Letters to the Editor 5/9
Posted on 09. May, 2012 in Opinions
An Open Letter to Students:
I’m sorry I missed so many of you before you left campus.Instead of the usual departure at the end of the term, it seems that camp broke in stages. I understand. I received so many email notifications about bomb threats that my mail system routed anything marked “threat” to my spam folder.
When you think about it, “bomb threat” is a strange phrase. Bombs are a physics issue: concentrated forms of potential energy. The “threat” is the real problem, and that leads to a choice. You can take the threat seriously and take action ... or you can ignore it and do nothing.
It’s easy to get jaded, but here’s the thing about inaction: It’s the most powerful bomb in the world. (Quick — what’s the most powerful voting bloc in this country? The people who don’t vote. Imagine if they all got off the couch and went to the polls. What would happen? No one knows, but it would change everything.)Inaction is cynicism, which is just a fancy word for hiding.
So how do you meet a force so bent on vague and random threats? Turns out you’re the answer — concentrated forms of potential energy, waiting to release its light. Ironic, huh? Whomever made these threats promised to unleash energy, and it’s frightening because it might change the landscape. Yet isn’t that why you’re in college, to understand concepts such as energy and power, to move science and humanity forward, to raise rather than intimidate consciousness? Aren’t you anxious to change the landscape, too, and forever? Good for you. Maybe that’s the best revenge.
Have a wonderful summer.
Mark Collins
Coordinator and Lecturer, Environmental Studies
Department of Geology and Planetary Science
To the Editor,
After reading the article “Threats finished at Pitt, email claims,” in the Post-Gazette April 23, 2012, I find myself infuriated.
How dare “The Treateners,” as this group of terrorists call themselves, complain about a reward posted for a crime (yes, inducing panic is a crime) as if what they did was not wrong? They stated in an email to the University:
“This all began when you, Nordenberg, put out a $10,000 — then $50,000 ‘reward’ (bounty) for some young kid who’d pranked the University. Remember?” the letter states. “That REALLY angered us! Hey, man! This is America! We don’t treat our kids like that!”
What about the way you have treated my kid. She has been evacuated from classes and her dorm at all hours, making it difficult to concentrate and do well in class. Not to mention the money we spend for her education and living arrangements. My husband and I also had to pay for a hotel room so she could sleep before a major test she had to take. I, and I’m sure many other students and parents, say, “This is America, how dare you treat my child this way?”
Respectfully,
Laura Obenour Dunn
Pitt student’s parent
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