From a concerned Student

Editor:

For the past week, I have followed the news relating to Benjamin Walby’s death and the impending lawsuit against Houghton and Handcock. I have watched news outlets read article after article. The excessive use of force is obvious in the bodycam video; you can see law enforcement tasing him as he is handcuffed and lying face down on the ground. In total, Benjamin was hogtied and tased 17 times. It leaves me wondering where all the empathy, care, and understanding have gone in this world.

I’m from MN, and my dad retired from the police force shortly before Gorge Floyed. Police have their work cut out for them. I know I’ve listened to my father’s stories; it’s a scary and violent world now more than ever, and people are unpredictable.

But I have to believe that everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, everyone deserves empathy, care, and understanding, and Benjamin was not given that. Law enforcement officers meet Benjamin on his worst day, as they meet most people. Benjamin’s mental health crisis seems to taken the path of violence and anger, and instead of being met with compassion, care, and empathy, he was met with excessive force and more violence.

If you treat the violent with violence, you are no better than them. You can’t calm anger with more anger. You can’t fight fire with fire. I understand law enforcement is scared, that the world seems against them, but the best way to protect and serve is to be compassionate and empathetic.

In all the articles, I haven’t seen a statement from Michigan Tech. You accepted Benjamin Walby into your husky family; you invited Benjamin Walby to join your community, to make Michigan Tech his home. There has to be a way for Michigan Tech to support both Benjamin Walbys’ grieving family with his death, and support the local law enforcement agencies. Both deserve Michigan Tech’s support, and you are failing both by staying quiet. You have to find a way to support both.

Even though I didn’t know Benjamin personally, I am writing this because I care, not to undermine the University, and not for a political agenda. I wish America would stop thinking in terms of red vs. blue, and instead, that every person deserves to live a life, no matter how they act on their worst day.

Martina Sloan

Houghton

What Won’t Change in 2026

To The Editor:

During 2025, the entire world has recently experienced so much mostly unwelcomed misery. These include things like the number of school shootings which took the lives of numerous children; a Texas flood that drowned many children; erupting violence in various American cities; rumors of possible wars; battles over biological men in women’s sports which continues to get headlines because of transgender issues; Israeli hostages returned from Gaza; and ever so much more. It would be fairly easy to become despondent about what is going on in the world. However, there are two major things that will never happen.

In Luke 19:11-13 there’s a parable about a nobleman who went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself. He called ten of his slaves and gave each of them ten pounds and said, “Occupy till I come.” The application of this parable is for Christians to be reminded that God has entrusted various resources to each of us. God may entrust gifts like preaching, teaching, financial resources, music, etc. We should be using these gifts to invest in the Kingdom. Until Jesus’ return we must use them, being faithful stewards of what he has entrusted to us.

The two major points that will never change are (1) No matter how bad things seem to be, we as Christians need to make sure we “engage in business” (the business of the King of Kings) until King Jesus returns and (2) the solution to the world’s problems.

Repentance means to change one’s mind which will bring about different behavior. Acknowledge your need for Jesus Christ who is the only person who can totally forgive sin. Pray for God to make you willing to change.

After Adam sinned, God offered us a solution, promising to send a Savior (Genesis 3:15). Government is not the answer. Legislation is not the answer. Keep in mind that we do need Christians in government and on school boards to vote in accord with a Christian worldview, thus serving as salt and light. But this can only hope to provide partial, temporary solutions to certain issues. The real answer to man’s problems (including our biggest problem which is sin) is God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ. This has never changed and never will change.

Marilyn Sager

Houghton

Trump Prolongs Ukraine War

Editor:

However laudable his desire for peace might be, it seems to me that President Trump’s policies towards Ukraine and Russia are only prolonging the war between those two nations.

During 2023 and 2024, during the time when Trump was not president and held no official office at all, his power over the Republican Party in Congress was still such that he was able to cut off American aid to Ukraine for about 7 months. Ignoring the disastrous direct effects of that period, the indirect effect of it was that once Trump was re-elected president in 2024 the aggressor Putin had every reason to be hopeful about winning the war he had started. And sure enough, after taking office Trump again shut down Ukraine aid at various times, and for several months now the only new American weapons the Ukrainians receive are those purchased for them by other nations who more actively support their struggle for freedom than we do.

And we have seen Trump make excuses for Putin time after time, giving Putin the infamous “two weeks” over and over again. Clearly Putin sabotages meetings between Trump and Ukrainian president Zelensky, by making sure to talk to Trump on the phone immediately before each event. We saw uniformed American servicemen literally on their knees before Putin’s aircraft in Alaska, rolling out an actual red carpet for him, while Trump does not even bother to send out a delegation of lesser officials to meet Zelensky’s arriving plane.

My point is, all this gives Putin hope. No matter that Ukraine has virtually chased the Russian navy out of the Black sea, or that Ukraine has wiped out a considerable fraction of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, or that Ukraine knocked out 30% of Russia’s oil refining capacity … Trump keeps on showing Putin a light at the end of the tunnel.

I would think that most decent Americans want the good guys to win, right? Morally we would support the guys defending their homes and families and freedoms from foreign invasion by a dictator, right? You know, us Americans with our “liberty or death” and our “live free or die” and our “molon labe”? Formerly peaceful Ukraine is living out those principles of ours right now, and Ukraine definitely COULD win, if only we would help them a little bit and stop giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

John W. Loosemore

Hancock