Letters to the Editor

Author: [no author name found]

To the Editor:

Many Vermonters have heard of GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms, especially in light of the discussion about the Farmer Protection Act. Despite all of this publicity, many people still have questions about GMOs. What are GMOs? And why do the European Union, Japan and others refuse to buy GMO foods? What are the benefits of growing GE crops? What are the risks? These are all questions that we should be able to answer. After all, this is not only about the food that we eat, and that our friends and family eat every day (70 percent of processed foods contain GMOs).

This is also about genes: new, man-made DNA that will be here for the rest of time. When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a drug and later finds out about adverse side effects, it is easy to take the drug off the market. But if the FDA finds problems with GMO foods down the road, how will they get all of the altered DNA out of our crops and food supply?

They won't be able to. One would think that the FDA would not allow GMOs in our food supply if they had not first been proven safe for consumption. But can we be so sure when the person who wrote the FDA regulations allowing GMO foods also worked for the companies who sell GMO seeds? If you want to find out more about GMOs, please come to a showing of "The Future of Food."

This documentary is very up-to-date, and will answer all of these questions and more. There is a FREE showing scheduled for Wednesday, March 29, at 7 p.m. at the Ilsley Library Meeting Room in Middlebury. There is also a showing at the Hartland Library on Friday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. I hope you can make it.

Sincerely,

Kate Corrigan

Shoreham, Vt.

To the Editor:

In the March 16 edition of The Middlebury Campus, the newspaper staff criticized the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) in the "Winners & Losers" weekly report. MCAB is blamed for not showing an early screening of "The Chronicles of Narnia," and for the 9:30 p.m. screening starting late, on Friday, March 10. Please keep in mind that MCAB provides a service - a free service in regard to the Free Friday Film series - to the College community.

Because "The Chronicles of Narnia" runs 139 minutes, Media Services requested that the second screening not begin until 10 p.m. as a favor for the projectionists. Had MCAB not granted this change, the second screening would have begun just 10 minutes after the first one ended, and the projectionists would not have had much of a break during the five-hour period.

Until last spring, MCAB traditionally screened each free Friday film just twice. Nowadays, an extra screening is offered for most - not all - films. As a heads-up, "Memoirs of a Geisha" is even longer than "The Chronicles of Narnia" so on April 21, there will once again be two screenings at 7 and 10 p.m.

Sincerely,
David Schoenholtz '07
Bethesda, Md.

To the Editor:
Colleges and universities across the country are leveraging the weight of their endowments to take a stand against the genocide in Darfur. By divesting from companies whose revenues contribute to the Sudanese government, our peer institutions, including Amherst, Dartmouth and Brown, are practicing the ethics and responsibility that they preach in their mission statements. The University of California recently made national headlines as the first major public university to join the divestment movement, divesting from several companies with ties to the Sudanese government. In her March 16 opinions piece Jessica Early '09 left me wondering: Where does Middlebury stand on this issue?

I turned to Middlebury's Web site, assuming our righteous little College would be at the forefront of this movement, but I was disappointed to find no mention of the issue. Maybe we are supposed to assume that Middlebury is responsible without expecting a public statement or disclosure, but that would be a far cry from the "rigorous analysis and independent thought" that the College cultivates, according to our newest mission statement.

I appreciate that Early and her organization are working to make socially responsible investment a priority and I second her call for greater transparency in the College's investment policies. But right now, today, President Ronald D. Liebowitz and the Board of Trustees need to issue a clear statement of Middlebury's investment practices with regard to companies having financial ties to the genocide in Sudan. If Old Chapel is unable or unwilling to make this statement, I hope Early will not be the only one demanding Middlebury put its money where its mouth is.

Sincerely,
Ben Salkowe '07
Cambridge, Mass.