The Rice Thresher

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November 30, 2007 > Opinion > Letters to the editor

Letters to the editor

By The Rice Thresher Editorial Staff | Thresher Editorial Staff

Cartoon poorly paints nature of Questions

To the editor:

I am writing in response to the cartoon by Dan Derozier criticizing the Questions of the Ages, open discussions sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ (Cartoon, Nov. 16).

Derozier’s cartoon expressed a common misconception among Rice students concerning the Questions of the Ages discussions: Namely, that the discussions are simply a deceptive maneuver intent on “proselytism.” As a facilitator for Questions of the Ages I can vouch that this is not the case. The open discussions promote the exchange of ideas which are shared and critically examined as a group. The Questions of the Ages program provides an environment where people are free to express their opinions and question each other’s ideas. Each person should leave the discussion with a better understanding of why other people hold their beliefs and what those beliefs really are.

Even Christians have widely differing viewpoints on the issues discussed and do not claim to have all the answers. If any Christian had the complete answer for the problem of evil then he or she would be the first in 2,000 years of Christian history. Everyone can benefit from explaining their own reasoning and listening to others’ perspectives, so why don’t you give it a chance?

David Gorrell

Brown sophomore

Questions forum does not act as conversion

To the editor:

The comic in the Nov. 16 issue of the Thresher has put me in the awkward position of writing to defend the Questions of the Ages put on by an organization with which I am at fundamental odds, both in terms of metaphysics I am an atheist and ethics I find Judeo-Christianity degrading.

The problem that I have with the opinion put forth in the comic is that it is a deep mischaracterization of the purpose and nature of the series, one that seems more founded on som sort of assumption about what such a series could be like than on the actual dynamic of the series in practice. It is wrong to say that the series is a “setting to conceal proselytism.” I have had the occasion to attend many of the meetings in the series and have yet to be asked to convert or to be threatened with fire and brimstone. In fact, I think it is fair to say that the skeptical amongst us get more than their fair share of speaking time. And discussions, although often dealing with points of emotional contention, have never veered off into preaching to the choir or diatribe. I encourage all to attend and see for themselves before passing hasty judgments and passing over some good discussions.

Arturo Munoz

Hanszen sophomore

RUPD criticism sells its mission short

To the editor:

I found Jackie Ammons’ recent column criticizing the Rice University Police Department to be both untrue and disrespectful to RUPD’s officers and the work they do (“Lack of parking reduces RUPD to meter maids,” Nov. 16).

First, RUPD’s primary role is not to give students “an escort back from the gym late at night,” like Ammons believes. While night escorts certainly help reduce campus crime, when these calls come up they are usually assigned to the night escort driver. Police officers prefer to be out responding to emergency calls and looking for those who may wish to commit crimes on campus.

To that end, stopping someone for minor infractions is not a waste of resources. Many of RUPD’s arrests for DWI or outstanding arrest warrants start off with traffic stops for these so-called “trivial mistakes.” On the other hand, if the driver of the vehicle is doing nothing wrong like Ammons was that person is usually let off with a verbal warning, which to me sounds exactly like the “reward” Ammons wants RUPD to give for good behavior.

Finally, it is worth noting that Ammons has a naive view of campus safety. Unfortunately, the hedges are not a magical wall that keeps criminals out Rice is just as susceptible to crime as other areas of Houston are. The reason our crime rates are so low is completely thanks to RUPD. Their diligence and dedication including stopping people for minor offenses on the off chance that they may also be committing a more serious crime helps to keep all members of the Rice community safe.

Ian Feldman

Sid Richardson junior

Will Rice students only support college

To the editor:

I am completely disgusted by certain students representing Will Rice College at the Tulane-Rice tailgate and football game on Nov. 17.

Their maroon college t-shirts were completely inappropriate and did not inspire any Rice spirit for the team or the fans. To reinforce the idea that they had no Rice spirit, they separated themselves from the student section by five rows and talked to each other during the entire game instead of cheering for our team. It also did not help that they abandoned the team immediately after they heard that they won the tailgating prize.

Sammy just wrote the most inspiring column about getting involved at Rice and they responded by stealing $1,000 from true Rice fans (“Rice spirit needs community audience, says Sammy,” Nov. 16). We as Rice students should not have to be bribed into coming to Rice events, and that is exactly how they treated this event. The reason that we lost that game is not a problem with the football team it is because “fans” like those from Will Rice did not come to support the team.

Will Rice, if you had any decency you would return the money to the Athletics Department and apologize for treating our Rice Owls like the Will Rice Phoenixes.

Bill Kazmierski

Baker Junior

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