Comic offensive
To the editor,
Overall, "Dehydrated Culture" is usually just boring and lame, and a waste of newsprint. But this disgusting piece of crap posing as a comic strip by Joshua Hagler just went completely over the edge on Friday. Frames one and two show presumably well-built young women, "hottie" and "goddess," displaying themselves provocatively. Okay, fine. Then frame three shows a woman whom Hagler has conveniently labeled "knocked up" examining her swollen breasts. As a former and hopefully future pregnant woman, I can't help feeling personally ridiculed by this cartoon, and I am wondering what Hagler's real message is here. If I should happen to say "n-----" am I being amusing or funny? Neither is Mr. Hagler. So she has boobs. So they are swollen. And? I guess I just don't see Mr. Hagler's point. If the intent is to amuse or entertain, then the piece fails miserably.
Or, are we really just taking cheap shots? Are pregnant women on campus now fair game? While we're exercising our First Amendment rights, suppose your balls itch and I hapen to see you scratch them. Should I then draw a comic strip and submit it to the Wildcat so my female pals and I can sit around and chuckle? Hagler is artistically gifted but wastes his talent because of his immaturity and poorly developed sense of discernment regarding his subject matter. This insecure man needs psychotherapy, so the rest of us can be spared from his clumsy attempts to work through his obvious issues with women. And speaking of women, Hagler's fears of us are founded in reality. We are in fact out here lurking around with out breasts and everything. Collectively we have the power to boycott your advertisers. Mr. Erickson, your lack of judgement in printing this little opus is alarming, and an editorial apology is due.
Lisa E. Goldman
UA student
Department not 'pyramid scheme'
To the editor,
Tom Danehy's article, "Ornery Orientation: A Map of Life's Potholes at the University of Arizona," published in the Aug. 31 - Sept. 6 edition of the Tucson Weekly, is not only thoughtless, but his argument that students should "avoid" Mexican American Studies (one of five majors noted), promotes ignorance because it is not grounded in logic and fact.
Danehy's main contention is that the program is useless to students because they will not get jobs after graduating, and may actually drop out of college if they major in Mexican American Studies. He also seems to be targeting Mexican American Studies above any other social science or liberal arts major, for reasons that are unclear. We're not sure whether to laugh at Danehy's attempt at wit or feel angry over his misrepresentation of Mexican American Studies.
We wonder if he would be so dismissive of issues such as undocumented immigration, Gov. Hull's proposed guest worker program, the militarization of the border, poverty, bilingual education, environmental justice, globalization, affirmative action and health and welfare to name just a few of the topics we investigate as scholars and students of Mexican American and comparative ethnic studies. By giving the readers false and misleading information, he damages the reputation of Mexican American Studies, or MAS, not just among students, but also among community persons who are not familiar with our program. The tone of the article necessitates that we provide the Weekly's readers with an accurate description of Mexican American Studies. The courses in the MAS curriculum address social problems affecting all citizens of the United States. It is not just "learning more about one's heritage" but an offering of cutting-edge perspectives on critical issues that transcend ethnic group boundaries. The MAS major allows students to focus either on public policy, public health, business, or cultural history. MAS graduates (majors and minors) have gone on to important professional positions in many fields. In fact, we do not have to "sucker" our students into taking our classes (as Danehy suggests) because they are clear headed about their choice of courses and career goals.
This article is harmful to readers in that it misinforms them about the nature, purpose, and benefits not only of Mexican American Studies, but of several other majors as well. It is harmful to students of the university because they may truly avoid these classes and majors, which may mean that they will have a less fulfilling college experience. Danehy's argument that there are no future opportunities for MAS majors is clearly unfounded, in which case it seems that his motivations are suspect in targeting this particular major. As Danehy does not have an understanding of Mexican American Studies, we welcome him to enroll in one of our courses. See you next semester, Tom!
Scott C. Carvajal, Associate Research Professor, Mexican American Studies & Research Center
11 others affiliated with the Mexican-American Studies Department
