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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Letters to the editor

Hazy logic

Zan Donovan’s column entitled “Student bites Oreo” (Sept. 29, p. 4) does a disservice to everyone who is genuinely concerned about substance policies.

Comparing marijuana policies to alcohol policies does not illuminate any compelling reasons that would justify altering either, as GW’s tougher stance on marijuana use and acceptance of alcohol use is reflective of the nation as a whole.

In addition, the use of dubious rhetoric such as “bud smokers … should be commended on such a wise and often mind-enhancing choice” suggests to the reader that Donovan is not confident enough to admit that he simply enjoys his choice of intoxicants, but rather must find a pseudo-philosophical way to justify it.

Anyone who claims to be writing to address the “injustice” regarding the use of obviously recreational substances should not be criticizing other students’ choices about their use. Nor should he disingenuously deny that, occasionally, people who are high do stupid things, just as drunken people do. His column would have been better spent encouraging meaningful change on a national level by educating readers about the truth behind marijuana use apart from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s spin and hypocrisy.

-Matt Taylor, junior

A peaceful protest

Tyler Hahn was irresponsible in his article “War Protesters: al-Qaida or the American Left?” (Sept. 29, p. 5).

Equating dissent against an administration’s policies with borderline treason is dangerous and reminiscent of the darkest days of the McCarthy era. The “with us or against us” theory is invalid and should be treated as such.

Hahn ignored the majority of peaceful protesters and instead chose to falsely present the fringe groups as a representative sample. My experience at the protest was entirely different from Hahn’s. I was surrounded by families, some with small children, and many with children currently serving in Iraq. I saw veterans of both this war and wars past. Most importantly, I saw a concerned population voicing dissent at the irresponsible policies of the Bush administration in Iraq.

I’m sure all of those people would love to understand why protesting a war they do not agree with places them on the same plane as those trying to kill their children.

-Chris Hanley, sophomore

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