress, and then regain the White House.
So don’t head to Canada just yet.
There’s plenty of work to be done here at home. Bring it on,
2006 midterms.
Letter to the Editor
The
tall bookcases cast shadows in the yellow light that descends
from the incessant buzzing above. No, this is not a description
of a medieval dungeon – it is the third and fourth floors of
Brookens Library.
After realizing my body couldn’t handle the wood, unpadded desk
chairs provided by Housing, I had attempted to move my studying
to the library. The upper floors are designated as “Studying
Ares:” environments which are supposed to be conducive to
learning. They are anything but.
I
found myself unable to concentrate and consistently uneasy
studying on these floors at night. In addition to not being
able to see who is in the room with you, or even near you, there
are no library personnel present at all.
The recent attack of a student at Brookens Library in the
evening did everything to consecrate these fears. The
unfortunate victim, along with the rest of us, are lucky anyone
at all was around to hear the screams. With the library open
until midnight, lone students are often left in these “Study
Areas.”
I
implore the administration, the library, and campus police to
collaborate in providing adequate security to students who
utilize the library in the late evening. It is the duty of this
campus to provide its students with a safe and comfortable
environment to study; a duty which has yet to be fulfilled.
Christine Zeivel
Undergrad Senior
Guest Commentary
You’ve got $10 in your
pocket. Go see Napoleon Dynamite and grab some popcorn... or
give a kid Christmas? It’s time once again for Operation
Christmas Child!! Collection Week is Nov. 15-22, with UIS
sending their shipment off on November 20th!
Now is your chance to
provide a happy holiday season for a young child in a third
world country. Last year UIS sent off almost 90 boxes, filling
them with toys, school supplies, hygiene items, and other
knick-knacks such as flashlights, candy, socks, sunglasses and
whatever else could be fit in. Most residents added a small
note to the children, sometimes including a picture. It is hard
to imagine the joy a young child expresses when the boxes are
delivered, but knowing that somewhere a child is going to have a
happier holiday makes it worthwhile. For only the cost of
filling the box plus $5 to help shipping costs, it is a small
price to pay. When you consider that adults in third world
countries such as Cambodia make an average of $300 in a YEAR,
the cost of filling a box is minimal. Our goal is to reach 120
boxes this year, so don’t be afraid to do more than one!
Please email me at
bward03s@uis.edu, or Jennifer Davis at
jdavi11s@uis.edu to get the necessary information to pack a
box, and experience the joy of giving well before the holiday
season gets underway.
God bless,
Brad Ward
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