Letters: New leadership needed on BOT; Nuclear weapons don’t deter wars

New leadership needed on BOT

Sexual and relationship violence thrives at Penn State because Penn State’s decision-makers encourage victim-blaming attitudes and fail to take accountability. We need new leadership on the board of trustees. I’m supporting Dr. Farnaz Farhi, Dr. Christa Hasenkopf and Dr. Ed Smith (the “Penn State Forward” slate) during this year’s election.

Students cannot learn if they are not safe. And around one in five undergraduate students reports experiencing sexual violence victimization. Sexual violence is a cultural, systemic and institutional issue. But decision-makers frame this violence as “vexing” and “intractable” and as merely “interactions between adults in private settings.” They pretend that the issue is just a result of drinking. Perhaps this is why around one in three undergraduate students are not confident that Penn State takes reports of sexual violence seriously.

Students should be more than potential victims, or, as Dr. Rosa Eberly, associate professor of Rhetoric, puts it — “mere collateral damage.” Penn State decision-makers can champion institutional changes that prevent sexual violence and support survivors. They can, as proposed by the Penn State Forward candidates, work with student and faculty experts to increase institutional accountability and invest in legitimate prevention efforts.

Students have been doing their part to demand institutional change. We need advocates and allies on Penn State’s highest governing board. I’m proud to support Penn State Forward and hope you will too. The election ends May 5 and instructions to vote can be found at PSUForward.org/vote.

Nuclear weapons don’t deter wars

An op-ed in the April 13 CDT argued that not only is a credible nuclear threat critical to world order, but that such weapons have to be part of our calculus to avoid losing to the forces of authoritarianism. The war in Ukraine has proved that nuclear weapons don’t prevent major wars. As Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, has noted, “When nuclear deterrence fails, it fails catastrophically.”

Russia currently has over 6,000 strategic warheads, while the U.S. has 5,500. The other types of nuclear weapons are tactical, which are designed to take out tank or troop formations on a battlefield — not wipe out a city. The Congressional Research Service reports that Russia has 2,000 tactical nukes.

Russia could use tactical nuclear weapons to change the military balance on the ground with Ukraine. If the war expands, and NATO gets drawn into the fight, Russia could further escalate the conflict with the use of short-range nuclear weapons. In military jargon, the Russian policy would be “to escalate to de-escalate.” Demonstrating Russian resolve that they’re willing to use a nuclear weapon would shock, and hopefully, paralyze the adversary.

Since the ‘60s, experts have debated whether Washington and Moscow would use a limited number of tactical nuclear weapons in a conventional battlefield. The answer, unfortunately, is no. There is nothing like a limited nuclear war. As Retired General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie Jr. recently reflected on the nuclear stakes, “We should be rattled right now.”

We Are: The energy university

In a recent public forum, President Barron proudly told the crowd that Penn State is the energy university. He introduced three diverse students that professionally related their research. An architect designing more efficiency into buildings. A renewable energy scientist discussed solar power in the 21st century. And then perhaps a surprise to some. A Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineer stated that fossil fuels will be necessary for quite some time in our society. However, she and thousands of others are working on a parallel path of what is an obvious fact, and the use of this carbon filled source in more sustainable ways.

Penn State’s PNGE discipline has been a leader in the field of fossil fuels research for decades. We must continue to be such. Someday we may not need them, but in the meantime let’s support their use in the most efficient and clean manner. We can’t just “work it out” in the short term. But let’s do everything we can on all fronts for the long term.

Penn State also has a top ten Nuclear Engineering Program. Now here’s a path to the cleanest energy source for the 21st century. Fusing and splitting atoms is the earth’s long term solution for survival, along with renewables, longer term limited fossil fuel use and conservation.