Letters to the Editor do not reflect the editorial opinion of The Daily Free Press. They are solely the opinion of the author.
Earlier this week, a decision was made to remove two previously elected Student Government Executive Board members, Kimberly Barzola and Marwa Sayed; and for some reason, there is a public outcry on the “discrimination” on the “women of color” because of their differing political views. But the sad truth of the matter is, I feel discriminated against by the response.
As VP of finance and VP of internal affairs of Student Government, Barzola and Sayed, respectively, had duties to fulfill. I have never spoken to either of the two, so I cannot attest as to why they did not fulfill said duties, but the two had not kept up with their responsibilities; Barzola had not filed a finance report since the 4th meeting of BUSG (and the trial this week was held on the 7th), and Sayed failed to record notes on the meetings held by BUSG, so her job was handed off to other members of BUSG. It is my own opinion, and obviously the opinion of many others, that someone who does not meet the requirements of the position they hold, does not deserve to hold the position moving forward.
So why is everyone so outraged at the fact that these two were removed from office? There hasn’t even been a claim against these accusations, but what has been claimed is that the two were targeted due to their political views and public support for the Palestinian cause and condemnation of the state of Israel; a country that I am proud to call my home, and the home of my ancestors.
What appalls me is the fact that many students, on all ends of the political spectrum, find it appropriate to accuse BUSG and specific Jewish senators of discrimination because it happened to be that a Jew had filed the initial report against the two women. It appalls me that, regardless of the fact that there were clear grounds for dismissal, the student body still thinks it is acceptable to discredit what a Jew said, because he is a Jew. Well that is by no means acceptable; just because someone might be reporting someone who has a conflicting opinion, does not mean that the report has no merit. In fact, it feels as if I am actually living in the Middle East; a Jew cried wolf and no one believed him, even when he showed everyone the wolf.
The fact of the matter is that innocent Jews are being slaughtered left and right by Palestinian extremism in Israel daily, and the world is sitting idly by as if to say that there is no merit in those claims. It feels all too similar. In essence, what people are telling me, and the entire Jewish community here at BU, is that I am not allowed to report a violation that a pro-Palestinian, or Palestinian, student has committed because we have conflicting opinions. That is discrimination, that is racism, that is anti-Semitism and it should not be tolerated.
Ariel Lavi, alavi@bu.edu