Letters

Ridwan’s story needs to be heard
I could not have said it better myself ["The firing of Ridwan," Feb. 25]. As a well-aware white student, who is well-aware that the majority of the world is not like her – not white, not educated, not well-fed, clothed, sheltered, not willing to rage against the very system that educated me – I applaud the writer of this piece and the Vanguard for recognizing the brilliance that Ridwan embodies. Congratulations for joining the fight. Somebody must talk about this, somebody must write about this. If we don’t, then it might as well have never happened.

Katie Klemsen
Monterey, Calif.

Administration mistreated Ridwan
A true academic is seldom recognized even by his peers. You, the author, saw Dr. Ridwan’s brilliance, integrity and love of teaching. Thank you for telling Ridwan’s story. Ridwan is a countryman of mine, and the apartheid years have shaped our thinking and bearing to be very proud of our ethnic origins, and not allow others to negatively identify us. Ridwan’s teaching, his students and your article will allow PSU to open their eyes, and become liberated. I am an alumnus of PSU. I am very disappointed in how the Administration treated Ridwan – very unprofessional. Peace, and may the struggle continue.

Samuel J du Plessis
Portland

Hypocrisy over display
So let me start by saying that I appreciate free speech, but I appreciate it more when done in good taste. The display case was not in good taste ["Display debacle," March 2]. However, I find it highly hypocritical of those students who were enraged by the display case, when there have been numerous occasions where other people in ASPSU have been compared to Hitler, or the infamous "Who’s Sleeping with Who in ASPSU" posters, and those students have said nothing. They did not request any public denouncements, there were not any public outcries for the removal of those items, and there were certainly no people, whether they agreed with the message or not, that pointed blame at anyone.

Ana Johns
Student

Reporter blinded by Bright Eyes
Well, well, well, Stephanie takes her first jabs at someone obviously more talented than she ["Blinded by the fame," Feb. 23]. Congratulations! Now for some real bullshit – I was on that tour with Conor for 2 1/2 weeks and have had the pleasure of hanging out with Conor in NYC and to be quite honest with you, everything that little Stephanie is trying to tell you about a person she has never had the pleasure of meeting in an intimate context, is pure, absolute bullshit. What is wrong with people like Stephanie? Who the fuck are you? Some bitter, lost child stuck in some high school finger pointing contest because you perceive someone as being too popular and therefore you must rebel in a shit-talking spree aimed at turning others against someone for whom you have no insight for whatsoever. You are no different than the fucking jocks, cheerleaders and frat boys that talked shit about you and your friends when you were "different." Maybe your were one of those people and now feel free to voice your hatred in some half-ass rag which makes it all seem more legitimate.

So, now on to Conor. He is an angel, which refutes any comparison to the asshole Bob Dylan. I would suppress the thought that Conor is "rich and famous." Bono he is not. You are judging him for what he wears? I guess if he dressed like a rock star you would slam him for that as well. His new record is full of hope and love. Dig on it. Annoyingly everywhere – that would have been Ryan Adams four years ago -maybe you should have written this piece on him instead, would have made more sense. Maybe if you spent as much time dissecting yourself, Stephanie, you could release your hatred and become a better person – that’s all Conor is asking for.

Phil
Seattle, Wash.

Dems will stifle changes to minimum wage
I’m not terribly worried about this bill ["Minimum wage threatened by house bill," March 4]. Sure, it’ll probably be passed by the House, but the Dems have almost 2/3 in the Senate. I doubt it will make it out of committee in the Senate.

Matt Cavaness
Student