Palm Beach voters incompetent
To the editor,
The complaints coming from Palm Beach seem utterly ridiculous as far as I'm concerned. The election process, which has been hyped up for at least a year now, has given people ample time to figure out whom they want to vote for. All of the advertisements, flyers, pamphlets and letters sent home should give people enough information to make educated guesses on candidates and propositions.
This apparently was the problem people had in Palm Beach. These people seemed unable to fill out a simple ballot. I don't understand it, but maybe I'm just thickheaded. The ballot, which these people seem to be complaining about, was composed differently than in Tucson. It used a punch card system and used arrows pointing to the punch slots from the candidate's name. I guess I'm just brighter than your average voter in Florida, because I think I can manage to use my basic motor skills and match up the correct vote.
Now I can understand people accidentally making mistakes.
It happens, I've bubbled in wrong answers before when taking tests. However, it's is called correcting your mistake. You would think that when making a decision that will affect your life for four years that you would, at least, re-check your ballot for errors. I know that I checked mine about three times before I turned it in. When these people did make mistakes, then they should have asked for a new ballot. I am sure they would have been allowed one. If they weren't allowed new ones, then they have something to complain about, but I find that hard to believe.
I don't think these people deserve a re-vote. If they're not competent enough to fill out a ballot, they're not competent enough to choose our president.
J.P. Benedict
Marketing freshman
Lockdown mislabeled
To the editor,
I am a strong supporter of SAS and all campus-based efforts to educate UA students about social injustice. I take great offense to Mr. Justin Patrick's inappropriate labeling of yesterday's brave lockdown. Mr. Patrick called the peaceful SAS action a "hostage situation." I believe he intentionally used negative wording to create a violent and scary image of SAS. The only "hostage situation" the UA was involved with Thursday, and everyday, is the one SAS compassionately opposes. I am, of course, referring to the millions of people held hostage by American corporations who use and abuse workers for less than cheap labor. Trivializing SAS by claiming "they can boast about their protests" just demonstrates how incredibly ignorant some students are regarding SAS priorities. Mr. Patrick's narrow-minded viewpoint clearly indicates how selfish so many privileged students on this campus can be. I am proud of the few conscious human beings at this school who made such an inspiring effort to truly educate us all! Students Against Sweatshops were not calling the campus community bad people for wearing Nike or Gap. Their actions were in direct response to our administration's willingness to participate in continuous human rights violations, and to lie to you about it! President Likins promised to drop out of the FLA and did not do so. We should all be outraged. Even if you don't care that the children who sew your clothing don't make enough money to eat, you should care when the administration lies to its students. Thank you SAS for a small inconvenience and a huge message!
Karen Middleman
Fine arts sophomore
Letter racist
To the editor,
I am writing in response to the blatant bigotry shown by Matt DeMartini in Friday's (Nov. 10) Wildcat. First of all, I am assuming that he is white, because according to his logic, when no specification is made about someone's race, it is assumed that the person in question is white. So his letter to the Wildcat was obviously biased. The UA campus happens to be situated in a part of town primarily occupied by minorities (Hispanics, Blacks), and to say that when the race of a victim is not mentioned, that the victim is assumed to be white, is a statement of utter ignorance. We're in Southern Arizona and there is not a looming majority of whites here, take a look around! In case you can't grasp the significance of the insignificance of a racial description, here's an example: let's suppose that you get assaulted by a young, Hispanic male with a shaved head, and when the police ask for a description, that's all you can come up with. You'd be summing up hundreds of different people in South Tucson that would fit that description. Race can be a helpful element in describing a suspect, but is worthless on its own. How is the Tucson Police Department supposed to work with that information as it stands? Where would they start to look? To say "race problems are disappearing from society" shows a lack of understanding on your part. Who are you to say that issues of race are fading? How would you know anything about feeling pre-judged based on the color of your skin? It happens all the time here in Tucson, and negative stereotypes only help to reinforce those ignorant views, which in turn fuel negative stereotypes. Oh, and one last thing, before you assume that I'm white, since I have not yet mentioned my race, I'll tell you that I'm a Chicano, I'm brown, and if I were to commit a crime, you'd have a hard time picking me out of a lineup based on the single sole piece of information that you know about me, my race.
Erik Salcido
Electrical engineering freshman
