Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor:

Your staff editorial on Schwarzenegger's speech was so asinine it's difficult to know where to begin. For starters, it isn't "un-American" or "foolish" to protest the Governor's commencement speech. With just a bit of reading about American history, you'd know that this country was founded by protestors and that King George III thought they were foolish, too. There are actually very good reasons why many of us are angry that Arnold has been invited to SMC (or any educational institution for that matter) to speak. However, being that your May 25th issue featured a letter to the editor, article, and editorial all uniformly skewed towards a pro-Arnold perspective, your readers might not be aware of any of these reasons (hey, teaching good old liberal media bias at the Corsair-right on!). If the Governor could somehow muster the courage and have the guts to level with the people of California and raise taxes to get our education system back in the semblance of some sort of reasonable shape (??). Former Republican governors Reagan and Wilson did it; somehow Arnold can't. But then if he did, he'd be betraying the special interests he's beholden to: the California Chamber of Commerce and the big businessmen who put him in office. If those businessmen don't have the foresight to understand that an investment in education is an investment in the economic future of the state, then the Governor should have the leadership and courage to tell them so. Apparently he doesn't.That's why we're protesting. If the Governor chooses not to show, that's his option, not ours. We'll show, no matter what. And that's in the very patriotic and totally American tradition of Samuel Adams, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. I for one refuse to do that while the house is burning down, the fire-chief's in the audience, and no one's doing a thing.

Rob Sullivan - SMC Student