2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Op-Ed
To the Editor:
I wonder if Rebekah Balmer actually drinks coffee. Complaining about a Starbucks replacing a Java City is quite laughable for a few reasons. First, anyone who enjoys coffee knows that Java City severely lacked the quality that Starbucks has. Java City's coffee was horrible at best. Second, Java City, albeit not as big of a chain as Starbucks, is still a commercial chain with numerous locations throughout the country. Lastly, though Starbucks may potentially take business away from Sprazzo, it is no guarantee. In fact, a recent New York Times article cited "hometown" coffee shops outlasting the presence of a Starbucks located across the street. While I also am not impressed with Starbucks' lack of a hometown-feel, I am not going to complain about their presence on campus. It sure beats drinking Java City everyday.
Joseph Menta
Fourth-Year Student
To the Editor:
Kevin Conner is to be commended for exposing the racist roots of marijuana prohibition in his Feb. 18 article. If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California, the very same U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that claims illicit drug use funds terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers. Apparently marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the country from terrorism. Students who want to help end the intergenerational culture war, otherwise known as the war on some drugs, should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com. The following Virginia Law Review article offers a good overview of the cultural roots of marijuana legislation: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/vlr/vlrtoc.htm.
I wonder if Rebekah Balmer actually drinks coffee. Complaining about a Starbucks replacing a Java City is quite laughable for a few reasons. First, anyone who enjoys coffee knows that Java City severely lacked the quality that Starbucks has. Java City's coffee was horrible at best. Second, Java City, albeit not as big of a chain as Starbucks, is still a commercial chain with numerous locations throughout the country. Lastly, though Starbucks may potentially take business away from Sprazzo, it is no guarantee. In fact, a recent New York Times article cited "hometown" coffee shops outlasting the presence of a Starbucks located across the street. While I also am not impressed with Starbucks' lack of a hometown-feel, I am not going to complain about their presence on campus. It sure beats drinking Java City everyday.
Joseph Menta
Fourth-Year Student
To the Editor:
Kevin Conner is to be commended for exposing the racist roots of marijuana prohibition in his Feb. 18 article. If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California, the very same U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that claims illicit drug use funds terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers. Apparently marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the country from terrorism. Students who want to help end the intergenerational culture war, otherwise known as the war on some drugs, should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com. The following Virginia Law Review article offers a good overview of the cultural roots of marijuana legislation: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/vlr/vlrtoc.htm.
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