Letters to the Editor

Kerri Whitaker Deserves Praise for Success of Women’s Lacrosse

To the Editor:
Should we even bother with a women’s lacrosse program at all, you ask? (“Has Whitaker’s Time Come to Pass?” April 17) Well, the answer to that is a resounding YES. And while you may refer to Columbia sports of yesteryear as a “laughingstock,” only a Columbia athlete could know the time, heart, and dedication that goes into playing a Division I Ivy League sport. When a person can glance at an overall record and consider the entire program a waste of time, I suspect that person knows precious little about women’s lacrosse, the Ivy League of women’s lacrosse, and also what it means to be a Columbia athlete.

This brings me to the point of my submission: Kerri Whitaker. I played under Kerri Whitaker when she came on as an assistant coach during my junior year. I then sat on the hiring committee and passionately campaigned on behalf of my teammates that Whitaker should become our head coach. It didn’t take much convincing. She was clearly an amazing candidate for the job. The day Whitaker joined the Columbia women’s lacrosse coaching staff, she truly made an impact on the team. She had a winning attitude, was focused, determined, and up for any challenge. Clearly, Whitaker had the know-how and the experience to lead the Lions.

As my coach, Whitaker was everything I could ask for in a leader: smart and tough, with a vision for our team. She continues to coach with that same intensity and tenacity today. Just for some perspective: everyone knows the University of North Carolina, Kansas, and Duke of NCAA 2008 men’s basketball. Well, that is comparable to the Princeton, Penn, and Yale of women’s lacrosse. In fact, five of the seven Ivy opponents are ranked in the top 20. Women’s lacrosse plays, by far, the most competitive schedule of any other sport. If Columbia played in almost any other league in the nation for women’s lacrosse, our school newspaper would be hailing the team as a great success! The fact is we play in the single toughest league out there. And that is just fine with any girl on this team, because Whitaker instills in every player to strive to be the best. With that attitude, the team will become competitive with these giants in women’s lacrosse.

Kerri Whitaker is making all the right moves to continue to bring Columbia lacrosse up to the highest level of play. The caliber of this Columbia team has skyrocketed. They are scrappy, aggressive, smart, and talented athletes. As I watched the final Ivy contest of the 2008 season against Harvard, I was a proud alumna, sitting alongside at least a dozen other proud alumae. This is yet another indication of what Whitaker has done for this program, in creating a culture of alumni support with a loyal fan base.
The students of Columbia need to redirect their criticism and offer support and praise to the hardworking athletes. And don’t worry about Whitaker and her coaching abilities—after all, she’s the best thing that ever happened to Columbia women’s lacrosse.

Liz Gould, CC ’03
Apr. 22, 2008

Democrats Blame America First for International Conflict

To the Editor:
The more the Democrats continue their five days of protests against the Iraq War (“Students Groups Join to Protest Five Years of Iraq War” April 22), the more I begin to understand how they truly view America. They don’t see America as the greatest force of good in the world. They choose to ignore the America that has overthrown two tyrannical, totalitarian regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq—one of which employed weapons of mass destruction on his own people. They ignore the America that has given a voice to more than 40 million people who were previously denied the basic freedoms that some take for granted. They ignore the America that has deterred Libya from pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program and even induced Iran to temporarily suspend weaponization and enrichment. In one decisive move by President George Bush, America has liberated the world from four different threats to international peace and security. With all these good deeds, they still insist that America has done no good through this war.

They will try to deny it, but there is no escaping the fact that they are part of the “blame America first crowd.” I feel the best way to sum up is through the model and language set forth by Jeane Kirkpatrick’s speech at the 1984 Republican convention:
They said that saving Iraq from terror and totalitarianism was the wrong thing to do. They didn’t blame Saddam Hussein or the terrorist organizations that he supported for threatening American lives and murdering countless innocent civilians—they blamed the United States instead.

But then, somehow, they always blame America first.

When members of our military, sent to Iraq as part of a multinational force with the consent of the United States Congress, were killed in combat, the “blame America first crowd” didn’t blame the terrorists who murdered the soldiers, they blamed the United States.

But then, they always blame America first.

When Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations fighting in Iraq exploit sectarian divisions within Iraq to create chaos, the Democrats don’t blame the terrorists and their allies who view democracy as a threat to their way of life­—they blame United States policies of the past five years.

But then, they always blame America first.

When 80,000 to 150,000 Iraqi civilians were killed, the Democrats didn’t blame the terrorists who use human-shield tactics and target innocent civilians to achieve their goals or Iran for funding, arming, and training terrorists to kill. They blame the United States.

But then, they always blame America first.

The American people know better.

Brian Quillen, CC ’11
Apr. 22, 2008

CU College Democrats Flag Washing Offensive and Embarrassing

To the Editor:
In his op-ed piece “What So Proudly We Hailed” (April 22), Jonathan Backer writes that “washing flags is recommended by dozens of organizations that provide guidance on flag care. In fact, most dry cleaners will wash American flags at no cost in order to promote responsible flag care. Granted, we are washing intangible filth from our flags instead of physical dirt.” I find Backer’s use of the phrase “intangible filth” to describe the American flag extremely offensive. I stopped by the flag-washing event to express my objections to disrespecting the American flag, only to be told insistently that flag washing was in accordance with flag code. That’s not the point. I have no problem with washing American flags that are actually physically dirty. My problem is that the CU Dems justified their event with a laundry list of exaggerated and sometimes false “transgressions” that America has allegedly committed, and that they “cleansed” American flags while reading the names of victims of “war crimes and atrocities” committed by America. Those quotations come directly from students I spoke with at the anti-war event.

As an American, I was offended by the CU Dems “flag-washing” event on Tuesday. As a member of the Columbia University community, I was embarrassed. Events like this and the hunger strike only feed into the (possibly true) stereotype that Columbia is a hotbed for liberal extremism. While not illegal or against flag code, the flag-washing event is demonstrative of the pervasive attitude on campus that the best way to be an “activist” is to be an extremist. This weekend is the 40th anniversary of the 1968 events that damaged Columbia’s reputation and legacy for decades. Columbians should stop embracing radical movements and their tactics. Isn’t it time to stop embarrassing Columbia?

Lauren Salz, BC ’11
Apr. 23, 2008