Letters

Monday, March 16, 1998

Letters

View askew

Roee Ruttenberg’s Viewpoint piece, "Rally serves as kickoff for
election," (Mar. 12) is a perfect example of what happens when
junior statesmen get fed too big a dose of movies like "Wag the
Dog" and let their infantile imaginations run amok. For Ruttenberg,
everything boils down to a conspiracy of partisan politics. He
argues that USAC President Kandea Mosley and External Vice
President Stacy Lee organized a demonstration against U.S.
intervention in the Middle East and sanctions against the people of
Iraq solely to promote their own political fortunes within student
government.

Too bad Ruttenberg didn’t detail how Mosley and Lee were able to
pull off this conspiracy, for it would have made for a good
"X-Files" episode. Here’s my shot at it.

First, Mosley and Lee tricked Saddam Hussein into invading
Kuwait. This was the toughest part, but the rest fell into place
nicely. They convinced George Bush to start the Gulf War and to
impose the deadly sanctions on Iraq. After 1,500,000 people had
died due to the sanctions, and the United States was threatening to
bomb Iraq, Mosley and Lee decided that they could finally use the
issue to garner votes for Students First!

Perhaps it happened that way or maybe it just so happened that
Mosley and Lee decided that student government could actually be
used to draw attention to critical issues facing our society.
Obviously, Ruttenberg would rather spend all of his time drawing up
petty grievances against USAC as if he’s preparing himself to be
the next Newt Gingrich. Forget about the real world and humanity;
there are games to be played and schemes to he hatched in Kerckhoff
Hall.

Mosley and Lee should be commended for showing the courage to
take a public stand demanding that the sanctions be lifted. Let’s
examine Ruttenberg’s so-called more informed position on one of the
most important issues facing our civilization. He says, "I am not
saying that I am in support of sanctions on Iraq, nor am I saying
the opposite." Is this the type of hold political leadership
Ruttenberg would like to bring to USAC?

Gwenael Engelskirchen

Third-year

Women’s studies