Ryan ChartrandThere’s something to be said for the silent majority; not everyone feels the need to attack Cal Poly staff and faculty to have their voice heard. Furthermore, some of us even feel compelled to do research to prevent us from asking stupid questions. While people like Brian Eller are too busy being disrespectful to our school’s president (it’s President Baker or Dr. Baker, not Mr. Baker), some of us took the time to open our minds to another culture.
Last time I checked the fundamentals of engineering had not started any wars. Why shouldn’t we help bring education to different parts of the world? Who are we to chastise another country’s culture? Apparently, I didn’t get the memo about our culture being perfect (I must have missed it somewhere between slavery and Japanese internment camps), so forgive me when I whole heartily support this contract. Maybe Jubail is a little bit behind our oh-so-perfect America, so let’s find some common ground to interact with the people of Saudi Arabia to help get them up to speed. As Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” We can’t force Saudi Arabia to change, but if we want to preach equality and non-nondiscrimination, we most definitely shouldn’t be hypocritical and discriminate against Saudi Arabia for its culture. So think about it, and bring your questions to discuss with President Baker at the Advanced Technology Lab during UU Hour on April 24.