Response to comic unfounded, illogical
This is in reply to Erik Flesch's letter to the editor on April 9 ("'B-Fish' comic misses mark with Bush joke"). He apparently thinks it is within the confines of reasonable debate to use a comic strip from some Tuesday edition of the Wildcat to attempt to paint the so-called left ("the Democracy Now! Types") as some kind of monolithic entity, apparently led by or represented by Dave Low - the creator of the comic strip in question.
If that isn't weird enough, Mr. Flesch attempts to portray himself as an expert at logic, yet generates a reasonably artistic amalgam of fallacies in doing so.
Mr. Flesch draws a false dilemma from a poisoned well full of straw men. The interpretations of the comic strip that Mr. Flesch offers are that the Democracy Now! types either directly support terrorists, are conspiracy nuts, wish to insult Americans or are antidemocratic at heart.
These are all positions and/or attitudes taken by either no one on the so-called left or by very, very few of them.
Of course, the most important thing to understand is that Dave Low (whoever he is) is not an official spokesman for the so-called left. No one is. So there's no reason to lump a loosely knit group of people into one of his comic strips. The second most important thing to understand is that few (if any) of the Democracy Now! types believe that George W. Bush has captured Osama bin Laden at all. That's the alternative interpretation that Mr. Flesch chose not to consider for some reason.
Patrick Bolger
graduate student in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching
Greeks aren't only ones serving community
I am writing with regards to Elyse Fune's response to Sabrina Noble's column that was featured in Friday's Wildcat. Although it was not stated in her letter, I can only assume from her staunch defense of greek life that she is a member of the so-called greek community. What exactly is greek life? The only things greek about greek life are the letters that signify the title of a certain house, the homoerotic nature of the organization and the occasional toga party. Throughout my collegiate experience, I have listened to members of the greek community state how they selflessly perform great acts of philanthropy in the community. I'm not sure if you greeks are aware of this, but you don't have to be a member of a fraternity or sorority to do great things in the community. There are many people who contribute positively to the university and the community every day and don't demand the attention for their good deeds that those in the greek system do. Using philanthropy to try and justify your organization as a necessary and productive member of the university and the community is a joke. The negative track record of the greek system, both on and off campus, has spoken for itself over the years; you're not fooling anyone with your sisterhood and brotherhood jargon. If you're looking for praise, I would suggest taking the money your parents give you to pay your dues each year and use it to buy a fake ID and more Von Dutch clothing so that you may better fit in with a certain peer group you are so desperately trying to gain acceptance with, and to not pretend that you joined a fraternity or sorority to help the community. Hooray for the freethinking and independent members of the UA community.
John Lepore
history senior
ASUA does good job providing student events
This is in response to Justin Thomas' letter regarding Sarah Calvert, the special events coordinator for the Associated Students of the University of Arizona. First of all, I am very disappointed in Thomas' kamikaze personal attack on Calvert. The figures that were presented in his "opinion" are simply incorrect. There was no loss of $30,000, and the reason that the tickets were discounted or given away for last spring's comedy festival with Andy Dick, Second City and The Charles Darwin Experience at the Rialto Theatre was that the concert scheduled to accompany the comedians fell through. That is all in the past in my view, but I wanted to clarify the facts in contrast to Mr. Thomas' slander. Calvert is an amazing student at the UA. She has done a lot for this campus through ASUA to bring the student body together in fun and new ways, such as the Goldfinger concert in fall 2002 and many film festivals around campus. She works hard at her post in ASUA and does not deserve an uneducated accusation or implication. The main reason for this rebuttal is to make it clear that Second City has been invited to perform at the UA again this spring, but there is no correlation to Calvert beyond her duties as ASUA's special events coordinator. The Charles Darwin Experience is in no way affiliated with the Second City show, which will take place in the ballroom for scheduling reasons. CDE will not be performing with Second City, and the event is strictly for people who love to laugh and learn about improv comedy to come together and enjoy their time. ASUA has always done its best to provide the students of this university places and events that help take some of the stresses off of the academic environment that we are all living in. Calvert holds elected office as the special events coordinator, and Thomas' arsenal of character attacks on Calvert is absolutely ridiculous.
Jonathan Trautmann
theatre arts sophomore
Greeks don't get enough credit for service work
I'm fed up with people like Doug Dusik whining about the greek system. Fraternity men are stereotyped as ignorant, lazy drunks, and sorority women are vacuous party girls. Greeks catch the flak for university-wide problems such as underage drinking and hazing, but don't get any credit for the good they do. Greeks perform service both to the community and to the school, and participate in university events that enhance the culture of the campus. In his letter Wednesday, Mr. Dusik suggested that independents had better get used to greeks because they'll be their "less qualified, less passionate" bosses and trophy wives or soccer moms after graduation. I'm a fraternity member, and I'm here working on a Ph.D. after completing my bachelor's degree in engineering. I know plenty of examples of greek men and women going to graduate, law or medical school. That doesn't strike me as something a lazy, unqualified individual would undertake. You can believe that it's the connections if you want, but the odds of a member of your greek organization being on the say, five- or 10-person admissions committee to a graduate department or law or medical school is exceedingly slim. The fact is, employers and schools want people who can function in a group, have social skills and leadership skills, take active parts in their communities and are dedicated to their organizations. While some people gripe about greeks, the greeks are learning those skills by running their organizations and participating in the university community. Mr. Dusik points out that he has never been a member of a fraternity. Well, Mr. Dusik, if you had, perhaps you would be more informed on the subject and wouldn't form stereotypes based on the few bad apples you've come into contact with. After all, I read your letter and I don't assume all independents are bitter haters who would make even Buc Nasty cringe.
Alex Veneman
chemistry graduate student