Pearl’s death makes war hit close to home

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in
Chief  Timothy Kudo

Managing Editor
 Michael Falcone

Viewpoint Editor
 Cuauhtemoc Ortega

Staff Representatives
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao
 Kelly Rayburn

Editorial Board Assistants
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao

  Unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of
the Daily Bruin Editorial Board. All other columns, letters and
artwork represent the opinions of their authors.   All
submitted material must bear the author’s name, address, telephone
number, registration number, or affiliation with UCLA. Names will
not be withheld except in extreme cases.   The Bruin
complies with the Communication Board’s policy prohibiting the
publication of articles that perpetuate derogatory cultural or
ethnic stereotypes.   When multiple authors submit
material, some names may be kept on file rather than published with
the material. The Bruin reserves the right to edit submitted
material and to determine its placement in the paper. All
submissions become the property of The Bruin. The Communications
Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints
against any of its publications. For a copy of the complete
procedure, contact the Publications office at 118 Kerckhoff Hall.
Daily Bruin 118 Kerckhoff Hall 308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA
90024 (310) 825-9898

Yesterday, the State Department officially announced that Daniel
Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, is dead.
Pearl’s death should serve as a reminder to grieving
Americans that no one is isolated from the War on Terrorism. His
death hits especially close to home at UCLA ““ his father,
Judea Pearl, is a professor in the computer science department. As
a part of the UCLA community, Professor Pearl and his family have
our sincerest condolences.

The fact that the son of one of our professors died proves just
how directly the war in Afghanistan affects us. With personal,
academic and social issues usually monopolizing our attention and
energy, it is easy to forget the UCLA community is as vulnerable to
the effects of world conflict as anyone else.

As a journalist, Pearl’s purpose for involving himself in
the war effort was to gather first-hand information, helping to
inform the rest of the world of our progress in the War on
Terrorism. The least we can do now is to keep ourselves informed
about the war effort by keeping up with the news, so we can make
informed decisions about the future.

While past generations had the Vietnam War and World War II as
paramount occurrences, the War on Terrorism is the defining aspect
of ours. To be apathetic is to ignore the people who risk their
lives to keep us informed ““ and that’s
irresponsible.

Daniel Pearl was a member of many families: an expectant father,
a valued member of the Wall Street Journal, a son, a brother, an
uncle. And through his father, he was a member of UCLA’s
extended family; he will be missed.