Sometimes in life, it is necessary to humble ourselves and to see the reality of our own situation. As Marquette students, we are not in a direct position to effect international policies concerning war and peace, but what we do have an opportunity to do on a daily basis is to break down stereotypes by reaching out to people on our campus whose political views differ from ours and by trying to understand where they are coming from. In this there is a real opportunity to build bridges and construct peace.

Conversely, we also have the ability to use political rhetoric to further our own agenda, which, in practice, only acts to polarize our campus. I feel that the College Republicans' use of the "Adopt a Sniper" table during Mission Week was just that — a tactic to gain publicity in order to further their own political ends instead of to construct peace.

But the fact is that the term "constructing peace" means different things to different people and thus is a source of much tension. I get the impression that some conservatives think liberals define this term as to turn a blind eye to the realities of evil in the world and, according to Daniel Suhr's Feb. 3 viewpoint, to "hold hands with the terrorists and sing Kumbaya together." On the other hand, some liberals feel that conservatives define the term as focusing solely on the use of violence to weed out bad guys and not working for justice at all.

The one certainty in this debate over the definition of how one constructs peace is that peace will never be constructed if conservatives and liberals alike do not work to recognize, understand and break down the extreme stereotypes that each group holds about the other's definition of the term. Thus in the future, I encourage the College Republicans and all other groups on campus to discontinue their practice of using polarizing tactics to promote their message and instead to find creative ways to dialogue with their political opponents about misconceptions or stereotypes held by each side. I understand that the nature of our political system is such that polarizing, winner-take-all tactics are often rewarded, and hence it does not pay to build bridges. But, for the sake of future generations, I believe that we can and must transcend that to work for peace.

Sarah Rhomberg is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

This viewpoint appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 15 2005.