Students win with the return of the Buffalo chicken wrap
Today, as I sunk my teeth into a wrap filled with chicken tenders covered in Buffalo sauce and ranch dressing, I could not help but think that this was more than the permanent return of a sandwich. As a freshman, over the last few months, I have learned that Northwestern students have too often been criticized for their apathy and inaction. Making the Buffalo chicken wrap a permanent item on the Varsity Grill menu is a small example of NU students’ ability to effect change. Students became fed up with their inability to regularly fill up on the Buffalo chicken wrap and demanded change. And sure enough, Northwestern responded. Sure, it is just a sandwich, but it is an inspiration to know that we, as students, can make change. In the meantime, take advantage of the Buffalo chicken wrap because we know too well how quickly it can be taken away.
– David Levine Weinberg freshman
‘Pro-life’ advocates ignore the pregnant woman’s life
In Monday’s guest column, members of Northwestern Students for Life asked students to question whether a fetus has the same rights as a person (“Today, 3,700 more abortions across America,” Jan. 22). In my mind, the answer is a definite no. Pro-life proponents focus their arguments on a single aspect, that a fetus has every right to live as anyone else. Yet they always ignore the other aspect of the equation: What about the mother? What if a woman was raped or sexually abused? Are you planning on telling that woman that she must live with the horrible transgressions against her body for nine months until she can give the baby up for adoption? That simply is not fair.
You could even look at the life the baby will have in the future. What if the parents simply cannot afford to raise a child, or can’t even afford the health care necessary to give birth to a healthy child? In such a case, telling a woman that she cannot have an abortion presents just as much a threat to the potential life.
In all of these instances, pro-lifers always seem to chant “adoption, adoption.” But adoption isn’t a useful solution either, especially not when there are thousands of babies that could be adopted by loving gay or lesbian parents, only to have social conservatives tell them they are not fit to be parents. The guest columnists scoff at the idea of pro-choice, but how can they? Pro-choice is about choices. Allow women to make their own decisions about their own bodies and their own futures.
If you are against abortion, I accept that. Who am I to tell you abortion is the way to go? But when you pass laws that prevent a woman from having an abortion, you are effectively telling her, “I don’t care what you think, my way is the right way.” America is the land of free, and allowing the choice about abortion is the only way to maintain that freedom.
– Rachel LeessWeinberg junior
Illegal abortion numbers show government failure
Northwestern Students for Life really opened my eyes on Monday. They advertised that there are 3,700 abortions in the United States every day. I checked out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, and their statistics show that about 2,300 legal abortions occurred each day in 1999, but that number has been going steadily down throughout the past decade. So according to NSFL, at least 1,400 women are having illegal abortions every day. It’s troubling that legislation in the United States is so restrictive to women’s reproductive health that such a great number of
