skala@stolaf.UUCP (Valerie Skala) (11/19/85)
> Here at St. Olaf, we are attempting to get our Board of Regents to > divest all portions of the College's Endowment that are invested in > companies with holdings in South Africa. > Kari Knutson > ...ihnp4!stolaf!knutsonk I would just like to point out that not every student at St. Olaf is clamoring for divestment. I for one think the whole issue is stupid. What is the point? Showing the world that St. Olaf College will not stand for oppression in the world? Well, what about the oppression of the Afghans, the Poles, etc. by the Soviet Union? What about the way the Marxist government of Ethiopia is letting its people starve to death (by failing to distribute the wealth the world is trying to share with them)? My point is, if things are so bad in South Africa, why are so many blacks from other African nations trying to get into South Africa? I'm not saying I'm in favor of apartheid--I think it's terrible. But I don't understand the people who cry "U.S. out of Central America" and then turn around and declare that the U.S. MUST intervene in South Africa. I may be conservative, but I am NOT a fascist (I don't think most people even understand what that word means, and yet I've been called that by some of the bleeding heart liberals on campus.) I am simply getting tired of the "Bitch America" sentiment that seems so prevalent at St. Olaf. Does anyone else out there feel the way I do? The U.S. may have problems, that we are still better off than 3/4's of the rest of the world. ------------------------------ Valerie Skala | If I can't do cartwheels, | . . . !ihnp4!stolaf!skala | I don't want to go. | ------------------------------
jon@altos86.UUCP (Jonathan Stern) (11/22/85)
I went to college once... > >is clamoring for divestment. I for one think the whole issue >is stupid. What is the point? Showing the world that St. Olaf >College will not stand for oppression in the world? Well, what >about the oppression of the Afghans, the Poles, etc. by the Soviet Union? The United States does not support nor do banks invest in the Polish or Afghan puppet governments. >I'm not saying I'm in favor of apartheid--I think it's terrible. >But I don't understand the people who cry "U.S. out of Central America" >and then turn around and declare that the U.S. MUST intervene in South Africa. We are not asking the US to intervene in South Africa -- only not to actively SUPPORT a racist minority government >I may be conservative, but I am NOT a fascist (I don't think >most people even understand what that word means, and yet >I've been called that by some of the bleeding heart liberals on campus.) >I am simply getting tired of the "Bitch America" sentiment that seems >so prevalent at St. Olaf. Does anyone else out >there feel the way I do? The U.S. may have problems, >that we are still better off than 3/4's of the rest of the world. And the greatest asset of the US is our ability to participate and CHANGE how our government and institutions react. The US has the power to to influence many countries in the world, I believe that human rights should be the central influence in foreign policy. The Reagan Adminsitration doesn't care about human rights. Big business is at the core of South Africa's economy. If we do not support businesses that support South Africa they also will put pressure on the South African government to change it's racist policies. It's easy to sit back and be comfortable in the world's richest nation but I think we cannot forget those who do not have our wealth and power. Jonathan Stern {ucbvax!dual!vecpyr!altos86!jon}
kurtzman@uscvax.UUCP (Stephen Kurtzman) (11/27/85)
In article <170@altos86.UUCP> jon@gateway.UUCP (Jonathan Stern) writes: > >The United States does not support nor do banks invest in the Polish or >Afghan puppet governments. > Wrong! The US does not officially announce support for communist governments. But it does so implicitly by allowing banks to loan billions of dollars to communist governments (such as the Polish government). It also supports such governments by trading with them and officially recognizing them as legal governments.
carr@convex.UUCP (12/03/85)
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