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Show rial ito Editor in Chief: Tanna J3arry Phone: 626-7121 VIEWPOINT ANYONE hm m MOW? ",.',U I I ..A"-- o. . k i. IS . Don't confuse tragedy It is a time of mourning for many people as they struggle to deal with Tuesday's tragedy. But this tragedy has the potential to become more devastating if people transfer their anguish to hatred for other Americans. It has long been said that the United States is the melting pot of the world, meaning that people of all cultures and races combine to make the American people. Many people of different ethnicities live throughout the country and at Weber State University. Although institutional data suggest that only about 5 percent of WSU's students are not Caucasian, the university is situated in the most diverse city in the state. An article in the "Deseret News" states that more than half of the population surrounding the Union Pacific station on Wall Avenue is nonwhite. Residents of Ogden, or any other place in this country, have the right to live in peace. Tuesday's tragedy has rocked the nation, leaving people confused and hurt. Since Tuesday's tragedy, rumors have flourished aboutnon-Caucasian citizens being ridiculed, harassed and physically harmed for what happened. These people have done nothing against our country and should not be treated so horribly. At a forum where people could express their feelings and concerns in light of Tuesday's tragedy, many came forward to say they were worried about multicultural residents across the country. Brian Davis, program director of business administration on campus, talked about a friend who didn't dare leave his house. When Davis called on the phone, he received no answer. When he went to his door and knocked, the sounds inside the house suddenly ceased and no one answered. His friend was so terrified of who might be there that he had walled himself into his house. This should not happen. No American should fear picking up the telephone or answering the door. Foreign terrorists are suspected of destroying the World Trade Center and damaging the Pentagon not these people who have long been neighbors and friends. They are just as upset over the tragedy as anyone. But why should they fear retribution, when it is their country that has been attacked? It is their right as citizens of the United States to be free and live without harassment. Every person in the United States felt Tuesday's tragedy. People shouldn't transfer their pain and grief over what happened into hatred for other Americans. Doing so only divides the country and hurts more innocent people. How is that helping anyone? By Tanna Barry editor in chief The Signpost Editor in Chief Tanna Barry 626-7121 Managing editor Jose Carvajal 626-7614 News editor ' Jill Halbasch 626-7655 Campus affairs editor Casey Cummings 626-7659 Sports editor Jarrod Hiatt 626-7983 Copy editor Leo Dirr 626-7507 Features editor Paul Garcia 626-6358 A&E editor Mike Mitchell 626-7105 Graphics editor Brian Hugo 626-7661 Photo editor Brandy Lee 626-6358 Advertising Manager Jeremy Dustin 626-6359 Online editor Mark Walker 626-7105 Secretary Georgia Edwards 626-7974 Advisor Allison Hess 626-6164 Publisher Ty Sanders 626-6558 Signpost fax 626-7401- The Signpost is oublished every Monday. Wednesday, and Friday during the semester. Subscription is S9 a semester. The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited and dratted by Weber State University students. Student tees partially fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include name, address, telephone number and the writer's signature. Anonymous letters will not be printed. The Signpost reserves (he right to edit letters lor reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter Letters should not exceed 350 words. Bring letters to the editorial office in SUB 267. mail to: The Signposl. Weber Slate University. Ogden. Utah 8-K08-21 10. Attn Tanna Barrv. or e-ma:. ;annai:arr mail weoer.eau I siKdjt, -mii i rlm. We cannot blame all Arab Muslims By Frank Wu KRT Campus Our nation is experiencing the most profound trauma not only in the memory of those alive today but also in our shared history. As we prepare to fight back, we cannot fight among ourselves. Wherever we aim our missiles, they must not be pointed through guilt by association. Those of us who support a strong military response especially should recognize that vengeance taken on the wrong people would dishonor the dead, serving no purpose but to incite more violence. The primary suspects are Arab Muslims, but they are more radical than representative of all Arab Muslims. The actions of hijackers who commit suicide cannot be taken as reflective of a race or a religion. Even if we become absolutely certain that the perpetrators are Arab Muslims, it should be obvious that not all Arabs are Muslims; not all Muslims are Arab; and certainly not all Arab Muslims are vicious maniacs. Most political leaders have been responsible. Secretary of State Colin Powell has been cautious in insisting we determine who is responsible before we make war. Attorney General John Ashcroft and New York Mayor Rudy Guliani have both reminded us not to take out our anger on Arab-Americans. Unfortunately, without f remembering that the sure suspicion in the Oklahoma City bombing proved to be utterly wrong, a few extremists have started to incite hatred toward all Arab immigrants. There have been reports of isolated assaults on Arab individuals. The situation is tense in Detroit and its suburb of Dearborn, home to the largest concentration of people of Arab ancestry in North America. The tragedy at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon has been compared to Pearl Harbor. It is worse, and not just because the casualties are certain to be an order of magnitude greater. Pearl Harbor was a naval and air strike by a clear enemy on a military target; this terrorism came from as-yet unknown sources to kill innocent civilians. But there is a lesson in Pearl Harbor. In the aftermath of that day of infamy, demagogues blamed Japanese-Americans as traitors. More than 120,000 people were imprisoned, two-thirds of them U.S. citizens - many of them English-speaking and as assimilated as possible who had spent their entire lives in California. They were never charged with' any crime or granted any trial; they were presumed guilty simply on the basis of racial assumptions. Lt. Gen. John L. De Witt, the commander of the Western Defense, declared, "A Jap's a Jap, and that's all there is to it." He said, "The Japanese race is an enemy race ... it makes no difference whether he is an American citizen." His goal was to "wipe (the Japanese) off the map." In the end, there was not a single case of sabotage or any form of perfidy that could be attributed to Japanese-Americans before, during or after Imperial Japan launched its sneak attack. The segregated Japanese-American troops that fought in the European theater gave their lives to prove their loyalty, becoming on a man-for-man basis the most highly decorated units in the Army. Other Japanese-Americans even served bravely in the Pacific theater and doing sensitive intelligence work. In 1982, a blue-ribbon government commission concluded after lengthy hearings, "The record does not permit the conclusion that military necessity warranted the exclusion of ethnic Japanese from the West Coast." The government eventually apologized and paid reparations to those who had been unfairly ' deprived of their liberty. Our great democracy will survive; yet to sustain its diversity it must do more than survive. True patriotism need not be tainted by racial prejudice. We must find unity as we seek justice. Today in history 1787 U.S. Constitution signed The Constitution of the United Slates of America is signed by 38 oC4l delegates present at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Supporters of the document wa-zed a hard-won battle to win ratification by the necessary nine out of 13 U.S. states. - " 1976 Space Shuttle unveiled NASA publicly unveils its first space shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdalc, California. Development ot the a,rcrait-l,ke spacecraft cost almost $10 billion and took nearly a decade. In 1977. the iZZZ ZZ, T SprVSUlc 10 lreel' hcn -as lifted to a height of 25,000 feet by a Boein, 747 airplane and then released, ghdmg back to Edwards Air Force Base on its own accord. 1978 Camp David accord signed A. the White House in Washington. D.C., Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign the Camp David Accords kivin the m,m,luo,-i. r,- u,... pm.n. ., , , .., , , , '''ln-lllL t'oundwoik lot a permanent peace asireemcnt Dctween hgpt and Isiael alter nee decades of hosiiliii.-e ti-, . i , . imen-iv, niu P, - I i r n osU"l"-s- ' he accords were negotiated durinsi 12 daws of ZZ - ce I - ZZ Z ZZ CamP DUV,d ,'ellVa, " ,hc C;"-lin Mum:l'ns of Marvland. The fin I ,ua l ..gni.he st between Israel and one of its Arab neiEhhors-was signed in March 1979 Sada. and Begin uerejomtlv .warded the 197S Nobel Peace P,e fW.heir efforts |