Friday August 24, 2001 |

Give Christians a break

Dear Cory,

Michael Medved is no doubt a conservative, however, he is a conservative member of the Jewish faith (see: www.michaelmedved.com/bio.htm), not a "right-wing Christian" as your opinion piece implied.

Give Christians a break Cory, just because some of us read William F. Buckley, Charles Colson or Michael Medved's writing doesn't mean we're closed minded. I'd like to suppose that some of us are thoughtful about the important issues in life. I don't always agree with what I read from conservatives or liberals, but I want to hear what both sides have to say, even if I have an inclination to agree with one side more than the other. A writer's opinion piece can be unnecessarily inflammatory and it can be not completely in agreement with the facts, but if we got rid of every writer who fit these criteria, we'd have a lot more ads on the editorial page of most major newspapers.

For the record: I have not had an opportunity to read the specific Medved piece you mention, so I won't quibble with the specifics of your commentary, nor do I plan to "defend" Mr. Medved.

In closing, I would like to say that as a Christian, I grieve over what happened to Matthew Shepard. Mr. Shepard's brutal murder and those of others who have been singled out for what they believe or who they are, are deplorable acts of violence. Please note that in other parts of the world Christians are singled out and murdered for their beliefs as well.

Douglas Cromey

principal research specialist

cell biology & anatomy

IFC ad hints at homogeneity

Flipping through a recent Wildcat I came across an advertisement for Fraternity Rush put out by the Interfraternity Council. I was immediately struck by the four white-guy clones, similarly coifed and dressed, prominently posed in the ad. Small print indicates that it is the IFC Executive Board, but an undeniable impression is made that these barely distinguishable men have the "look" that fraternities want, which only affirms my suspicions that these organizations are exclusionary and elitist.

I pity these people that have to pay for their companionship with like-minded individuals and go to such lengths to separate themselves from anyone that is different. Yet that is little concern to me personally until I take a class with a high Greek population so that it has to be dumbed down for everyone to maintain that all important C average.

Will anyone else admit that the high proportions of the Greek population at the U of A is a scourge to this so-called "learning institution?" Of course there are plenty of unique, smart, and hard-working fraternity members, but why do you all try so hard to look and behave like each other?

Because of all your well-connected buddies in the "real" world many of you will be leaders in business and politics in the future and I, for one, would like someone who is intelligent and open-minded -- someone decidedly unlike your brother, the dim-witted G.W. Bush.

David Ellis

English Senior

Spiller column off base

Other than making sure that we understand that Cory Spiller does not like

Michael Medved's article, what point is served by a drawn out minor statistical quibble?

Spiller concedes Medved's essential points. Medved says that five-year-old children do not have a sexual orientation.

Spiller says: "Of course he's right." He argues the statistics and then says the

commonplace.

Some kids are bullies and call others names.

The names include ones the bullies do not understand given the ages of the bully and the bullied.

Spiller then completes the undermining of his own point by implying that Michael Medved is part of the Christian right. "It reaffirms the fact that the Christian right uses dogmatic arguments to criticize and attack progressive elements of our society." Medved is not a Christian and therefore not part of the Christian right.

Alan Lee