Letters to the editor

Sexual assault coverage must be more timely

I was disturbed to see that The Pitt… Sexual assault coverage must be more timely

I was disturbed to see that The Pitt News didn’t print the story about the sexual assaults that occurred on Sunday, Sept. 22 until Friday, Sept. 27. That type of information needs to be given to students ASAP so that women on campus can take steps to protect themselves and so that others can look for the attacker. Waiting gives the impression that Pitt is trying to cover up the incident. When the safety of students is at risk, the story should replace whatever was planned for the paper. Thank you, however, for continuing to follow the story including that excellent, interesting story about the lights in the Oct. 4 issue.

Carol Hart

Ph.D. Candidate

School of Social Work

Editor’s note:

The Pitt News considers on-campus assaults to be of the utmost importance to readers, and strives to publish these stories in a timely manner. The delay in publishing this story did not come about because other stories were considered more important, but rather, because of unusual complications with the story itself.

Protesters endangered public safety

Will Minton is correct. “Protesters must be granted their right to assemble” (Oct. 1 edition of The Pitt News). This is absolutely correct and indeed that right is guaranteed. What is not guaranteed is that protesters, or anyone else for that matter, will be allowed to escape arrest if they threaten another human life or infringe upon the freedoms of other citizens. Rights in this country do not only apply to minorities or the seemingly oppressed. Rights, in this country, apply to all citizens, in fact to all humans.

What Mr. Minton misses is the fact that these very same protesters who were arrested in Washington, D.C., were endangering the safety of themselves and others. This country does not afford anyone the right to light tires on fire as roadblocks just because they disagree with the majority’s opinion. Nor does this country allow anyone to attempt to hold one person or a group, against their will. Many of the protesters who were arrested were not just having their voices heard; they were threatening to barricade the IMF [International Monetary Fund] ministers in their building.

I’d ask Mr. Minton if he would feel so strongly about the arrests of protesters if the protesters happened to be 20,000 IMF ministers at a meeting of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence and if they were attempting to hold them against their will at their own meeting.

Ryan Jackson

CAS Junior