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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Hypothetical terror not unfathomable
Letters to the Editor | 10/9/07
Posted online at 9:49 PM EST on 10/8/07
/ Last updated at 2:37 AM EST on 10/8/07
To the Editor:
In his op-ed "Urge to Arm Police Irrational" (Oct. 2 issue), Ben Serby refers to a "worst-case scenario" in which Waltham police were busy with a nuclear attack, only then would Brandeis police need guns. Forgetting this worst-case scenario for a moment, why wouldn't an intelligent person think of a more likely and threatening scenario, one specific to Brandeis: a group of terrorists targets Brandeis because of its large Jewish population, and plans simultaneous attacks in numerous locations on campus. Brandeis at present doesn't have a viable way to respond, nor the time to wait the questionable "two minutes" for the Waltham police to arrive. Notice that this scenario eliminates the nonsense of gun laws in any particular state as terrorists could care less what state their targets are in. We need to think out of the box when it comes to security. Better to have this discussion now than to consider it after something happens.
What also disturbed me was that in the second-to-last paragraph, the author states, "Unfortunately, harassment and abuse by public safety officers are not unheard of at Brandeis. Students-especially black, Hispanic and GLBTQ students-have reported inappropriate conduct over the years." Was this not an op-ed article about arming the police? There is absolutely no statistical evidence regarding this claim. This statement, which is irrelevant to the topic of his article, is both absurd and inaccurate. If the author was familiar with the police force, he would know that the department employs a significant number of minority officers. The fact that the Justice published comments such as these without verifying the facts is a concern as well. To allow someone to make such an erroneous generalization about the police officers of this campus is extremely unfair and unacceptable.
-Yoni Litwok '07
The writer was a member of BEMCo.
In his op-ed "Urge to Arm Police Irrational" (Oct. 2 issue), Ben Serby refers to a "worst-case scenario" in which Waltham police were busy with a nuclear attack, only then would Brandeis police need guns. Forgetting this worst-case scenario for a moment, why wouldn't an intelligent person think of a more likely and threatening scenario, one specific to Brandeis: a group of terrorists targets Brandeis because of its large Jewish population, and plans simultaneous attacks in numerous locations on campus. Brandeis at present doesn't have a viable way to respond, nor the time to wait the questionable "two minutes" for the Waltham police to arrive. Notice that this scenario eliminates the nonsense of gun laws in any particular state as terrorists could care less what state their targets are in. We need to think out of the box when it comes to security. Better to have this discussion now than to consider it after something happens.
What also disturbed me was that in the second-to-last paragraph, the author states, "Unfortunately, harassment and abuse by public safety officers are not unheard of at Brandeis. Students-especially black, Hispanic and GLBTQ students-have reported inappropriate conduct over the years." Was this not an op-ed article about arming the police? There is absolutely no statistical evidence regarding this claim. This statement, which is irrelevant to the topic of his article, is both absurd and inaccurate. If the author was familiar with the police force, he would know that the department employs a significant number of minority officers. The fact that the Justice published comments such as these without verifying the facts is a concern as well. To allow someone to make such an erroneous generalization about the police officers of this campus is extremely unfair and unacceptable.
-Yoni Litwok '07
The writer was a member of BEMCo.
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