Re: The Silenced Palestinian Plight There should come a time in life when you begin to question all that you assumed was fact, and analyze conflicts such as the situation in Palestine/Israel. I cling to the hope that most people do want to seek the truth, and understand further than just naming a good guy and a bad guy. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case for many Americans as they take in biased American coverage of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. A lot of the reporting that we see in the news here conveniently leaves out the very presence of the occupation, and portrays Israel as constantly under attack from “crazy extremists.” Americans may be left with the impression that Israel is just defending itself. What we don’t hear about are the racist, dual standards of living that exist in Palestine/Israel. One set of rules for Jewish citizens and another for Palestinians. Separate license plates, separate roads, separate ID cards, separate existence. While Israelis are able to travel freely when and wherever they wish to go, Palestinians are subject to daily checkpoints, searches, and curfews that can last over a week. In addition to this, a giant concrete wall is being constructed throughout the west bank, closing in Palestinian villages and separating farmers from their land, people from their jobs, and friends and family from each other. You may tell me that this is a “security measure,” but I ask you to envision this type of collective punishment for the actions of a few happening where you live. A giant, towering wall in your backyard, cutting you off from the rest of the world. Maybe it would bring the point home if you knew that seven of those killed in Gaza by the Israeli Defense force last week were children? I agree with Reem al-Zaeem that as people in academia, we owe it to ourselves to hear each other out, and dig deeper for the truth beneath the headlines. Claire Sternberg The Military & the Mass Media The obsessive-compulsive attention I give to noticing even the smallest of things at some times is a blessing, at others the root of incipient conflict.  One can argue that I look at the most minute of detail, but then again, the seemingly insignificant can be extremely relevant.  Recently, I picked up an issue of the Mass Media, which I enjoy reading for various reasons.  The op-ed pieces provide insightful views as well as diversity of opinion.  The overall progressive slant of the school paper is agreeable to my political leanings.  So, what is conflict to which I am alluding? As I was skimming through the paper the past few weeks, I came upon the classifieds.  Classifieds always grab my attention because, being a broke stay-at-home father of two children, I am constantly seeking ways to make a buck.  Lo and behold, I glanced at this minor section of the Mass Media to find classified ads by Army recruiters.  Let the conflict begin! By finding issue with this, it may seem to some that I am making mountains out of mole hills.  I beg to differ with this opinion.  There is a fundamental miscalculation on behalf of the editorial staff of the Mass Media for including these ads for a variety of reasons.  First of all, I must clarify that I find censorship counterproductive to human interaction and debate in all regards.  Contextually, however, censorship is not the main concern.  Take a look at our campus and what do you see? Lots of African-American faces, Latino faces, faces of people seeking an education in an arena of affordability and accessibility at a non-elitist, reality-grounded state school.  What a wonderful recruitment environment! The ads conflict with me as a reader who is philosophically opposed to militarism, and is also incongruent with the Mass Media as a whole.  I view the paper as progressive and standing against the violence, hatred, xenophobia, and war that have engulfed our historical times. The recent illumination of the unspeakable horrors in Darfur attests to this. Aren’t the military recruitment ads in direct opposition to what the Mass Media embraces as values? The war in Iraq that has seen the needless passing of close to 3,000 American women and men, tens of thousands maimed for life, and countless others psychologically and emotionally scarred is a tragedy to which I would hope the paper is categorically opposed.  The estimated toll on the Iraqi population is in the hundreds of thousands and is in constant increase due to the decimation of civilian infrastructure.  I would hope the paper is united against this atrocity as well.  Why, then, decide to include these ads that in essence serve to propagate not only this catastrophic war, but also to sustain the insatiable quest of the Beltway’s militaristic agenda? Putting aside all the political and moral reasons and returning to the issue of context, as a student I am bothered by the existence of any military infiltration on college campuses.  It is not, again, a matter of censoring, but affirming that military recruitment has no place in the university setting.  The premise of higher education is to learn to think critically, question power, seek out knowledge from all perspectives, and become civic participants and informed citizens.  Inherently, military influence should stay out of our sphere of existence.  The appeal to the emotions of economics is possibly the only justification that I can think of on behalf of the paper and I find this equally bothersome.  As one who feels that education through the college level should be free to anyone seeking it, it is in my opinion, troubling that the Mass Media would permit these ads that seek to acquire cannon fodder by promising educational subsidy.  The reality that the economic appeals are misleading is topic for a separate editorial.       Yes, I look at the smallest of things, and the most subtle, and arguably am in conflict with issues I should let go. While we, as a community, let things go, people are dying. I am rather disappointed in the Mass Media, but of course still view it positively and will continue to read it weekly. I hope that in the future the staff will take a more consistent stand against militarization and that as a progressive community we don’t simply cheer “hooray” for the Democrats while allowing the small things to continue to perpetuate the corporate power machine. Steve Terranova