Globalization mischaracterized in cartoon
To the editor,
The cartoon appearing in the Wildcat issue on Mon. Sept. 11 is a perfect example of how much of the media, more or less consciously, misses the point of what exactly "critics of globalization" are fighting against.
It depicts a group of people who worry about "globalization stuff" while mentioning, in conversation, that they possess a Samsung (Korean) radio, a Nokia (Finland) portable telephone. Moreover, one of these people works in Daimler-Chrysler and another is currently drinking Colombian coffee. The irony is clear, but comparing Colombian coffee with a Nokia cellphone just doesn't wash.
German workers who make Daimler cars, and Finnish assemblers of Nokia phones have working conditions and organizing rights which are at least the same, if not better, than U.S. workers.
This means that Daimler and Nokia cannot undercut U.S. competition by introducing sweatshop conditions or firing union members who complain. On the other hand, Colombian coffee growers get a pittance compared to the profits of coffee multinational distributors, and trade unionists or small coffee growers trying to organize against that have a nasty habit of disappearing and getting killed by paramilitaries.
Colombia, therefore, competes against countries with better human rights records not by producing better coffee, but by allowing exploitation and repression (it's not a question of being more or less developed. The right to organize, n. 23 on the Universal declaration of human rights, is not dependent on wealth or development). One does not need to be a Nobel-prize economist to see what is the end-result of such a race to the bottom for everyone's rights.
If "globalization" means putting human rights and environmental issues below commercial interests, and so far it meant just that, the arguments against it are a heck of a lot more founded than the musings in the published cartoon.
Giorgio Torrieri
Physics postgraduate
Not enough grass on campus
To the editor,
I have been at the university for three full years now, and I would like to comment on the steady decline of grass here. When I started as a freshman in 1997, I fully remember students running every night around the Mall, those great soccer games during the evenings and countless people just laying on the grass enjoying the afternoon sun. But as Likins' administration adds more and more buildings to the university to preserve his name in UA history, it ruins our college experience. Some of the buildings being constructed are important (some even necessary), but why all at once? Our landscape is now just dirt, concrete and bulldozers. It's embarrassing to show people the U of A now (it looks even worse than ASU); it's become an urban school in a rural city.
We now have one place to play football, soccer, frisbee, whatever- by the tennis courts. Sure we have Bear Down Field, but we're charged to play there (don't get me started on that!). We have the small part in front of the student union, or the area by La Paz, but they're too small. And don't even think about the football stadium. So what are we supposed to do?
It's too late for the seniors now-our social-athletic activities are long ruined, but I am glad that I at least had one year to enjoy it. The people I truly feel sorry for are this year's juniors. They never got the chance to experience the pick-up games, never got to run a half-mile from Old Main to Campbell on grass, or most of all, see the beautiful campus that brought them here.
Dan Cushman
Optical engineering senior
Impressed by Tucson
To the editor,
I had an opportunity to visit your campus with the OSU alumni band that played at Saturday night's game with OSU. I learned a lot about U of A and met a number of nice people during my short stay in Tucson. The students I met were both friendly and proud of their university. The non-university related people in the community were accommodating and hospitable. Your campus is beautiful and the facilities are impressive.
Being in the OSU alumni band put us in contact with members of your own band alumni who invited us to join them in some pre-game tailgating festivities. As alums in our own comparable supporting roles, we really appreciate the job they do on behalf of their alma mater and its music program. I hope your university continues to support and appreciate their efforts.
It looks like a lot of good things are happening at U of A and in Tucson.
Tim Tucker
