Free Speech Friday

Only we can combat food inflation

As college students, we know what it’s like to eat on a small income. Dorm food or fraternity food — it’s all pretty bad. Some of us live the Trader Joe’s life, but most of us just get Chipotle and cheap teriyaki. Why? Well, it’s probably because we are spending the extra cash elsewhere, on the many things devouring our lives as college students.

Unfortunately, paying for food is a larger issue that goes beyond the UW, and many more people besides undergraduates are suffering. As our nation deals with the worst food inflation in 17 years, global poverty levels are expected to increase substantially over the next three years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a rise in food prices of nearly 4.5 percent for 2008, compared to the average 2.5 percent annual rise of the past few decades.

Of course, it is no surprise that this issue comes hand-in-hand with rising fuel prices and the implementation of biofuels, and altogether, they have pushed nearly 100 million people into poverty. The global food crisis taking shape will last for years, threatening to bring poverty levels to where they were seven years ago.

As a college student, it is very hard to understand the idea of having to give something up for food, but it is a reality that the nation’s poor are beginning to deal with more and more.

The world is riddled with problems, but this is one where anyone can provide significant help. Those in poverty give up many things to live in society, but food cannot be one of them. As such, much more of their income is devoted to food, and price inflation is hitting them hardest.

Food banks in the region are often a significant resource for those nearing or below the poverty line, but the success of these service organizations relies on the awareness and participation of the general public.

The campus has provided an incredible number of individuals already devoting time and money for such a noble and relevant cause. This quarter, the Chi Psi fraternity worked hand-in-hand with The Daily to run a community food drive at two local QFC grocery stores. In one weekend, with two donated university buses and a goal to “Stuff the Bus,” active members of our community helped provide more than 8,000 pounds of food and more than $1,000, for an equivalent total of 11,633 meals for food banks.

Many of us live on daily freezer meals, but perhaps the next time you go to the grocery store, you can pick up some food for the local food bank. Or better yet, take advantage of the enthusiasm that a college campus offers and organize a group to raise awareness.

If more than 11,000 meals can be generated from one weekend, imagine what our community can accomplish if we worked together.

— Scott Bretl, senior, bioengineering

Carrying guns

I’m a junior at the University of Washington in Seattle. I also possess a concealed weapons permit and own a registered handgun. With the tragedy at Virginia Tech still fresh in my head, I cannot help but to feel the need to protect myself. Seung-Hui Cho succeeded in his mission to kill as many people as he possibly could — 33, to be exact, including himself. How did this happen? He understood that he would be the only student with a gun and that he had plenty of time to act before the police were to arrive.

Let’s say, in hindsight, that students were able to carry concealed weapons on campus. If this were true and Cho was fully aware that he wouldn’t be the only student with a gun, would he have chosen to act? Would this have been enough to prevent the death of 32 innocent students and professors last April?

I like to spend my after-class hours in the library reading and doing research. I usually don’t leave the library until 1 or 2 in the morning, and when I do, it’s a one-mile walk in the dark.

The University e-mails students to let them know whenever a violent crime takes place anywhere near the campus. As much as this is appreciated, it does nothing to deter or prevent these acts of crime from taking place.

If I own a registered handgun and possess a concealed weapons permit, I should have the right to protect myself as I see fit. Let’s say, hypothetically, that I get shot and robbed after leaving the library early one morning. I could have protected myself, but was unable to do so because the University of Washington does not allow weapons on campus. Does the University of Washington accept the blame, knowing that I would have protected myself but couldn’t because of its policy on weapons?

What if a fellow student had shot Seung-Hui Cho before he was able to fire off any shots, thus preventing the death of 32 innocent people? Would the student who was carrying the handgun be punished for having a weapon on campus despite being a registered gun owner with a concealed weapons permit? Or would he or she be heralded as a hero?

Violent crimes involving guns are not carried out by responsible registered gun owners. However, because we feel the need to protect ourselves, we are viewed as “gun-toting, right-wing nuts.”

This assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. Criminals rob people because people don’t protect themselves and refuse to make a stand. If more responsible citizens were to carry handguns, it would lower crime rates drastically. By not protecting ourselves, we are enabling criminals. Students who carry out massive acts of murder do so because they know they will not face resistance.

Is the University of Washington willing to empower its students in order to prevent another Columbine/Virginia Tech/Northern Illinois massacre, or is it willing to gamble its reputation on the ignorance of its trust?

— Matthew Thomas Cornwall, junior, political science