Need isn't determined by race

Regarding yesterday's letter (from Jared Hautamaki) "Targeted scholarships not discriminatory:" Please check your dictionary, Hautamaki: Preferring one person to another according to a category (minority) rather than individual merit is the very definition of "discrimination." Under the match-the-state-population scheme, a Hispanic kid from Scottsdale is considered more needy than a black kid from Mammoth. A white kid from Sunnyside High School is somehow in better shape than a Hispanic kid from Catalina Foothills High School. On a national scale, a Hispanic kid from La Jolla, Calif., is considered to be at a greater disadvantage than a black kid from the coalfields of Appalachia. It's absurd. Believe it or not, poverty and "need" aren't constrained by race. Why not target a few poor Appalachian white kids - they'd add just as much diversity as an equal number of Mesa-born Hispanic kids.

Christopher Haney
Environmental science graduate student

Affirmative action demonstrates racism

I feel obligated to add my perspective to the debate over affirmative action that seems to be occurring in the Mailbag, particularly after Jared Hautamaki's letter yesterday. First off, I don't understand how anyone with a functioning cerebrum can look at a policy that favors one race over another and call it anything other than racism. That much seems obvious.

But what most people don't seem to grasp is that the racism is not just against Caucasians who get passed over in favor of less-qualified minorities for scholarships and admissions, but also against the very ethnic groups who receive the preferential treatment. What are we, as a society, telling Hispanics and blacks when we decide that these groups need an extra hand up to meet the same qualifications as Caucasian applicants? And doesn't it imply a certain assumption of white superiority to say "We're going to penalize the Caucasians, but don't worry; they'll be fine. It's the African Americans and Hispanics who really need our help?" That, to me, at least, is a racist assumption, yet it is one that seems to remain unchallenged throughout our society. And therein lie the biggest problem with "targeted scholarships" and "affirmative action:" Even as these programs seek to bring equality, in reality, they only make the racial lines more clear. Most Americans, given the chance, just want to ignore race and live colorblind, so to speak. If only the liberal activists would let us.

Graham Newnum
Pre-business freshman

Parents should teach children English

This letter is in response to yesterday's letter from David Martinez III, "Napolitano looking out for Arizonans." My first question is: Why, Governor Napolitano? Why are you listening to some doofus in a black robe and some ambulance-chasing lawyer who say that I, the taxpayer, have to pay for some illegal (not migrant) to learn to speak English? Am I the only one out here that thinks this is seriously screwed up? Over the past couple of days, I have seen how Napolitano has vetoed the last two bills on this. OK. She is the governor and has that right. However, why isn't anybody standing up and saying, "Why are we even doing this?"

As far as a solution, it is teachers' and parents' jobs to teach children in this country how to speak English (since it is our only official language). If the basics can't be taught by, oh, let's say age 4, then the blame of not having an English-speaking child and the cost of fixing the problem should be placed on the parents of that child. I firmly believe that parents are responsible for preparing children for the rest of their lives in society. Teachers are there to assist in this process.

Joel King
UA alumnus

Bernsen should resign post

Cade Bernsen should resign! All students who feel the same way: Please take a moment to write a letter to the Arizona Daily Wildcat. Let's see if we can put some direct student pressure on this man who has abused our trust. And, if Tom DeLay and President Bush aren't enough proof, this "Cade" episode proves that all Texans should be banned from politics outside of Texas.

Jeff Gawad
Hydrology and water resources senior

Help Reid Park elephants move to sanctuary

Please help the two Tucson elephants move to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. They deserve a decent, happy life as much as Tucson Parks and Recreation Department Administrator Susan Basford does. If she visited the Elephant Sanctuary Web site and truly cared about these two elephants, they would be on their way.

Katrina Yurenka
Jaffrey, N.H.