To the editor,

In The Pitt News’ endorsement of President Barack Obama, I was encouraged to see an acknowledgement of the president’s abysmal human rights record in concerns to the bombings in Pakistan and the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Yet, in spite of this record, the editors endorsed President Obama for a second term. The editors, self-admittedly, were willing to put aside President Obama’s record because of his willingness to “fight for the underrepresented.” I find this wrong, and the consequences of such thinking ought to be made apparent.

The first consequence is quite obvious: the violations will continue. And for the Pakistanis, that is unacceptable.

In Conor Friedersdorf’s brilliant piece, “Why I Refuse to Vote for Barack Obama,” he poignantly describes the daily horror of Pakistanis currently at the mercy of President Obama’s drone offensive. Conservative estimates say between 400 and 500 people have been killed. Friedersdorf goes on to ask, “Have you any deal breakers … How is this not among them?” I agree. This horror should convince anyone, including The Pitt News, to not tolerate the President’s record for any reason. Further, if The Pitt News thinks President Obama is a champion of “the underrepresented,” are the Pakistani people included in this categorization?

The second consequence of tolerating these violations may be just as evident: If we continue to re-elect politicians who do this, they will continue to violate [the rights of] more people, worse and more often.

Without political consequences for allowing torture, detaining indefinitely, killing without due process or bombing the innocent, there is little to stop these violations. By re-electing politicians who do these sorts of things, we condone these actions and tell future leaders that they can get away with it too. Why shouldn’t they? And why not push the limit?

Thus, the answer lies with us. We cannot re-elect politicians who willingly violate human rights and expect things to change. For this election, there are only two candidates who give a damn and neither will win Tuesday. But by voting for these candidates, we send a message that violating human rights will not be tolerated.

Chris Romano

Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences

To the editor,

The article “Religion plays role in voting” missed an important demographic when discussing the religious views of voters and the influence of religion on voting. There was no commentary discussing religiously unaffiliated voters or voters who identify as atheists.

Current polling data would suggest that 19 percent of Americans are unaffiliated with a church, including 6 percent of Americans who identify as either atheists or agnostics. These groups have been growing rapidly (an additional 4 percent of the population in just the last five years) and illustrate a change in the way Americans view the proper relation between religion and government.

This also presents an important challenge to politicians: how to manage the traditionally religious voting blocks they need votes from without disenfranchising voters who don’t want to hear about the Bible during a political debate.

Joshua Phillips

Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences

President, Secular Student Alliance at the University of Pittsburgh

To the editor,

Research shows that young people have lower rates of voting in this country because they are new voters who are often new to their community and, as a result, they lack information about the voter registration and voting process. The voter ID law that Pennsylvania’s legislature passed and a state court overturned created even more confusion about what students need to vote.

The nonpartisan Campus Vote Project is spreading the word to make sure Pitt students can make their voices heard this election. Here are the basics:

You do not need to show a photo ID to vote a regular ballot. A poll worker will ask you to show a photo ID, but if you do not have one on you, you can still vote a regular ballot.

First-time voters and voters who moved to a new polling location must show an ID to vote. You can show either a photo ID — including driver’s license, PennDOT, passport, armed forces ID, student ID or employee ID — or nonphoto ID showing name and current address, including voter registration card, current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To find your polling location, go to www.votespa.com.

For more information about voting in Pennsylvania or information on voting in another state, check out the student voter guides that are available through Campus Vote Project at www.campusvoteproject.org/studentguides.

Julia Radomski, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and Common Cause fellow

Danielle Shade, Campus Vote Project Pennsylvania fellow