University needs to let students decide on views

To the editor:

Dr. Robert Ward's recent letter to the editor that condemned Sheryl Crow's verbal opposition to the impending war with Iraq was astounding in that it came from a well-educated person. Ward threatens to withhold donations to Southeast Missouri State University if it again brings to its campus one of our nation's best entertainers, who also has the courage to speak her mind on an international issue. He doesn't agree with Crow's opinion regarding a possible war with Iraq, so he wants her banned from the campus. Any university has an obligation to expose its students to all sorts of diverse thinking so students can form their own opinions on matters that impact them. Banning a person from the campus because she has expressed an opinion contrary to what Ward holds would be the antithesis of why a good university is so valuable in our region.

JOE JACKSON

Frohna