Students were treated to a rare sight on Thursday, something rarely seen on campus in the last few years. A flock of hippies climbed down from their trees and crawled out of their pot smoke-filled rooms to protest American retaliation for the atrocities committed in New York on Sept. 11.

I will admit that war is a horrible thing and should be avoided at all costs, but I put this question to all of you hippies – who started this war? Some would say the United States started it years ago and that we are being punished for our sins committed in the region.

I agree that the United States has made mistakes as far as dealing with that region, but I have never seen the United States military purposefully and blatantly attack any large masses of civilians.

Bin Laden and his cronies, on the other hand, would love it if they could rival people like Hitler or Milosovic in body counts.

So, with that in mind, I’d like to ask you again – who started this war? Why did thousands of American civilians have to die? I would like it if you hippies would take five minutes from smoking pot and trying to save trees and think about that for a little bit.

Chad Hayward

Sophomore

Chemistry