Police do little but harass citizens, should stop crime

No wonder our city has such problems with crime ÷ TPD's Captain Leavitt actually thinks that breaking up parties and arresting underage drinkers will stop the fact that "people are being raped, beaten and killed." If that is the case, then maybe we should just outlaw alcohol altogether. Oh wait, they already tried that. · The last rape I remember hearing about was either in a parking garage in the middle of the day or in a prison surrounded by police. The last assault was by a university police officer that shoved a 5-foot-3 girl who was standing on the sidewalk and then proceeded to arrest her. The last murder I remember was by police in Mesa, who successfully stopped a suicide with a homicide, shooting a 15-year-old who was surrendering 10 times. Seems to me that we have much bigger problems than underage drinkers; don't you think?

This is merely a way for them to seem like they're fighting more sinister crimes, when in actuality they are merely harassing the citizens. D.A.R.E.'s own research has shown that it doesn't stop illegal drug use and the TPD thinks that a few tickets are gonna stop a state-sanctioned drug? Did they not see the kid who has four tickets and will continue drinking no matter how many he gets? It was in the paper, for crying out loud.

As for the residents: The university has been here for about 120 years. Anyone living around here (and most of Tucson, for that matter) knows that students live here, and were there long before they arrived. If it's a Friday or Saturday night, deal with it. That doesn't mean that students shouldn't have an open line of communication where they warn their neighbors about parties and, in exchange, neighbors come over and ask them to be a little quieter at least once before calling the cops.

Mike Sousa
art education senior

Changing flight patterns doesn't make much sense

Other than the statement that many planes fly overhead daily, Jessica Lee's column has little basis in fact. She mentions that these "war machines" dominate our sky and the "sound of combat" is perpetually bothering UA students. The sound of combat is not the sound of a jet engine. Combat noises are missiles being dropped, buildings being blown up and people screaming. Lee also states that the first time a student witnesses a plane flying overhead he or she is scared. In my three years at this university, I've never seen anyone cowering in terror or running away from the union in fear because a jet went overhead.

People are used to it, and the only thing it reminds them of is that our campus is in close proximity to a prominent air force base. Lee severely reprimands both Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the Department of Defense for letting such a thing happen and for not changing the flight patterns when two women tragically lost their lives. The runway at D-M is pointed in a certain way because of the direction of the wind, and planes can't take off in any other direction. It is improbable for the planes to take off and then immediately change their flight pattern so they don't go over the UA. If they went to the north, they would run into the mountains, and if they went south, they would infringe on Tucson International Airport's air space. The people who designed the air force base and the runway did so in a way that would create the least impact on the community. Someone in Tucson was going to be irritated by the noise, so we should just deal with it. Can we hear the planes in our classrooms? Yes. However, I would say the noise of the planes is less irritating than cell phones going off or people talking in class. The only solution is to move the location of the runway and subsequently the location of D-M, and that is just impractical.

The planes flying overhead don't remind me that we are at war in Iraq because there are planes flying over us even in peacetime. Furthermore, the person responsible for that war is our president, not the men and women who work at Davis-Monthan to protect you and me and the rest of our country. I think we should be proud of the work they do at D-M and deal with the noise, which I would call minimal at best. As the daughter of a colonel and someone who knows the pilot who crashed in 1978 personally, I find this column offensive and unrealistic. Next time Jessica Lee should check her facts and spare the rest of us from her deluded views about these "war machines" and their repercussions.

Laura Tarris
art history senior

Studies show a genetic basis for homosexuality

Recent letters have been written stating that there is no evidence for a genetic basis for homosexuality.

The population is roughly 10 percent homosexual. However, nearly 25 percent of the brothers and 52 percent of the identical twins of homosexuals are themselves gay. This is compared to only 11 percent of adopted brothers (Pillard et al. 1981,1982 & Barley & Pillard 1991). As you can see, the more closely related genetically you are to a homosexual, the more likely it is that you will be homosexual yourself. Given these studies, one must acknowledge the existence of a genetic factor for homosexuality.

The fact that there is only a 50 percent correlation between identical twins also means that there are social factors that help or hinder the expression of the genetic predisposition for homosexuality. This does not mean that a weak or missing father figure causes gay children. Many studies (Bell et al., 1981; Blancher & Zucker ,1994; and Freud 1922, to name a few) were unable to establish any such social relations. Since it is unknown what social experiences cause the expression of homosexual genes, it cannot be prevented.

Since there is a genetic factor in homosexuality, and it is not preventable, let's look at attempts to "cure" gays. Many terrible types of aversion therapy were used to try to change the sexual orientation of gay persons. These studies uniformly had little to no success. For example, the Exodus International experiments (1978) claimed a success rate of 71.6 percent. Follow up research showed that only two out of 800 made the conversion.

So, let's review: Homosexuality has a genetic basis. You cannot prevent homosexuality. You cannot "cure" homosexuals. I only see one logical option: tolerance.

Reuben Goodman
psychology senior

Sound of airplanes should inspire pride, not fear

Ms. Lee stated that the presence of Air Force jets overhead makes the UA feel like a war zone. It has completely the opposite effect on me. A sense of pride for my country comes over me when I hear those birds of thunder flying up above. I also enjoy the safety that I feel knowing that there are men and women dedicated to and training for the defense of the freedoms that I dearly love.

One of those freedoms is the one Ms. Lee exercised by publicly expressing her opinion and knowing that she would not be at risk of retaliation from those who give their lives to defend that freedom. It is my opinion that we should show gratitude to the soldiers at Davis-Monthan and support them by allowing them to use our air space as they need. Anything less would be showing ingratitude for their great service and sacrifice for our country.

Until the base ends over-campus flights (hopefully never), military aircraft flying over campus should be taken as a daily reminder that freedom has a price and sometimes those who are unwilling to pay that price have to be inconvenienced by those who are so that in the time of need there will be someone ready to defend us. God bless America and protect our troops.

Benjamin Howe
computer science senior

Moral 'truths' don't exist; only personal beliefs do

It seems as though many people are getting their panties in a bunch about the issues of racism in comic strips and homosexuality within religious contexts. I would just like to point out that a great deal of the back and forth arguments are essentially feckless. We all should realize that everyone comes from different backgrounds ÷ whether they are ethnic, religious or economic.

Therefore, our opinions on certain matters such as racism and homosexuality will be shaped by our experiences growing and living within that particular environment.

The simple fact is that no single person, regardless of intellect or social status, can know whatever is absolutely right or absolutely wrong on any issue. A "truth" to one person is only a "truth" because they believe it to be that way. Furthermore, one of the most difficult things to do in life is change someone's mind.

So instead of bickering and fighting about who is right and what the Bible says about this issue and that issue, we should use our opinions as an avenue on which to understand each other better instead of simply reading what someone else writes and quickly retorting with our personal views, prejudices and beliefs. However, all of the above is simply my opinion, based on my beliefs and past personal experiences. So I guess I have to say that I am probably full of it too.

John Malek-Ahmadi
sociology junior