Vandalism displays lack of respect for property

Early in the morning Nov. 29, someone decided it would be appropriate to vandalize almost every living group's bench on West Campus in the name of political activism, by writing the words "FREE MUMIA" everywhere. That individual or group of individuals performed an act of grave injustice to just about every West Campus resident. Those benches are the explicit property of the living groups that they stand in front of-paid for with living group dues or house funds. While some may view spray painting as a minor offense, these vandals enacted roughly $30 worth of damage to over a dozen benches.

People claim to have rights to many things that are highly debatable, but there are four rights that are explicitly considered inalienable rights and the foundation of the American way of life: life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that the growing disregard for the ownership of one's property, life and freedom-evident in congressional legislation, newspaper editorials and many courses taught here at Duke-is indicative of the overall moral decay of American society.

The actions of these vandals did cause me to investigate Mumia's situation. What I found at www.mumia.org and many other linked websites were broad accusations against the police, claims of racism, theories of conspiracy and in some cases blatant propaganda-but hardly any indication of facts from trial testimony or police reports. Then I discovered www. danielfaulkner.com, which provided factual information in the form of eyewitness testimony, police reports and trial transcripts.

I believe that Mumia Abu-Jamal is guilty of brutally executing an unsuspecting victim, police officer Daniel Faulkner. Mumia ran up to him from behind while he was dealing with a traffic infraction and shot him numerous times in the back and then put one final shot in his head, as he lay incapacitated on the ground.

But, please do not simply take my word for it, or assume that political vandalism maintains some form of moral authority; If you choose, investigate this issue for yourself using the above resources.

Craig Principe

Trinity '02