LETTERS: Activists on penn's campus

To the Editor: On the surface, the visitors were clearly different from the stereotypical Penn students. Black tight pants, Steve Madden shoes and Kate Spade bags were replaced by baggy Levi's, Birkenstocks and EMS travel gear. College Green turned into a camping ground, drum circles were not abnormal and oftentimes one was greeted with a warm hug instead of just a handshake. I'd like to think that the major differences between these environmentally conscious students and Penn students are only superficial. I'd like to think that if it weren't fall break, Penn would be represented in higher numbers and that we could defy our reputation as an apathetic campus. But I have to admit that in addition to aesthetic presence, our guests also brought a different type of energy to campus. Instead of being polluted with midterm-inspired tension, the air was filled with optimistic ideas of social justice. Instead of hosting career fairs where giant corporations try to recruit young talent, the buildings hosted activists who mobilized protests of the unfair practices of such corporate institutions. The questionable accusation of apathy at Penn was replaced by an assurance of environmental advocacy. These bright environmental leaders attended workshops that covered a variety of topics such as environmentally-sound health care, forest protection and social change. The workshops lasted from early morning until evening and the nights were packed with eco-related entertainment. After 48 hours of raging activism, they were still extremely energetic for the big march from Penn to City Hall. They just weren't tired. I'm sure they never are. "We are the people! Now is the time!" they chanted with appropriate confidence. At the end of the exuberant rally at City Hall, they started their long cross-country journeys back to school. And the campus seemed quiet once again. Dara Lovitz College '00 Covering tragedy To the Editor: I read the column by Ronald Kim in the October 15 Daily Pennsylvanian and was interested enough to do my own Web search ("Selective Remembrance, DP, 10/15/99). Searching through the San Jose Mercury's online archive, I found three articles from January 18 and 19 of 1989 describing a shooting at the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton where five Southeast Asian children were killed. This took me under 30 minutes on the Web. I'm afraid that an adult killing a group of children at a school or playground just isn't sensational enough for today's "journalists" to be more than a one or two day story. The shooting at Littleton got attention because it was students doing the shooting. That gave it the "hook" that the news crews were looking for. I was once told that one should be careful not to assume malice with regard to actions that can be explained by simple stupidity. With journalists, we must be careful not to assume malice for that which can be explained by pure greed and sensationalism. One further note to would-be journalists and researchers. Always assume that your memory of dates is off by five years or more. Bradley Ross Engineering '74