To the editor:

As a KU alumnus (class of ’73), I am offended by the contemptuous tone of the Saturday Column (April 2) on university support of U.S. war and intelligence efforts. We cannot mandate the career choice of any KU student. Each student arrives with different career plans; our role is to help them to achieve those goals.

Each individually chosen degree program requires coursework that is career-specific. However, they must also typically take courses related to English, mathematics, humanities, culture, history and, in many cases, a foreign language as well. How then can it legitimately be alleged that we at KU are failing our students or our country or that we are somehow not positively involved in shaping America’s future?

The academic community is abundantly aware that we are a vitally important part of the overall U.S. community: We have chosen to dedicate our adult lives to the training and education of future generations of Americans from all walks of life. We are all fully aware that we are at war; many of us are veterans and most of us come from families in which one or more member served patriotically in past conflicts. My father-in-law served under Gen. Patton, and worked after the war until his retirement at two U.S. Army arsenals; my father was a Navy torpedo plane pilot.

Val Smith,

Lawrence