Tuftonia decision doesn't work

The cancellation of this year's fireworks display is understandable, but is ultimately a poor decision, made worse by the fact that it was made without student input in secretive meetings.

Concerns about the local reaction to the fireworks are nothing short of preposterous. As a major university and the second oldest in the area, Tufts seems more than entitled to hold a single fireworks show each year without complaints from the neighbors about the noise.

And the connection between this year's Tuftonia's Day fireworks and a Medford fireworks display held one month after 9/11 is completely unwarranted. It is hard to believe that eighteen months after the attack, the emergency lines would once again be flooded with calls. Though some Americans continue to fear the possibility of future terrorist acts, especially in light of the war in Iraq, nationwide we have continued to hold fireworks displays and other activities that could potentially cause some citizens to panic. Life goes on, and the residents of Medford-Somerville deserve more credit then this decision awards them.

The cancellation is also an opportunity to point out a major fault in communication between the leaders of SPIRIT and the Chief of the Medford Fire Department, Gil Berti. SPIRIT co-chair Meghan Sweeney received tentative approval from Berti even though war with Iraq was imminent. If Berti believed that the war would make the fireworks display impossible, then he should have specified this clearly to Sweeney a long time ago. SPIRIT most likely did not spend $14,000 for just any display. If there appeared to be a good chance of only a ground display, perhaps that $14,000 would have been spent more wisely on other components of the celebration.

If there were one reason to cancel the fireworks display it would be to show respect for the loss of life in the war in Iraq. After all, there is an inherent irony in a group of American college students watching fire in the sky in awe, while young Americans and Iraqis of all ages have been subject to the "shock and awe" campaign only weeks earlier. Still, perhaps we can view celebrations like Tuftonia's Day and the thrill of an old fashioned fireworks show, as a time for togetherness, which in a time of war and precariousness, is perhaps what we need most.