EMBARRASSED BY STUDENTS
As a Miami Alum observing the hunger strike from New York City, I cannot help but be embarrassed by the actions of our ignorant student body. My colleagues and I agree that Miami’s reputation as a haven for rich, foolish idealistic children is severly exposed in this action.
Ignoring pragmatics and logical reasoning, this hunger strike is simply an act of rash reaction which shows total misunderstanding of so many eager, yet blinded youth. Miami’s reputation has been hurt with this widespread media attention.
Kellen Giuda
RESOLUTION IN THE CLEAR
Because many Student Government senators and undergraduate students brought it to my attention that there may be discrepancies with the allegations made towards STAND, SEIU, and other affiliated organizations in Action #07009, “A resolution disapproving of recent campus disruptions and demanding that such activities cease immediately,” I decided to investigate to verify if these statements were true. After my investigation, I have found that every statement made is backed up by a police report, eyewitness reports made by at least two members of the University community, or both. This applies to the resolution before it was amended in Senate, as well as after from removal of certain statements. I hope that this clarifies the verity of the accusations made in the passed resolution.
John Constantinide
Speaker of the Senate
SUPPORT FOR HUNGER STRIKE
I am a graduate of UM, class of ’03, and a former opinion writer for the paper. I just wanted to express my support for those striking for better working conditions.
Even though we might not be in Miami anymore, my family, my friends and I are there in spirit and will do anything to help this cause. You all are not alone. Don’t ever give up.
Travis Atria
Class of ’03
SCHOOL-WIDE TENSION IS DISAPPOINTING
Over the last four years, I have witnessed a variety of events here on campus ranging from a visit by Rob Schneider, devastation after a hurricane, and the 2004 presidential debate. We, as fellow Hurricanes, have been blessed to attend this university and experience these occurrences in addition to utilizing all of the resources available to further our academic and personal development. Students have exercised this right in the past by holding mock-marriages, planning an event where students “died” on the rock, and expressing themselves in a number of different ways. Some of these events I have supported, others I have opposed, and still others I have enjoyed strictly from an entertainment or intellectual approach. I have met people of every race, religion, and creed and held conversations with them that I will remember for a lifetime. We have felt the Orange Bowl shake after watching our football team rise to victory, we have embraced after a last minute three-point buzzer beater, but now we are divided and left to bicker and quarrel.
It is disappointing to think that the last few weeks of our undergraduate education are fraught with such tension. This is a time when we should be celebrating our entrance into a new phase of life. Instead, the situation with the strike has escalated beyond acceptable parameters and negatively impacted administrators, students, and the classroom environment that is the primary focus of our university. Prospective students are enrolling elsewhere, not because the education here is of poor quality, but because the staff who are contracted to work here have lost focus and disrupted the mission of the university, namely education.
There have been so many times in the past that I have been proud to call myself a Hurricane. Now, my final thoughts while leaving this university are not that it’s great to be a Hurricane, but that I am embarrassed of the few individuals who are tarnishing the reputation of this institution. I pray that in the future we all learn a valuable lesson from this experience. I pray that we learn to listen to one another, to compromise, and to throw in the cards when necessary. President Shalala is working to promote the best interests of the students and I thank her for all her hard work over the past four years. Congratulations upcoming graduates. Better and brighter days await.
Justin Shepherd
Senior