Who cares about green?
Regarding the Hatchet’s article “How Green is GW?,” (Feb. 1, p. 1) am I the only one who doesn’t care? I think GWU should concentrate on optimizing academic and residential experiences before worrying about anything that won’t make a difference for its students.
-Jason Vines, Fall 2006 graduate
Event host misidentified
Your February 1, 2007 article entitled “Groups unite to raise awareness about Darfur” misstated the nature of John Prendergast’s recent lecture at the Elliott School of International Affairs. The reporter writes, “Students Taking Action Now: Darfur also hosted John Prendergast from the humanitarian organization International Crisis Group to discuss genocide Tuesday.”
The Elliott School was delighted that STAND accepted our invitation to offer brief concluding remarks after the ceremony, but for clarity’s sake STAND was our invited guest, not the event host.
-Menachem Wecker , ESIA Assistant Director of Public Affairs for Publications and Media
What’s not to celebrate?
In response to Laura Graham’s letter, “A not so happy birthday,” (Jan. 29, p. 4) which criticized the Roe v. Wade Birthday Bash two weeks ago, Voices for Choices would like to offer some truths about the case and what it really means to be pro-choice.
In 1965, abortion was so unsafe that many women died due to illegal abortion. Then, in 1973 Roe V. Wade rendered anti-abortion laws unconstitutional, making abortion services safer and more accessible to women throughout the country. Today, very few women undergoing legal abortion procedures sustain a serious complication, making the legal right to abortion a huge achievement for women’s health.
Although some may argue that the legal premise of Roe is faulty, the decision set a legal precedent that affected more than thirty subsequent Supreme Court cases, involving restrictions on access to abortion. The right to make childbearing decisions has expanded a woman’s ability to seek educational and employment opportunities that were unthinkable a generation ago.
Control of reproductive life does not just mean the right to abortion but rather the ability for women to make the best decision for themselves. Whether that decision is to keep the baby, terminate the pregnancy or seek other options such as adoption, being pro-choice means supporting a woman’s personal decision, whatever it may be.
The landmark decision of Roe V. Wade is symbolic of a woman’s right to decide whether or not to become a parent and to be able to make that decision legally and safely – the right of a woman to have real choice. That is certainly something to celebrate.
-Madison Hardee, Voices for Choices executive board member
