EDITORIAL A Dangerous Silence

Author: [no author name found]

The College — administrators in Old Chapel and of the commons system and the staff of the Center for International Affairs, specifically — should be commended for their forethought in inviting two speakers of note to campus in the last three weeks, Elie Wiesel and, on Monday, Scott Ritter.

Wiesel and Ritter spoke powerfully to our campus, and their words should resonate strongly in what will assuredly be a dangerous year internationally. Their messages — to remember and be skeptical — will undoubtedly shape debate in and outside the classroom or office in the weeks and months to come.

Such debate is important, and should be seized upon at every possible opportunity. Discussion should also not be limited to topics that currently dominate the national media, namely the looming war with Iraq and state elections. Rather, students, staff and faculty should capitalize on the fact that we live in an open campus where freedom of thought and expression are not only appreciated, but also expected. Now more than ever, those freedoms should be demanded.

Otherwise we — especially students — will fall victim to the stereotype of our times: that we are apathetic, misinformed and closed to the world around us. Debate and discussion, contrary to the beliefs of some, will and must sometimes involve disagreement; anything else might appear more politically correct, but ultimately such dialogue will just fall flat.

Silence, as Ritter noted in his lecture Monday evening, is especially dangerous at a time when the global political situation grows ever precarious. As the winds of war blow fiercer by the day, now is the moment to strive for truth and demand — of each other, our political representatives and the president — answers at a time when ignorance could prove deadly.