‘Heartened’ by the idealism of pro-Palestinian student protesters

On my way back from senior lap swim at the Chicago Park District pool on Monday, I cut through the University of Chicago campus. To my surprise, a tent camp occupied part of the main quads, under the eyes of a cluster of university police.

The scene was friendly. Students were serving themselves food from catering trays laid out on tables, and I saw crates of water being carried in. The protesters’ demands were clear from their boards: Divestment, Disclosure, Repair. In another lonely corner of the quad hung banners and signs supporting Israel.

When I was a teenager, being driven through my home city in Australia, traffic was blocked by a street demonstration against the Vietnam War. I decided then and there that whatever they were for, I was against.

It was not until my mid-20s that I broke with my politically conservative upbringing to join a street demonstration and became the one blocking the traffic. I had spent much time hiking and camping in the native forests and was marching to protect them from mining. I was for something (the unique Jarrah Forest) and against something (their destruction for profit).

In the 45 years since, I’ve joined lots of marches and protests. But about 15 years ago, I noticed that my heart’s call was to put its energy into building the world it wanted, rather than opposing the policies and people I had previously regarded as “the enemy.”

So when I hear about young people who are focused on destroying “the enemy” of their cause, I have sympathy. .

I am personally heartened by the idealism of the students, their willingness to risk the completion of the degrees or acquiring police records as allies of suffering civilians in Gaza (or Sudan, or Myanmar, or Ukraine, or the South or West sides of Chicago), and I admire the predominantly non-violent nature of their demonstrations.

Would that we could all retain their ideals as we enter the workforce and are co-opted by the need to support ourselves and those who depend upon us (or as others might say, to become adults).

I offer a shout-out to our neighbor pacifist Brad Lyttle, now in his mid-90s, who spent his entire adult life working for peace in the U.S. and abroad. It can be done.

Don Wedd, Hyde Park

Trashing J.D. Vance

I read Sun-Times’ reader Rocco Lotesto’s letter about J.D. Vance. Unlike Mr. Lotesto, I spent money on Vance’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy” and read it. I didn’t pass it on to anyone since Vance turned into an arrogant Trumpster. I threw the book in the garbage.

Virginia Dare McGraw, Naperville

Warmer weather brings out litterbugs

Winter has grudgingly turned to spring, so people are getting outdoors more. That means more carelessly discarded trash along with the greenery and improved weather. In many public areas, we’ll see batches of litter underfoot, often with empty waste containers nearby. That’s both ironic and a civic embarrassment.

Can some of the thousands of Chicago area’s runners entering local races be enlisted to help? Their spring to October busy months coincide with littering season, and the more prestigious races have huge fields. If organizers in their pre-registration flyers called for cleanup crew volunteers perhaps the following weekend, the typical runner’s upbeat and energetic spirit could be tapped in covering targeted parts of town.

If litterbugs fail to cooperate, racers and organizers with some laudable initiative could step up and cover.

Tom Gregg, Niles