Divulging location of seminar a bad move

Your front-page story "Nude visitor prompts UAPD to guard philosophy class" was poorly conceived by the author, and apparently not edited for its basic message. Holly Wells reports that the class in question was moved as a result of a student's threatening actions. However, in the third paragraph of the story, we are provided with the new location of the class and its meeting time. Good move! As I understand it, the class has again been relocated. I think you owe an apology to the instructor and students, and should, in the future, show more responsibility in what you print when security is clearly an issue.

Susan Ouimette
Eller College of Business and Public Administration academic adviser

ASUA gave up student section at b-ball games

This letter is in response to Sabrina Noble's witty banter regarding the "student ticket" situation here on campus.

A look into the recent history (20 years) of student seating at men's basketball games will show that the problem did not start with the alumni, ticket office, athletic department or expensive concession stands.

The problem began in the late 1980s when the Associated Students of the University of Arizona was given the opportunity to have the "prime" seating at McKale Center. These were the lucrative seats that students are seen in at such schools as Duke, Oregon, Oregon St., etc. Student government took the seats for a season, then gave them back to the athletic department to sell. Imagine that - not enough students to fill up a student section at McKale Center. The next season, Lute Olson was hired as head coach. The following season, tickets were sold out, and have been ever since.

Why should the alumni and community be so hated? Why not? They practically stole those seats from the students, who so desperately wanted them.

It is unfortunate that students are not able to get the best seats in McKale Center. In an ideal situation, those tickets along the side of the court would be filled by loud, rowdy and obnoxious students.

A message to the diehard UA fan: There are plenty of sports that support and encourage an obnoxious and raucous crowd. The football season begins in August, and student tickets are $40. That will get you into every sports event on campus. If you are a diehard fan as so many letters and commentaries have confirmed, then come together and "pack the house." If you are a fan, then I'll see you there.

Nicholas Duddleston
UA alumnus

Gay marriage should be embraced by faithful

I serve as the Lutheran campus pastor at the UA, working in ministry with students, faculty and staff. I'm sent here by local, regional and national Lutheran Christian supporters who care deeply about college students and university life.

As a Christian, happily married, privileged to be a parent and ordained as a pastor for 20-plus years, my own thinking regarding same-gender marriage has changed. The bottom line for me is this: I pray for the day when lesbians, gays bisexuals and transgendered people, like heterosexual people, will be able to feel welcomed into fullness of life and fullness of ministry.

"Fullness of life" means that LGBT people will be able to work and live safely and productively. It also means that if they choose, they will be able to look forward to finding a mate to cherish and share their lives with, with all the depth and commitment that the best of heterosexual marriage offers. Yes, that includes, among so many other things, the joys and responsibilities of sexual intimacy.

"Fullness of ministry" means that LGBT people who feel called by God to serve in Christian ministry, and who have completed college and seminary education and fulfilled all other requirements, will know that their gifts are eagerly sought, that indeed the church has been deprived of them for too long (centuries) and that there is a place at the table for who they are, as well as their mate.

My tradition takes the Bible seriously. Because of that, my own ongoing reading is that Scripture is inconclusive at best on the topic of same-sex love and commitment. Further, each of the relatively scant biblical passages normally cited to marginalize LGBT people actually raises more questions to people who really wrestle, than it provides us with answers. I don't speak for everyone in our campus ministry group to be sure. Certainly, there are various ways to frame the issues involved, and many conclusions can be drawn. I hope sharing my views will be helpful to people who agree and disagree. But what is most important to me is that real people are involved. For too long, culture and even religious communities (like my own church) have heaped derision and unkind renderings upon some very caring, beautiful, giving, gifted, faithful, normal and needed people. Ron Rude
pastor, UA Lutheran Campus Ministry

Okin hits the mark in President Bush column

I would just like to say that I agree tenfold with what Aaron Okin said in his opinion column on Feb. 11. President Bush has become the scapegoat for every problem in the country. My own dad lost his job from Qwest just more than a year ago, yet I stand behind Bush and what he has done. He inherited an already downward-sloping economy and a rising unemployment rate when he was sworn into office. Before his first year in office was over, the United States suffered an attack like no other in our long history. An attack, not on military personnel who signed up to protect the liberty of this country and risk life and limb doing it, but on businessmen and businesswomen going to and from work on Sept. 11, 2001. The whole country applauded his attack on terror and backed finding the person (or persons) responsible for the attack. How the tables have turned three years later.

I will admit that President Bush is not the best president in the history of the United States, but he is not directly responsible for everything wrong in everyone's life. I would have liked to see what someone else would have done in his situation. He acted correctly and I support him, even if I am the only one. If you want to blame someone for the fallen economy - which led to the loss of jobs across the country - point the finger at the terrorists who sent the country into a downward spiral until President Bush took actions to stop them.

Christopher Domschke
communication freshman

Poor whites deserve equal treatment

The color of my skin does not bring me shame. My ancestors do not bring me shame. My ancestors did not own slaves or force Native Americans off their land. They worked hard to advance their lives as well as the lives of their families. My great-grandparents worked extremely hard to earn enough money to come to the United States from Europe. They came to the United States not to suppress minorities, but to work hard to provide a better life for their family members. Not a single one of my ancestors ever did anything defined by the ignorant ideology described in Brett Berry's column. However, because of the color of my skin, I am told to be ashamed. If Berry is guilty because of his ancestry, that's his problem, not mine.

Nevertheless, the problem facing legal citizens of the lower class is a tough one. I support scholarships for those who cannot afford to pay for school. However, there should be no race requirement, because everyone living in a poor neighborhood experiences mistreatment. By the financial requirement of such a system, the minorities described by Berry would benefit in the same way. However, anyone from a poor family, regardless of the color of his or her skin, would receive help, which would outrage Berry because every poor Caucasian has repressed minorities in some way, shape or form.

Berry's column stereotyped over 210 million Americans as descendants of racists and slave owners. I don't know if Berry's ancestors were slave owners, but mine were poor immigrants looking for a better life. My parents drove out to Tucson 30 years ago with everything they owned in a VW bug. They worked hard to provide a better life for my brother and me. Because of their hard work, I do not need a scholarship to attend the UA, and I do not ask for one.

Nathan Rothkopf
mechanical engineering senior

Misrepresentations in abortion letter

In a recent letter to the editor, Philip Buster stated several misnomers pertaining to "partial-birth abortions" and abortions in general. First of all, "partial-birth abortion" is a term used by politicians, not physicians, for a rare abortion procedure known as "dilation and extraction." Though President Bush signed a bill that bans this procedure, dilation and extraction procedures (that were performed prior to being banned) took place in the early second trimester (the fourth to fifth month) of a pregnancy. So, Mr. Buster's comment on rape victims - "Why didn't she (have an abortion) eight months ago?" - represents one of his misunderstandings of the procedure.

Secondly, Mr. Buster reports that having an abortion "often leads to depression." If you are going to provide your readers with a cause-and-effect relationship (such as abortion causes depression), you should enlighten your readers as to where you obtained this information. Could an unwanted pregnancy cause depression? I can imagine that a woman facing this decision could experience a gamut of emotions, but I would never state that there is a direct correlation between abortion and depression without ample support and study.

Thirdly, Mr. Buster uses terms like "children" and "babies" as if "children" and "babies" were synonymous terms for "fetus." Though "child," "baby" and "fetus" are all terms that describe different stages of development, you cannot use all of these terms interchangeably. We use language to convey messages and fabricate ideas. If we use language improperly, what messages are we sending?

Mr. Buster, you have the "personal liberty" to debate when life begins and whether or not abortions of any type should be legal. However, stating political fiction as scientific fact and abusing language can cause confusion, misunderstanding and ignorance. According to "By the Waters of Babylon," "knowledge without wisdom will lead to destruction." If our knowledge is based on false premises, how can we ever obtain understanding? Without understanding, how can we avoid disillusion, bigotry and hate?

Peter Slavish
chemistry graduate student

Marriage law is unconstitutional

On Tuesday, as I watched President Bush announce his support of an amendment to the Constitution to ban gay marriage, I forgot for a brief moment what country I lived in. Is this not the great nation that stated, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal?" Is it not these words that are the fundamental platform on which this amazing civilization was built? Is it not those profound words that have made the United States of America one of the greatest countries in the world? My question to President Bush and all who support such an amendment is this: Do you really want to live in a country that is hypocritical with regard to the most important words ever written in a government document? I know I do not, and should such an amendment become law, I invite you all to visit me in Canada.

Jay Arnett
art history senior