POLICE JURISDICTION
To the Editor:
USM Police “did not have the authority to do police work outside of Portland Hall.”
I find this amazing. If someone was murdered outside on public property ANYONE CAN MAKE A CITIZENS ARREST.
I feel USM police are tragically failing us. Anyone and everyone with/or in authority needs to be held accountable. Yet, in this instance rhetoric prevails, as always. When will USM stand up and protect it’s students? It is clear from this article that USM is aware of it’s policy and procedures. Yet, it hides from accepting responsibility for it’s students.
As a student and representative I challenge USM to follow through with it’s responsibility to allow us all reasonable safety. Not, just within the confines of USM, but everywhere.
Moses Sawyer
Student Senator
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SENATE DENOUNCES RAPE
To the Editor:
The 32nd USM Student Senate is very concerned with the recent instances of “Date Rape” occurring recently affecting colleges all over Maine, and now spreading to the Portland area. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families.
The Student Senate encourages all students to remember to be safe at all times. If you choose to go out and use alcohol, remember to not accept drinks from strangers, and to keep your drink with you at all times. Travel with friends, and be cautious regarding strangers.
The Student Senate joins with the University of Southern Maine Administration in denouncing these attacks, and looks to the community to help gather any and all information that could be helpful to authorities. Remember to look out for each other.
Sincerely;
Jeremy J. Collette
Chair, USM Student Senate
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DEFENDING “BUSH BASHERS”
To the Editor:
I’d like to present a rebuttal for all “liberals” in response to last week’s letter by Jason Libby, and also to apologize in advance to any “liberals” who don’t wish to be spoken for.
I don’t see anything wrong with The Free Press printing criticism of President Bush’s actions. The Presidency is an office that demands respect; not blind devotion. While the office itself demands respect, the person in that office must still earn the respect that comes with it. When the President errs (as many feel Bush has), he can’t hide behind the power of his office hoping nobody acknowledges that they noticed.
Some of Jason Libby’s observations seem misinformed. Note that this remark is in no means meant to say I think Libby is a liar; just unaware of certain aspects of these issues we face.
For starters, Libby credits Bush as the driving force behind the Patriot Act, when it is actually the creation of John Ashcroft, and it is nowhere near as fair and pleasant a document as I feel it has been presented to be. The Patriot Act not only restricts the rights given to us by America’s founders, but ignores them. Libby praises the Patriot Act for allowing law enforcement to prosecute potential terrorists where “loopholes” in the law may have forbidden them to before; but the Patriot Act itself has loopholes so deep that the authority given to those who invoke it is seemingly boundless. As long as the Patriot Act is in effect we are all essentially living in glass houses with recording “bugs” in/on everything from the phones to our legal protectors.
Libby points out that President Clinton had a chance to kill Osama. This is true, however there was no reason he should’ve done so, there was no threat at that time. America’s intelligence (under Bush) knew of the threats against us before September 11th; as did the Presidency. VP Cheney declared he’d personally investigate the threat in May of 2001. The investigation never began. While Cheney was apparently too busy to honor his promise, America was attacked. Clinton had nothing to do with this.
Finally; one can’t help but note how those against war protestors (and “liberals” in general) delight in passing accusations upon them such as Libby’s “those who are Bush bashers (and protest aggressive actions) must love genocide”. This proclamation is slathered with hypocrisy, since those who supported Bush’s war must also “love” genocide, as that’s what Bush’s “shock and awe” bombing campaign attempted.
I applaud the Free Press for being unafraid to speak out against Bush while many in the media have been too cowardly to do the same; and I await their positive stories about Bush that will come when and if Bush does something worthy of praise.
Dan H. Goldstein
Proud Liberal Political Analyst & Theatre Major