House Editorials

Posted on October 15, 2007

Praise for Gore’s Nobel deeds

Last Thursday, former Vice President Al Gore was named the laureate of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Some say Al Gore is undeserving of such a prestigious award and has cheapened the distinction of the Nobel Peace Prize. But in fact, many political figures have been Nobel Peace Prize Laureates for their enduring efforts to end oppressive opposing forces, establish peaceful organizations that better the world or tackle problems that we collectively face.

Al Gore has been accused of attempting to further a personal agenda by his efforts – including making the documentary film “An Inconvenient Truth” – to get his name in the minds of the American people as a presidential candidate for the 2008 elections. However, Gore has denied these claims, saying in an interview with Grist magazine that he feels “very strongly that the climate crisis needs to be redefined as a moral – not a political issue.”

Gore has committed the majority of his political career since 1976 to stopping global warming and its adverse environmental effects. He has dedicated himself to mobilizing public opinion about environmental issues, aiding environmental activists in their campaigns and urging Washington to rethink environmental policy.

Once Bill CLinton’s right-hand man, Gore has been placed in the same league as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa. Since the first prize was awarded in 1901, the institutions that select the Nobel Laureates have generally picked winners who pioneer efforts to address current and globally pertinent issues.

In an interview with Larry King, Gore said, “We should feel a great sense of urgency because it is the most dangerous crisis we have ever faced so far...I’m focused on changing the minds of the American people about the climate crisis.”

Gore has probably focused his pleas for Americans to pay attention to global warming because we are the most environmentally wasteful country in the world. However, we wish that Gore would broaden his endeavors into other countries – particularly modernized nations – and amplify his efforts on a global scale. Only then will every citizen of the world become aware of how imminent our demise is if we don’t address environmental issues.

Silent circumstances, public consequences

Last Wednesday, a 19-year-old former JMU student charged with rape pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of assault and battery, avoiding jail time.

Eric Paul Gustafson, who would have graduated in 2010, was charged with rape after an incident that allegedly occurred in his dorm room last November.

Gustafson said that the encounter was consensual. While the woman admitted to being intoxicated, she maintained that she only agreed to go to Gustafson’s room and did not intend to engage in sexual activity.

The case is not an unfamiliar one: a woman accuses a man of rape, a life-ruining charge if proven to be true, but the details are all a little fuzzy. After she filed her report, the woman received an inconclusive physical examination. With alcohol in the mix, things got more complicated.

The woman said she was satisfied with the plea agreement, and Gustafson said in a Facebook message that he had never been so sorry in his life.

Is intoxication an excuse? Certainly not. The reason rape is vastly underreported is because of cases exactly like this. The burden of proof falls on the shoulders of the accuser, who needs to have an incredible amount of evidence. Unfortunately, many cases come down to a he-said, she-said situation, making it impossible to take one’s word over another’s.

Women should not be afraid to admit if a sexual situation gets out of hand. Agreeing to go upstairs does not mean agreeing to have sex. Gustafson says he felt bad for his actions, so it makes the woman seem cruel if she pursues the charges against him. But women should never feel bad for reporting rape.

This is also the second case involving JMU students this year. In August, a football player indicted on a felony rape charge resolved his case without admitting guilt.

Rape is an incredibly serious charge, so where was the response on campus? Most students have no idea about either case – why is that? Several campus organizations try to shed light on rape and assault, yet incidences often go unspoken of. Rape cases are often hushed because of the embarrassment that the victim and the accused feel. However, cases about such a serious occurrences should be vocalized to bring justice to the accused and to help the victims cope and recover.