I'm just going to point out and discuss a few items from the Feb. 1 Viewpoint, "Students upset by Gandhi." First, the authors took issue with Soulforce, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, social justice group. I searched the Soulforce web site for the quotes that were cited in the article. I did not find the page on which Soulforce allegedly, "accuses the Holy Father of 'continue(ing) to make spiritually violent statements and policies.'" In fact, it would be quite odd for this group to attack the Holy Father in such a way, because Soulforce is an interfaith organization of people united against "spiritual violence" and those who commit it. "Spiritual violence," is defined as "the misuse of religion to sanction the condemnation and rejection of any of God's children." Their stance is built upon the idea that God is their creator and he loves them. They are fighting for society to recognize that they too, are God's children. They certainly do not point to the Holy Father as the cause of their persecution.

Next, they say: "Supporters of Gandhi's selection might try to say his appearance is within 'academic freedom,' but even that is not acceptable." They continue with this gem: "Academic freedom would be reading an opinion piece Gandhi wrote, or discussing his grandfather's life in a class." OK … so "academic freedom" can only be "academic freedom" if you say so. Then what is the "freedom" in "academic freedom" supposed to mean?!

Then they question Marquette's decision to honor Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) at the Les Aspin Center in Washington D.C. Well, I don't know, probably because she happens to be the representative of the district that Marquette is in. Or, perhaps, it's because she is the first black female elected to Congress from Wisconsin. But, who really knows?

Last, the finish up with this bold statement, "Jesuit or not, the last time we checked, Marquette was still a Catholic school. We'd like to help this school start acting like it again." I'll have to concede this one. These four students have lived nearly 80 years between them. I'm sure they know the Catholic faith better than I do, since I can't make heads or tails of mass without a bulletin. If only Marquette had some presence on campus which was devoted to the study of Catholicism, I'm sure they would know what to do in this situation, because we're living in dangerous times, where there are people who think differently than you do. After all, the best way to know your right is to never question what you think. Otherwise, before you know it, down will be up and "Star Trek" will be hip.

Logan Adams is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 10 2005.