Editor:I want to address the opinion column written by two of our economics professors. I want to say that I understand that they were writing a “Modest Proposal,” which is just an overdone way of satirizing an existing problem. I sincerely think that two educated men have better things to do than come up with bogus solutions to a very real problem. Why not come up with educated, informed decisions that can really help? I can tell you I am no pacifist, but I will not solve problems of violence with violence. As a woman, I run the risk of my civil liberties being violated every day. What is stopping someone from taking advantage of my body? Even men have to deal with this. That will not stop me from walking around at night. I will not be a victim. Rape is an act of aggression. The act is not done out of sexual frustration or need, but as a means of releasing this aggression. Ask yourself this: Where do violence and aggression begin? It begins in the home and in our communities.Why not make a change there first before we decide to fight violence with violence perpetuating the problem over and over again? A gun might stop a person from raping me, but it will not end the violence. It will go on and on through my act. What if that rapist has a gun too? We both end up dead? That solves nothing.Take Back the Night is a place for men and women to come together peacefully and share their stories. Sharing of information is the best way to come up with informed decisions. It is a way of saying, “I will not stand back and let you take away my freedom. I will fight you through alternative means.” Listen to these stories and ask yourself if you think that a gun is the answer. The pain still remains. If a rapist sat back and had to listen to these stories as part of a rehabilitation, I think that would have a more profound impact than a gun in his face.

Colleen BarkerSociology Senior