Human race stronger than terrorism crimes
To the Editor:
I applaud the staff of The Poly for their news coverage of the recent tragedy "we Americans have faced"! I also applaud their statements to the community to put aside the anger and hatred we have stirring in our hearts, and to unite as one big multicultural family. We are an ethnically diverse community, and we need to reach out and understand each other. I consider myself a member of the human race, as we all are equally and nothing less. But if you want to classify me, then I’m an American—born and raised here, but with cultural roots and ties to India, and a Hindu religious origin.
However, I prefer that we need not judge each other and profile each other purely based on culture. (Since there is only one race, the human race.) We judge each other on the character and moral beliefs we hold true and self-evident. I seriously implore you to take a stand against the bigotry and racist beliefs that may be in our minds unconsciously. These recent attacks probably did stem from fanatical religious factions of Islamic groups, who are presently practicing "jihad." Their viewpoints do not even come close to reflecting the views of all members of the Islamic faith.
These terrorists are more in line with "sick fanatics," who receive pleasure from hurting and oppressing the innocent and claiming retribution for U.S. policy. Well, they need to be civilized and diplomatic to make their points, but for that moment their minds were very clouded by misguided hate and anger. Hopefully, the U.S. government will rely on information from countries like Israel and India, who have been targets for the past few years by the same presumed terrorist organization that carried out these atrocities in New York City and Washington D.C. We need all of the governments of terrorist-attacked countries to work together to catch these culprits for their inhumane behavior.
However, we cannot allow the same misguided hate and rage of the terrorists to take over the minds of our fellow people, by no means can we take out our anger on fellow citizens who may presumably look physically similar to the terrorists we have just faced. People’s character is what we should judge—not their skin color!
Please guide your anger into more constructive manners, for all of us students, think about becoming the best you can be in your field and developing ideas and equipment that help progress our human nature rather than revert us to sadistic animals. Professors need to be mentors right now and help us in educating and fostering these positive and productive ideals. Keep a good positive mental focus of the world, as we continue through these tough days. Take care.
Nagesh Rao
MTLE/PHIL ’02
Justice far better than blind revenge, hatred
To the Editor:
The dreadful acts of terrorism on September 11 that caused the death of thousands of innocent people at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the plane crash in Pennsylvania caused a deep sorrow in the Turkish community at RPI, as they did in our American friends.
As citizens of Turkey, a country that suffered tremendously under various forms of terrorism for nearly 30 years, we condemn these despicable acts and share the pain and suffering of the American people.
The horrific scenes that outraged the whole world on September 11 once again showed us that terrorism is an evil that has neither religion nor ethnicity but threatens the life and well being of people from every religion and every ethnicity. It merely speaks the language of violence no matter what language its actors speak. We believe that every terrorist attack, independent of its origin, is directed against the entire human race.
Hence, terrorism can be eliminated from the earth only through intense international cooperation of every government and every nation. We are confident that our country, Turkey, as a long-standing member of NATO and close ally of United States, will do anything within its power to contribute to the fight against this common enemy. The people and the government of the United States have always given us their support and a helping hand when we most needed it. Whether it was during our country’s fight against terrorism, or during the devastating earthquake of 1999, the United States has shared in our grief.
The United States is a diverse society, a country that embraces different ethnic and religious backgrounds, a country where people have the opportunity to live peacefully and harmoniously. We strongly believe that no terrorist acts will be able to disrupt this peace and harmony.
We, as the Turkish students at RPI, again strongly denounce these outrageous acts of terror and sincerely hope that justice will be found. Our prayers are with the victims and we share our deepest sympathy with our American friends.
Turkish Students Association of RPI
Freshman should gain insight from challenges
To the Editor:
Every fall, a large bevy of 17- and 18-year-olds enter their first year of higher education. They are fearful and oppressed by a completely new way of life, new surroundings, and the need to seek companions and friends where everything is strange—from the customs of the bed to the customs of the board. This is not to deny that there is a stimulus of expectancy which has its pleasurable side. Nevertheless, new students experience a temporary regression to childhood dependency. Thus, professors find freshman classes the most docile and the most teachable.
A big spur in the process of maturing occurs during the freshman year. Even before the first semester is over, most freshmen have gained confidence and feel they can now meet the challenges that seemed so threatening at first. Those who cling too long to their original timidity, reluctant to dare when daring is required, are among those who leave college after or even before their first year. It appears, on looking back to that freshman experience, that a hurdle was presented and either overcome or evaded.
Indeed, the whole of maturing from child to adult is to encounter a series of hurdles. Each one evaded carries a penalty of weakness, of some kind of immaturity, into adult life. Few adults are completely free of immaturities created by having evaded a challenge when it arose. It may show, for instance, from something as simple as an incapacity for mathematics to, more seriously, an uncontrollable temper or a deviant sexuality. Whatever it may be, it fossilizes with time once the opportunity to overcome it was allowed to pass.
The freshman year in college does not bring the first of these hurdles, but it offers one that is clearly recognizable for success or failure in meeting its challenge. So brace yourself, my hearties—a crucial year begins for you.
Sydney Ross
Professor Emeritus
Chemistry
