dialogue

Enlightened, At Least From My Perspective

November 4, 2009 - 3:03am
By Mike Wacker

When I made my debut in the Opinion section, I advocated a different type of diversity: diversity of thoughts and ideas. Since then, I have avoided that topic, as I consider it too much of a cliché, but a few years later, the time is now ripe to revive this concept with a new twist.

No matter who they side with, those who fail to consider the diverse array of perspectives in composing their arguments are destined to produce poor sketches of their own arguments.

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor: Exact opposite viewpoint rings true

October 26, 2009 - 4:40am

To the Editor:

Re: “Race, Empire and Palestine: A World View,” Opinion, Oct. 22

I was deeply offended by this column. The author’s claims of Israel’s imperialism and racist policies simply do not bear out in practice.

The author appeals to the discredited notion that Zionism is racism in order to support his claim of Israeli apartheid. He also confuses Judaism as a religion with Jews as an ethnic group. Zionism is the belief in an ethnic Jewish right to self-determination in the historical Jewish homeland, the type of right the author surely supports for Palestinians.

The Nature of the Dialogue Between Writers and Readers

October 26, 2009 - 4:40am
By Rob Tricchinelli

The relationship between The Sun and its readers should be a two-way street. The paper’s coverage, obviously, is a gateway through which the campus community can stay informed. But the paper is ultimately beholden to its readers, and reader feedback must be one element to guide The Sun’s decision-makers in their overall vision for the paper.

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor: Improving debate, not ignoring conflict

September 29, 2009 - 11:00pm

To the Editor:

Re: “After Gaza Protests, Groups Attempt Dialogue,” News, Sept. 29

So Long as We're Talking

April 21, 2009 - 11:00pm
By Molly OToole

People put a lot of weight on last words.

So I’m going to do it too, running the incredible risk of doing something that’s been done before — something that a columnist must never under any sane circumstances do — because I’m in an altered state of mind. Altered, mind you, because of words. I watched the sunrise through the blinds and I have yet to go to sleep and it is all words’ fault.

Under sane circumstances, I myself am fascinated by the idea — what are the last, and I mean the Last, words I want to spend my ultimate breath on? The ones that will just hang there, in the air, until someone opens a window or maybe writes them down and they live on, for a little longer at least?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor: Need for dialogue not limited to Gaza politics

March 2, 2009 - 12:00am

To the Editor:

Re: “This Is a Column about the Holocaust, Not Gaza,” Opinion, Feb. 26

This article highlights a campus-wide rift that has been exposed by numerous recent events: the division between politically correct complacency and progressive dialogue.

Editorial

A Return to Discourse

February 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The war being fought in the Middle East is a two-sided conflict that has cost over 1,300 people their lives. Over the past two weeks, we fear that the battle taking shape here at Cornell is mirroring that conflict all too well, pitting people against each other as groups go head to head in debate. The war in Gaza must stay in Gaza and Cornell must recognize it is not a battleground for partisan action but is rather an academic environment where multifaceted thought should prosper.

To the Point: Awareness vs. Dialogue

February 16, 2009 - 12:00am
By Judah Bellin

“There’s not much dialogue on campus,” said Khullat Munir ’09, outgoing president of the Islamic Alliance for Justice and one of the organizers of the Arts Quad display. “We wanted to get out awareness.”

— “Protest Gone Wrong: Gaza Display Ruined,” News, The Sun, Feb. 9

I had originally intended this piece to be a point-by-point refutation of the “facts” displayed at the now-infamous “black flags” display. However, I concluded that there are larger issues at hand than Israel’s reputation.