Firearms not only weapons used for crime

If a firearm is indeed as useless a defensive weapon as professor Fregosi would have us believe, perhaps he'd care to explain why the police still feel a need to carry one. Or why those states that have passed laws to allow citizens to carry defensive firearms have experienced marked decreases in violent crime as a result. It must be tough for him to keep clinging to an emotion-based belief system that is consistently refuted by the actual facts ÷ such as his assertion that murder would all but disappear without firearms, when the FBI's own statistics show that a full third of all murders in this country are committed with non-firearm weapons, with murder totals higher in the cities with the toughest gun control laws. How many people died on Sept. 11 because of a few murderers wielding little box cutters? The most airtight "gun ban" in the country (on commercial aircraft) didn't seem to stop them. How many lives would have been saved if there were just one person with a defensive firearm on any of those aircraft? Tim Belshe's article placed all of the blame on the behavior of the killer, simply because that is where the blame rightfully belongs.

One final thought ÷ the UA "weapons free" policy was in full force the day a Nursing College student decided to ignore it and become a murderer; it was in full force during every on-campus forcible rape, robbery and violent assault that has occurred since its inception. How exactly are we being protected by it?

Scott Benjamin
optical sciences senior staff technician

White House not only goal of Nader campaign

Once again, Aaron Okin demonstrates his complete lack of understanding in his column, "Nader's Tragic Bid." His argument stems from the conclusion that the only purpose for Nader running is to win the White House. Nader is perhaps the furthest thing from a politician and probably has no political future, but Okin misses the point entirely. Winning isn't always everything. Maybe Nader's bid isn't about the presidency, but more about trying to affect change in a political system through challenging the establishment. The political parties should stop whining and crying about candidates like Nader and instead focus on the real problems that face the country. Maybe people like Okin should open their eyes and stop being so narrow-minded.

Neal Hall
biochemistry senior

Stoudamire, Cats not out of the picture yet

I always believed that in order to become a sports columnist, you have to have some actual knowledge of sports. Shane Dale's column about Salim Stoudamire was a stunning display of a lack of any kind of sports knowledge. One, nobody except the players and coaches involved know exactly what happened to lead to Salim's suspension. So who are you to judge his punishment? Two, anyone who actually watches UA basketball knows that when Salim is on, the Cats are nearly unbeatable. As thin as the Wildcats are this season, you can see that when Salim is playing well, everyone else plays well. Three, Mr. Dale acted as if the season is basically over. Anyone who has actually watched college basketball knows that anyone can win come March. In fact, I believe the Cats could be one of the most dangerous five, six or seven seeds in tournament history. Four, the most glaring example of Mr. Dale's ignorance was his belief that we would be costing Salim millions of dollars in the NBA. Anyone who knows the NBA knows that a player can only receive a three-year million-dollar contract if he is drafted by a lottery team. Six-foot off guards are not lottery picks. I am not defending Stoudamire's actions, but I trust a basketball Hall of Famer to make judgments, rather than an editorial writer who doesn't truly know what he is talking about. I would think the Wildcat would do a better job of providing us with a sports columnist who actually knows what he is talking about.

Lucas Doub
communication junior

Government shouldn't control nation's firearms

This is a response to professor Fregosi's letter regarding the need for gun control in America. How quickly nations forget the power of guns and the strength they provide to the citizens that own them. If you remember back to WWII, one of Nazi Germany's first moves was to collect all the weapons from its citizens, preventing any public retaliation. The fact is, there are currently three groups of gun owners in America, and when you eliminate the right to own a firearm, you narrow those groups down to two ÷ criminals and the government. The only people left out of this scenario are the good standing citizens of the country, powerless to defend themselves. Criminals are not going to care about gun laws if they intend to murder someone, and the government, well, I wouldn't even want them to dream about a powerless country.

Phillip Buster
aerospace engineering freshman

Campus Magazine lacks any useful substance

Flipping through the pages of this month's Campus Magazine, I read all the ads for where to shop, live and go. I laughed at the cover girl who substituted the traditional pouty, sexy pose for a pissed-off expression in every picture. Is it just me, or is Campus Magazine a complete waste of paper? The magazine lacks any sort of substance whatsoever, and only covers where people are drinking, who is hooking up with who, who designed their clothes and what they should expect after a nose or boob job. Of course young adults don't want to read stuffy literature, but there is also a difference between fun reads with age-appropriate topics and complete garbage. Not all of us are interested in how much "L.A. style girl" Brooke Wolfe's outfit costs (and why she is wearing almost $3,000 of clothes to class is beyond me). While a miniscule amount of the magazine does actually focus on what truly represents the majority of our campus, the rest of it makes students sound like snobby party kids more concerned with spending daddy's money than getting an education.

Kate Schoenwald-Oberbeck
psychology sophomore