I was reading Scott Cohen’s opinion article in the January 20th issue, and let me say I couldn’t agree more. How dare Colin Powell design a policy which didn’t completely fix the discrimination against homosexuals in the armed forces? Sure it may have been a step in the right direction, but the truth is gays are still not treated fairly. For these exact same reasons I believe Abraham Lincoln owed an apology to African Americans. The Emancipation Proclamation may have set blacks in this country free (at least in states that didn’t side with the North), but it still didn’t guarantee basic rights such as voting. Who cares that politics isn’t a world of overnight change or that gays are still better off than before?

Now that I have my mandatory sarcasm out of the way, I can focus on some of the other problems with this article. Homosexuals are not dishonorably discharged from service just because they are homosexual.

Army regulations clearly state unless certain circumstances exits (such as the conduct occurring with someone under the age of 16), the discharge is not dishonorable and is based solely on the soldier’s past service.

Perhaps the most aggravating aspect was the not-so-thinly-veiled attempt to portray conservatives as responsible for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. The author alienated around half the audience.

Well, maybe not half on a college campus, but that’s still not a great method to change people’s minds. Plus it’s simply not true. Let’s not forget a Democratic president and Congress instituted this policy, regardless of how you feel about it.

Ryan Mattingly

Freshman in LAS