LETTERS TO THE EDTIOR: The tragedy of violent crime

To the Editor: Punitive measures may be just, but can only do so much to deter crime and they do not undo crimes that have been committed. Locking people away may prevent them from engaging in further criminal activity, but imprisonment comes with costs, financial as well as social. Furthermore, the power of stiff punishment to deter future criminal behavior in others is questionable and the subject of vigorous debate. Thus, while the punishment of those found responsible for the killing may indeed be some form of justice, it is equally important to attend to the underlying factors that lead to crime. Editorial statements such as "random violence" and the assertion that kids who get bored "go out with a gun, searching for a student to hold up for fun" speak to a lack of deeper consideration of both sides of the issue -- consideration that is urgently needed to deal effectively with crime. Despite the great misfortune of an individual being singled out and victimized and the bravado that often accompanies aggressive behavior, crime is not just random or for fun. It doesn't "just happen," but comes about for specific reasons, often having to do with the material and emotional needs of people who are alienated from mainstream society. Root causes of juvenile crime, such as the social isolation and lack of supportive guidance that characterizes the experience of many youngsters in our urban communities -- combined with the widespread availability of guns -- need to be addressed. The challenge is ultimately for people to work together with compassion and understanding and without the blinding divisiveness of an "us versus them" mentality, to truly address social problems and bring about a safer and more fulfilling way of life for all. Mori Insinger Sociology Graduate Student Closing was common sense To the Editor: With typical melodrama, Sonja Stumacher attempted to construct in her column some sort of connection between the closing of the campus HIV test site and federal priorities ("The toughest test," DP, 3/25/96). The only clearly discernible message behind the closing the on-campus site is that the federal government is finally starting to demonstrate some accountability for how it throws our tax money around. The country is five trillion dollars in debt, and to avoid the economic graveyard we're hurtling toward, the feds are cutting a program whose services are already provided by two nearby clinics. We could put a test site on every block if you like, but we would have to dramatically increase taxes on the working poor and everyone else to do it. Stumacher enumerated several points the government is tackling: balancing the budget (the horror!), cutting the taxes of families with children (how could it!) and returning power to the states (which is where it belongs, unless the 10th Amendment is part of a government conspiracy). Prudent financial management insures that funds will exist tomorrow to pay for continued social programs. As far as misguided federal priorities are concerned, HIV/AIDS research is allocated the most money of any single disease, though others, notably cancer, affect far greater numbers of citizens. Closing the on-campus HIV test site to save limited funds is common sense. Unfortunately, common sense just isn't that common. Matthew Egel Wharton '98 Feeling pressure to be thin To the Editor: Hirschmann began her speech last Monday evening by explaining why she disagrees with the term "Eating disorders." She explained that it is not a disorder when 90 percent of women in our culture share the same fears of food, fat and body hatred. Similar to the Victorian notion that women suffered from wandering uteruses, our culture is labeling women's suffering with food as disordered and not calling it what it is -- a paradox of trying to obtain an unrealistically thin body when we need fat (and lots of it) to live, reproduce and be happy. The United States tells women and girls we're not allowed to eat. Who's crazy -- us or society? Needless to say, our hearts sank when we saw the headline of the article on Hirschmann's speech, which called her an eating disorder expert ("Eating disorder expert discusses image, dieting," DP, 3/26/96). She is an anti-diet leader who tours the nation reaffirming for women that diets and weight control do not work. It's time we stop pretending we can obtain or maintain thin bodies and do something about what the diets have been designed to do -- keep us from being complete and successful human beings in our society. To keep us from from demanding equal pay for equal work. To keep up from demanding an end to the misogyny in this culture that lets men get away with raping women -- and a million other injustices in our culture. Most importantly, I would never say that 90 percent of women suffer from eating disorders. Ninety percent of women feel the pressure to keep their bodies small and insignificant and are sold fraudulent products that promise this unrealizable dream -- including shelves and selves of fat-free products. Are we disordered? I don't think so. Angela Ferrari GUIDE co-advisor