News-Letter

On Sept. 11, the anniversary of the terrorist acts against the United States, it was important for everyone who feels the urge to speak out against terrorists to do so. It was also appropriate to express horror at those same events. Our on-campus ceremony commemorating the attacks was both eloquent and beautiful. We were all able to be together and remember the attacks as a whole.

It was therefore also fitting that a campus group hung a banner on the steps of Krieger Hall, the "Breezeway," showing their sympathy for victims of terror. The Johns Hopkins Pro-Israel group's (the Coalition of Hopkins Activists for Israel -- CHAI) poster was touching, as it displayed how the events of Sept. 11 hurt and shocked many people.

I was surprised, though, when a few days later I saw another poster hanging next to the banner about the victims of terrorist attacks. This new banner hardly differed at all from the banner drawn by the Israel group except that it was sponsored by the Hopkins students for a Free Palestine.

There seems to be little reason for two posters with the same message to be hanging right next to one another. This raised the question of why the two groups did not hang a joint banner up, considering they were espousing the same message.

The only conclusion that seems logical is that the latter banner was hung as a response to the first. It is obvious that a group that supports Israel and a group that wants to free Palestine have different values. It is also true that some people try to relate the terrorist attacks on America to the suicide bombings in Israel. This may upset those who have different views on the reasons behind the Intifada and the situation in the Middle East.

The tension on the campus about the fighting in the Middle East was more than apparent when I came to visit Hopkins last spring as a prospective student. There had recently been a pro-Palestinian rally and the Hopkins Hillel had a counter rally. It seems that this reactionary behavior is not uncommon among some of our student groups.

Yet the events of Sept. 11 did not occur in the Middle East. They happened right here, in America. They touched everyone in the nation, regardless of their religion or beliefs. Why is it necessary to bring up divisive issues on a day when we should be focusing on our communal sorrow and horror? Why discuss the situation in the Middle East on a day when we should be feeling our pride in our country and the vulnerability we felt as Americans?

America is a mixing bowl; no one disputes that. We are a nation founded on diversity. And with our diverse culture comes many differing opinions, sentiments and loyalties. Yet on a day like Sept. 11, we should be able to all feel, regardless of where we came from or where our parents came from, truly American.

This is not a piece that serves to condemn student advocacy. It is truly great that two groups on campus want to show their reaction to the attacks on America. The groups act as voices for the student body and it is terrific when students want to express how they feel.

However, the latter banner seems not to have been hung because of the shock and horror many feel because of Sept. 11. Had that been the case, the poster would have been hung earlier. It also would not have been hung directly next to another poster with the same message. I certainly hope that my conclusions about why the second banner was hung are incorrect. It would be disturbing if it were true that one of the most crucial and saddening events in our country's recent history would be used by some as a device to further a group's agenda.

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