Genshaft not wrong to deliberate case

I don’t understand how The Oracle can continually fault President Judy Genshaft for taking her time in making the decision on whether to terminate Al-Arian or to reinstate him. President Genshaft is trying her best to see that the decision she eventually makes is the correct and fair decision.

I have made it known in many previous letters to the editor, in very plain English, that I believe Al-Arian should be fired and deported. His terrorist and anti-Semitic views should not be tolerated in any environment in which a person declares himself a teacher for tomorrow’s leaders. But I am not making this decision (even though I wish I could); President Genshaft is. I have all the faith in the world that she will make the best decision for the university that I love.

In response to the many remarks that say if Genshaft were to fire Al-Arian, USF would be censured by the American Association of University Professors, resulting in the university losing funds and prospective students going elsewhere, I say you’re full of crap. I would like to point out to such individuals (i.e. Roy Weatherford) that Stanford and Harvard have, in the past, been censured by the AAUP and still are considered by many to be in the top five of all universities in the United States. Have they taken a fall for their censures? I think not.

Roy, if you and your faculty want a pay raise, take a moral stand on an issue where one of your faculty members is known to be a racist bigot and wave good-bye to him when he is deservingly terminated.

Samuel J. Nirenberg is a senior majoring in political science.

Maryland flyer wishes USF student well

I had an opportunity to sit beside a young freshman from USF on a flight to Baltimore, Md., just prior to the Christmas holidays.

It was refreshing to discuss the upcoming holidays and the snow anticipated to fall in Maryland by Christmas. I also enjoyed the brief discussion about her father, a Vietnam war veteran.

I hoped to let her know that as many of our young men and women head overseas in the upcoming weeks that they, too, will be thinking of home and snow, and all their loved ones left behind.

I would also like to wish her well in her freshman endeavors and her future major, whatever she chooses. I would like to think that all of USF’s students are of the same caliber as this young person who sat beside me on that jet to Baltimore/Washington International. I hope to see some of them someday among our ranks.

LTC James E. Astor is Director of Operations for 193 SOS in Middletown, PA.

Give alternative transportation a try

As I picked up the “Welcome Back” edition of The Oracle, I couldn’t help but notice that the cover showed a single driver in a car on campus. I am certain that it was a wry dig at the car culture on our campus. However, I was unable to find any articles on alternative options for transportation.

In today’s world of imported oil and high gas prices, it is important to examine some alternatives.

1. Bull Runner. USF offers a free shuttle service on campus and to local apartment complexes. There is no need to drive or even own a car if you can get from home to campus, and even to the mall, for free.

2. HARTline. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority offers free, yes, that’s right, free bus service for all USF students and staff. You can do your homework while someone drives you to your destination. No car payments and no $20 tank fill ups.

3. Carpooling. What better way to catch up with friends or get to know people than to carpool? Ask your classmates if anyone wants to share driving duties.

4. Walking. Put on some headphones or just groove with your surroundings. Most students live within an easy walking distance to campus. There are cross walks, but make sure to look all ways.

5. Biking. Bike lanes surround most of USF’s campus. There are also plenty of bike racks. You can also bike from class to class. Of course, you can also bike to a HARTline stop. The buses have bike racks.

Just think of the money you would save if you didn’t have to fill up the car each week or if you didn’t have to pay for parking. Go one step further — imagine what you would save on insurance and on car payments if you got rid of the car altogether. Of course, you will also make a difference by reducing pollution and by cutting gasoline consumption.

For information on transportation options on and off campus, please go to USF Parking Services’ Web site at:

http://usfweb.usf.edu/parking_services/default.asp

Please join me in committing to using alternative transportation to get onto campus once each week.

Robert Brinkmann is professor and chair for the Department of Environmental Science and Policy.