LETTER TO THE EDITOR: University has no place in taking a stance on complex foreign politics
A university should be a place where anyone can come to peacefully pursue an education in a comfortable environment.
The university has no place in taking a stance on the complex foreign politics of Israel and Palestine. Even more devastating is that the wording is so horrendous that some students think that they are voting about Chick-fil-A.
In Student Government elections this week, there is a misleading referendum that seems to be against human rights violations.
When you read the fine print after clicking on details, you actually discover that it is purely an attack on Israel and corporations that do business with Israel, calling Israel an apartheid state. The referendum uses
inflammatory language to demand a complete and
unilateral divestment, specifically singling out Israel.
Though cleverly titled with claims of being in line with the views of Martin Luther King Jr., it is an absolute
mockery of true democracy. Martin Luther King Jr. marched with many Zionists, and to use his great and inspiring
legacy in this way is really pitiful. Martin Luther King Jr. has been attributed as saying, … You declare, my friend; that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely
anti-Zionist. And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of Gods green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews this is Gods own truth.
Voting will end on Thursday. Though it is despicable that this was even included on the ballot, it is important that students are aware of what they are voting for.
The University of South Florida has a wonderful
reputation and it would be a shame for this unilateral attack and lack of transparency to tarnish the views others have of our university and student body.
Dusty Nicolay and Jen Chevinsky, first and second Year Medical students.
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