Column stigmatizes the mentally ill
I am writing in response to the article "Women are Insane. Now we know why," by Dan Cassino on April 4. This article is irresponsible in that it suggests that people taking medications for psychological problems should not do so because they are in some way denying their true individuality as people. Mental illness has a strong negative stigma so that many people with mental illness would like to believe they do not have one. Cassino's statements that people should not take medication for psychological reasons may incite people to quit taking the medication they are on so they can deny the problem they have. Mental illness is painful and can have devastating effects on a person's life if untreated. It should not be treated as a neutral option that one might care to have.
Cassino further insults women by saying if a woman has pain before her period, she should do nothing about it. Cassino oppresses women by suggesting they not seek help available to them if they feel they need it. The title "women are insane" is also sexist - a label for mood swings which a woman may have which Cassino then discourages her to do anything about. A reasonable woman who can take care of her problems as she needs to does not even exist in Cassino's point of view.
I am further disturbed that advisers and editors did not screen out these statements before they came to publication. These statements stigmatize mentally ill people and ridicule all women. This is not responsible journalism and does not serve the community.
Susan Calhoun
educational psychology doctoral student
Likins proposal laughable
I laughed when I read the Wildcat the other day. Why, you ask? Well, simply because of Likins' offering of a reward to catch the "thugs." Who does he think he is kidding? As if anyone takes him seriously already, offering a reward for what happened on Fourth Avenue? Will this accomplish anything? Not really, except keeping all the old, rich alumni happy so they will buy basketball tickets next year, and so his trip to the Final Four is paid for.
And if he does find out who these people are, and they go to the UA, does he really think he can kick them out? What happened on Fourth is out of his jurisdiction. He has no power or control over what happened on Fourth. And if he does kick anyone out because of Monday, I smell a lawsuit, which the UA will lose because of Likins.
Likins should stick to keeping the alumni happy and realize he is out of his league. The people dealing with the Fourth Avenue riots are the Tucson Police Department. Last time I checked they had a lot more power and say than someone who sits in an office with a view kissing old, rich alumni butts all day long. Since Likins was watching the Final Four, and not on Fourth Avenue, he has no idea what happened. Unless you were there, you don't know what happened and you can't understand it either.
So for all of you people who are moaning and groaning about what happened Monday night, wake up and realize you can't generalize the Fourth Avenue riot to be only college students. Most of the destruction was done by non-UA students. As a student I am embarrassed to think you would associate my classmates and me with the savage animals on Fourth. Shame on all of you.
Steve Jenkins
molecular and cellular biology freshman
Rioters should be held accountable
As a University of Arizona alumnus now living in Texas, I was appalled by the images of the Fourth Avenue riot following Monday's basketball game. It used to be that this type of anti-social behavior was expected (and, regretfully, condoned) when a local team won a championship. But events in Tucson, and in College Park, Maryland Saturday night, seem to indicate that this behavior has become commonplace after a local team loses.
What's next? Are "fans" of teams who lose (or win) in the first round of the NCAA tournament going to turn to violence to express themselves? Perhaps the most important questions are: Are we ever going to hold rioters accountable for their actions? Or are we going to blame businesses for not anticipating this irresponsible behavior and "sufficiently protecting their property," or the police?
Michael Cusortelli
UA alum, class of '96
Fans made fools of themselves
As a student at the UA and a die-hard Wildcats fan, I am appalled by the behavior of Wildcat fans on Fourth Avenue.
We Wildcat fans have made national fools of ourselves. I just can't understand the basis for the violence and destruction. We lost the game, someone had to and that is no surprise. I admit that the loss certainly didn't make my evening.
If we can't play nice, lose with a little class and drink a few beers without resorting to behavior that discredits all Wildcat fans, perhaps we should stay at home, on the porch, with the kids.
Holly Martin
sociology junior
