Re: The Optimist, January 21, “Stop talking and start signing checks” by Tiffany Williams, Copy Editor

In response to Tiffany Williams’s opinion article “Stop talking and start signing checks,” I must ask Ms. Williams, when was the last time you saw George Clooney’s tax return? How did you acquire the list of celebrity donations from the Tsunami Aid telethon? How do you know that celebrities are NOT donating everything they can not only to tsunami relief but other relief and charitable organizations as well? If you have such proof, you should have presented it in your article, but my assumption is that you do not have such proof. In my opinion, celebrities have an obligation to use their fame to promote benevolence and charity, and that is exactly what they did on the telethon. To criticize them for not putting ” their money where their mouth is” is not only presumptuous and judgmental, but very irresponsible without appropriate proof. I urge you to reconsider your article, and moderate your flippant criticism in the future.

Jason Martin
class of 1999