I am writing to express my extreme discontent about the editorial published last week about Donte Smith and his arrest at Fort Benning, Ga. (“Don’t Arrest Your Academics,” THE HOYA, Sept. 26, 2006, A2). As a school that claims to be mindful of the Jesuit and Catholic spirit of social justice, we, the students, should be in total support of people like Smith who act as martyrs for the greater good. Protesting the School of the Americas has a long tradition within the Jesuit and Catholic traditions of social justice and social conscience. Furthermore, the trip that Georgetown students took to the protest was endorsed and subsidized by Campus Ministry. Donte’s decision to cross the boundary and accept arrest was a conscious one made not out of rashness but out of social awareness of the injustice of the status quo. Part of my reason for writing is to request that THE HOYA Editorial Board publish Smith a public apology, though this apology is not purely for Smith or purely for itself. I believe THE HOYA should apologize more emphatically for taking the position that Georgetown students should be discouraged from participating in activism. This stance assumes that one’s Georgetown experience is worth more than all the social injustice in the world today, and no assumption could be more absurd.

As part of the public apology, I also request that THE HOYA publish a retraction of the opinion presented in the editorial. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding my position.

T. Brandon Evans (COL ’08)

Oct. 3, 2006

To the Editor:

In response to the editorial published last week (“Don’t Arrest Your Academics,” THE HOYA, Sept. 26, 2006, A2), I am personally expressing my indignation that THE HOYA would first of all, run an article littered with misleading information, incorrect information, and that this extremely biased editorial would be supported by THE HOYA. I can understand and respect a difference of opinions with regard to supporting the protest, but as a media source, it is your responsibility to at the very least, get the facts right, not to mention ideally avoiding promoting pointed and biased stereotypes of organizations (and people). I would ask you to please reexamine the editorial and I hope that you will be able to see the glaring flaws. Then, you will agree, that a printed apology is not only reasonable, but also necessary to maintaining the credibility of THE HOYA.

Sarah Strole (COL ’10)

Oct. 3, 2006

To the Editor:

As a member of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee and supporter of students’ right to protest, I’m writing you in the hope that you will publicly apologize for the harsh editorial you published in reference to Donte Smith’s actions at the School of the Americas protest (“Don’t Arrest Your Academics,” THE HOYA, Sept. 26, 2006, A2).

I agree that we should also feel an obligation to our studies, since we are privileged to be at this university. But with that privilege should come with a sense of commitment to social justice. As students, we are blessed with the opportunity, the time and the education to stand up for what we believe in and make a difference. Smith chose to take advantage of the privileges he had been given by protesting at the School of the Americas. He took a risk in the hope that he could make a difference. He should be commended for this, not criticized.

I certainly hope that THE HOYA changes its attitude toward his actions or tries to see them in a different light and retracts its editorial.

Katie Boran (COL ’09)

Oct. 4, 2006

To the Editor:

Contrary to the small flood of letters sent in response to your editorial regarding Donte Smith (“Don’t Arrest Your Academics,” THE HOYA, Sept. 26, 2006, A2), the editorial board should rest assured that common sense is on your side. Assuming Smith’s actions were as honorable as his admirers seem to believe, the fact remains that most Hoyas have honorable pursuits that we balance with our school obligations. If that balance fails we sacrifice one good in favor of another.

Based on what I have read in THE HOYA, it seems that Smith missed classes and exams because he is serving time in federal prison after illegally gaining entry to a military base during wartime. While his right of protest is uncontested, his right to unauthorized entry is more tenuous, or so thought the federal court. (The laws forbidding unauthorized access to a federal military installation probably are not so crazy as those who would violate them.)

Right or wrong, Smith made a choice. He believed that the point he wanted to make was of greater value than his personal safety, his respect for the rule of law or his attendance at class. We should honor his sacrifice by thoughtfully and lawfully considering his point of view. I can also imagine thousands of people who would sacrifice everything to study at Georgetown. We should honor their sacrifice by holding students accountable to fairly minimal attendance standards.

Kevin Manz (MSB ’03)

Oct. 6, 2006