Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 20 November 2003 — Page 2

Page 2 • 1 he iviuncit i ,.,ies • November 20, 2003

EDITORIAL Let's turn Thanksgiving Day into a time for sharing

On Nov. 27, Americans across the country will sit down to celebrate one of the most traditional holidays and meals that this country has: Thanksgiving Day. They will feast on turkey, ham, beef, chicken and other meats. They will gouge themselves on pies and other desserts. They will eat a sumptious meal. Many will eat as if there is no tomorrow. Many will add unneeded and unnecesarry pounds to their midriffs. After

Thanksgiving, many will promise to lose the extra poundage. Few will actually do that, before they add even more pounds during the coming Christmas and New Year's celebrations. This year, we hope some of the members of the various overeaters' clubs will think about those who do not have a sumptious meal to look forward to at Thanksgiving. There are millions of Americans who dread Thanksgiving, because they have nowhere to go. They have no families to share a meal with. Some do

not have any shelter on this traditional day. Studies show that poverty is increasing in this wealthy country. There are children who are daily being born into poverty. They often do without a nutritional meal. Thanksgiving is, for them, not a time to celebrate their bounties or be grateful for their good fortunes. At a time when charitable giving is down, it is important that we should dig deeper in our pockets to help those who are less fortunate so that they, too,

can have a good Thanksgiving Day. The Muncie Mission, Christian Ministries, the Salvation Army, Feed My Sheep, churches and various other groups provide meals and other Thanksgiving goodies for the needy. To do that, they need our help. Those of us doing well or reasonably well have an obligation to try and help and make life just a little more tolerable for the needy. We can donate money. We can donate perishable and nonperishable goods. We can eat less, which is

healthier for us anyway, and r give the extra food or money , to those that help the poor and homeless. We can make . a difference. Instead of being selfish and overindulgent, we can share with those who need it more than we do. We can certainly make Thanksgiving a much better experience for everybody. That would be a much better experience, rather than being selfish and spending the holidays stuffing ourselves so much that we can hardly ^ move afterwards.

Ball State needs to re-examine police training, use of deadly force

A Ball State University student is dead. Fie was dead by a rookie police officer, who had learned how to use deadly force but had not yet been trained how to use less lethal

The Muncie Times accepts and publishes “Letters to the Editor” under the following conditions: •The letter must indicate the writer’s name, address and phone number where the writer can be reached during the day. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published. •If the writer wishes the letter to be published under a pseudonym, that wish will be

honored.

means. This is a tragedy that was waiting to happen. It is a tragedy for the family and friend of the victim who had come to Muncie to attend college. Instead of returning home with a diploma in his

hands, he went back in a casket, hit by four police bullets. It is also a tragedy for the rookie Ball State University police officer who fired the fatal bullets.

He is forever saddled with the knowledge that he took someone's life. Ongoing investigations will eventually determine whether the young officer, only 3 years older than his 21-year-old victim, was justified in resorting to deadly force. What is clear, however, is that Ball State University needs to re-examine its policy when it comes to campus police and the use of guns. Shooting someone should always be a last resort, when all other nonlethal means have failed to stop the suspect. Campus police operate in an environment very different from that of the city or town police or the sheriff's department. Campus police are law enforcers who deal with students, faculty and university staff. They need to be sensitive and cautious law enforcers, without exposing themselves to undue risk. It is important that they should not resort to deadly force until all other methods of subduing lawbreakers and suspected lawbreakers have failed. In

this first fatal petof 1 shooting at Ball State we are bothered, as are many other people, that the young officer involved had been trained in how to use a firearm, yet still had to undergo training in how to use nonlethal force, such as the Taser or mace. We hope Ball State will take immediate corrective steps in training its officers in how to subdue people. We believe it is important to ensure that officers learn how to use use nonlethal force before they go out on patrol. The recent shooting has shocked many people and traumatized some. It is important that the university should take all possible steps to ensure that there is no repetition of that incident. For that to happen, it is imp .ant at students, facui.y, police and staff work together to find acceptable ways of police training for defusing situations before they degenerate into deadly' circumstances that would' call for the use of lethal force.

LETTER POLICY

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particulars must be included in ‘All correspondence should be the letter along with the addressed to: The Editor, The suggested psedonym. Muncie Times, 1304 N. •Letters must be brief, Broadway, Muncie, IN 47303. preferably no more than 300 •Unsolicited manuscripts will words long and should, if only be returned if the writer possible, be typed and double- includes a self-addressed, spaced. Hand-written letters stamped envelope with correct will also be accepted. package. •The editor reserves the right to -Thank You-

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MUNCIE TIMES STAFF Publisher Bea Moten-Foster Editor John T. Lambkun Advertising Bea Moten-Foster Layout Patty King Typesetting Maurice Taylor Contributors: T.S. Kumbula, Shame Scott, Geri Rosales, Barbara Namwawa, Maurice Taylor, Charles Gulubane and David Hoelscher

The Muncie Times is published twice monthly at 1304 N. Broadway, Muncie, IN 47303. It covers the communities of Anderson, Marion, New Castle, Richmond, and Muncie. All editorial correspondence should be addressed to: The Editor, The Muncie Times, 1304 N. Broadway, Muncie, IN 47303. Telephone (765) 741-0037. Fax (765) 741-0040.