Letter to the Editor: 10/10

Dear Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ Though I’m not a STAND member, in reading Giles Howard’s latest column… Dear Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ Though I’m not a STAND member, in reading Giles Howard’s latest column ‘STAND missing the full issue,’ I was offended by his misplaced disdain for STAND’s good intentions. Howard has his own good intentions and mentions several worthy causes for activism, but he mistakenly makes STAND his victim in an attempt to expose the United States’ wrongdoings overseas. ‘ ‘ ‘ The columnist’s fervor in expressing his regret for the civilian death toll in Iraq, other recent travesties inflicted by U.S. policy and lack of activism to correct them is justified. However, his claim that the organization is ‘missing the issue’ is incomprehensible. Choosing to demonstrate for an international cause rather than a national one, or a specific cause rather than a general one, is by no means evidence of one having missed the point. STAND’s mission acknowledges the importance of being an active citizen of America and the world.’ Furthermore, taking a punch at this organization for failing to address issues beyond its defined mission is ineffectual. Would he admonish the Student Global Aids Project for its failure to raise money to cure cancer? ‘ ‘ ‘ Howard scolds STAND members for their ‘naivete and baseless optimism’ and the ‘need to feel important.’ But the single STAND source cited expresses her very real fear that the situation in Darfur is flying under the radar, a sentiment that is far from optimism. Instead of playing the spoiled toddler whose playmate won’t share the big blue truck, Howard should more clearly express his wish that others feel the same despair in righting the wrongs in East Timor and Iraq as they do in righting the wrong in Darfur.’ It would make for fewer letters to the editor and more activism for these important issues. ‘ ‘ ‘ Most mystifying, though, is the columnist’s dismissal of student efforts as merely an attempt ‘to raise awareness.’ STAND’s chapter at Pitt does not purport to hold a position of national visibility from which it can readily enact international policy changes. I find it hypocritical that he is so disparaging of efforts to raise awareness, a task that sounds eerily like columnist Howard’s job description. Maggie Bohlander School of Arts ‘amp; Sciences