Perhaps you have been receiving a lot of email regarding the recent letter your English lecturer Thomas Walker wrote about the troops and care packages and all … but maybe you haven’t received enough.

I only want to state that for most people who don’t live in Iowa, we know very little about Iowa State. I have two children in college and during their senior years in high school, we received pamphlets advertising Iowa State. It seemed like a reasonable choice of universities to consider. Both chose other places for various reasons.

However, now that this vile letter was published by one of your faculty, I would never recommend Iowa State to anyone. How could a student of his ever feel that he/she could safely express an opposing opinion without potentially suffering a punitive grade? What kind of support would such a student receive if he complained about it to the administration?

And what about his insults directed at the goodwill activity sponsored by one of your student groups? How could any student who holds membership in that school-sanctioned organization ever safely sign up for one of his classes? I understand that Mr. Walker hates the war, but troops are not politicians. I understand that Mr. Walker feels that our nation’s poor deserve more support, but the largest portion of our troops over there fighting (E-1 through E-3) earn very little and many are impoverished by government standards. Our E-3 Marine Lance Corporals, Army PFCs, Navy Hospitalmen and Air Force Senior Airmen First Classes with less than two years service earn about $1,700 per month. Our E-2 enlisted men and women make far less.

Many have a wife and a child or two back home. The poverty level for a family of four is just more than $22,000 annually. They get federal subsidies. The E-3 military men make less than that – about $1,700 per month. Yes, they receive meals when in large bases in combat zones and MREs when outside the wire, but how different are MREs compared to government cheese and food stamps? And what is risking one’s life in a combat zone worth? Shouldn’t we at least feed them? How could your university president not put Mr. Walker on immediate suspension for such a poorly thought out and hurtful letter?

As I said before, I know little of Iowa State. Unfortunately, Thomas Walker’s article is all that I now know about Iowa State – that is, your university tolerates this form of antagonism, and by virtue of not firing him, your university enables his bad behavior. His words were so hurtful and “free speech” was quoted by your own university president as a defense (despite his expressed opposition to Mr. Walker’s views). But one can’t call a black man the “N” word and get away with it under the protection of free speech. I would never do that, but I am a sane man.

Mr. Walker just doesn’t seem sane. Perhaps he might have a mental illness making him impulsive and causing him to write antagonistic, hurtful articles like the one he did without remorse. What else might an impulsive, potentially mentally unstable man with a lack of conscience do? Does anyone there even realize just how many people he offended and how deeply his dagger cut?

As a two-time war zone veteran, I am deeply offended by your school’s lecturer and by the lack of substantial response by your president. I will forever now know Iowa State University as “Thomas Walker University” – the school whose staff despises our troops, and the school that is too frail to issue swift punishment to its staff when necessary.