Protesting War and Protesters

Re Kassy Hepps’ letter (Jan. 27) in response to “coverage of the pro- and anti-war rallies,” specifically at UCI: Ms. Hepps’ concern was that her “hard-earned tax dollars help support the University of California system” where students’ one and only purpose is to get an education.

She seems to have worked herself into a fury because the students who walked out of class in support of peace are not pursuing their education fervently and are wasting her money.

I have been waiting for a letter just like Ms. Hepps’. I am a UCI student who is “wasting” Ms. Hepps’ precious money. There is something that takes place on my campus that one cannot experience in lectures where the primary concern of many professors is to remain noncontroversial to protect their chances for tenure.

With them, you think your money is secure, but our true education is wasted. An education entails the give and take of ideas and opinions, especially where issues are not seen as simply black and white--war, for example.

To make an educated decision as to whether this war is an action I can support, I have listened to President Bush, my parents, the media, peace activists and pro-war supporters. I have read the paper; talked to people; gone to rallies, teach-ins, public forums and debates; and I have thought long and hard about what my brother, a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne now in Saudi Arabia, would think. I even went to the UCI library to research the history of the Iran-Iraq war.

If, Ms. Hepps, you are still not convinced that I am getting the best educational experience I can out of UCI, I have a deal for you: My tax money will go toward my education full of walkouts and rallies. Your tax money can go toward the bombs being dropped in the Middle East.

MARY SPROWL, Irvine