Peace Forum justified in presence, paper doesn't 
recognize group's purpose 

Friday's Diamondback editorial claimed Peace Forum
members disrupted the university's Sept. 11 vigil
("Demonstrators mar memorial service,"  Sept. 13.) To
call Peace Forum's attendance a demonstration is
inaccurate. We were not there to disrupt or diminish the
ceremony in any way. Instead, we came to participate in
the vigil, for we, too, were affected by the terrorist's
attacks as all Americans have. In being there, we were
mourning the dead and simultaneously calling for peace.

The Diamondback fails to recognize the way Sept. 11 has
been used for political ends. President Bush and others
who would let loose the dogs of war in Iraq have used the
attacks to build support for their war efforts without
making a logical case for why such a war is justified or
prudent.

Peace Forum members with signs that read "Don't turn our
tragedy into war" were not aiming to disrupt other
students mourning. Instead, we were paying respects to
those who died, while reminding ourselves and each other
that war in Iraq would mean tragedies perhaps beyond the
scale of Sept. 11, both for Americans and Iraqis.

Daniel Levitan Sophomore Government and Politics