Using sex to garner votes for Nov. election appalling

I am appalled at the Arizona Daily Wildcat's poor discretion for publishing the article Sept. 20 entitled "'Votergasm' group wants students to vote, then have sex."

I understand that currently both candidates are extremely close in the polls, and that our generation has the opportunity to determine this election. But using sex to promote voting? I believe this is going too far.

First of all, this idea of making it "easy to vote and easy to have sex afterwards" is downright dangerous in the age of STDs.

Also, whatever happened to sex being preserved for those who are in committed relationships?

Finally, in my opinion, those whose only motivation to go vote on Nov. 2 is convenient sex most likely are not going to be making an informed decision.

Amy Hewitt
undecided freshman

Multicultural centers serve as refuge for UA students

This is in response to Dylan Boswell's ridiculous attack on UA multi-cultural centers in his letter to the editor printed Tuesday.

It is easy for an individual to make those types of statements when speaking from race and (presumably) class privilege. It is an insult to someone of color who had to fight tooth and nail to make it to the UA, and lucky to find refuge in one of the many multicultural centers on campus, refuge from the type of reactionary statements and attitudes such as the ones found in Boswell's letter and around this campus.

In these centers, we can find peers with common cultural and class backgrounds, apprehensions and dreams, etc. We know where each other came from and the sacrifices made as individuals and by our families to get to this point. We need each other. We feed off each other until graduation and beyond. Many of us are here as pioneers representing generations and generations who were kept from higher education, kept out by racial inequalities that, Boswell would argue, do not exist today.

Boswell should focus his efforts on indicting fraternities and sororities rooted in institutional and cultural exclusion based on overt and covert class separatism and racism. This would be a greater contribution to the UA.

In closing, I would like to express my disgust in regards to a tactic used by reactionaries throughout this campus, but more specifically through the letters found in these pages of the Daily Wildcat semester in and out.

It is such a disgusting and abhorrent act when civil and human rights leaders are invoked by name and by their words to support backward ideals that fundamentally contradict the missions and work of those great people. Quote someone who actually supports your argument like David Duke, Michael Savage or Joe Sweeney.

Octavio Fuentes
alumnus

ASUA not responsible for bringing Kennedy to UA

This letter is in response to Garrett O'Hara's letter in Tuesday's Wildcat complaining about the slant of speakers this fall on campus. Please note that neither Sen. Kennedy's nor Amy Goodman's talk was organized by ASUA; they were organized by the law school and local radio station KXCI, respectively.

Furthermore, this is the first time that I can recall (and I have been on this campus for over ten years) that ASUA has sponsored a talk by someone considered to be "on the left." Kudos to ASUA.

Rachel Wilson
second year law student

Religious intolerance masked as school spirit

At the UA football game against Utah a couple of weeks ago, I was shocked to hear the crowd chanting, "F*** the Mormons!" over and over. Around me, some students were asked to stop the chant because there were Mormons in the crowd who were proud to be Wildcats. The crowd reverted to other chants initially, but eventually it came back to the Mormon taunting.

Well, I guess that is showing school spirit by taunting the opposing team. That is a somewhat acceptable justification for the obnoxious behavior of the crowd. But then, at the game against Washington not long ago, I heard a UA student a row or two behind me say, "Aren't there Mormons in Washington? " He started the "F*** the Mormons!" chant but it didn't get picked up by the rest of the crowd, and I did not hear it for the rest of that game.

That UA student was looking for an excuse to taunt Mormons. The chant against Mormons, I then realized, was not for the taunting of Utah as the opposing team, but for the taunting of Mormons as a religion.

I didn't expect to find religious bigotry here at a school that is considered to be a diverse campus that celebrates many different cultures. A chant would never occur that insulted Catholics or Jews. Insulting Judaism is anti-Semitic, a term closely associated with racism, intolerance and hate. So why is insulting Mormons any different than insulting Jews?

It shouldn't be, but there it was, acceptable, right in front of me: religious intolerance at a university football game at a culturally diverse school. Maybe this religious bias was just a side effect of the inebriated crowd, but then again, maybe it wasn't.

I would hope that as a campus, we can move past these types of revolting incidents and accept people for who they are, no matter their religious convictions. And as a side note, to answer that fan's question about whether or not there are Mormons in Washington: The answer is yes, there are Mormons in Washington, but not as many as there are in Arizona.

Jana Olsen
library science graduate student

PETA misses the point that 'animals are so delicious'

Heather Moore and other PETA militants miss an important point - animals are so delicious.

Chickens' eggs taste good, beef brisket tastes better, and pork ribs taste best of all. Take a look at your teeth. Do you think that through millions of years of evolution we were left with canines to tear through lettuce? Hell no! Our teeth are made to rip through tasty, bloody flesh. This is why our teeth more closely resemble dogs' than cows'.

If Ms. Moore can find a more efficient and economical way to kill our dinner, I'm sure processing plants will listen. But, as is the case with most liberal organizations, it's much easier to bitch than to propose a viable solution.

People need to focus not on how these animals are slaughtered but what happens to them after death. No one wants to see an animal die in vain, and thus it is critical to honor their memory through proper cooking techniques. To find out how to help chicken and their barnyard counterparts taste great, please visit www.thesmokering.com.

Brian Danker
alumnus

Moore's price tag is the problem, not his invite

In Ela Cudilo's intriguing argument in yesterday's paper, she left out one big part of the problem.

Yes, she is correct in stating that neither Ted Kennedy nor Amy Goodman was sponsored by ASUA.

Yes, she is correct in stating that ASUA did not only bring in liberal speakers, since they are also sponsoring Dave Hardy, author of the book, "Michael Moore is a Big, Fat, Stupid White Man."

Unfortunately she left out the huge price tag of bringing Moore to our campus ($27,000) and the lack thereof for Hardy ($0). Then again, leaving out crucial facts is all part of Michael Moore's agenda, so it makes sense why she would defend him.

Perhaps ASUA could spend their money more wisely next time they bring political speakers to our school. Perhaps equal pay to each side would be a start.

John Brody
electrical engineering junior

Holding finals on Saturday is a form of anti-Semitism

I for one am glad that the finals option receiving the most attention is the shortening of passing periods. I appreciate Dead Day as much as the next student.

But there is a reason why the option of having finals on Saturday is a terrible one, and it has nothing to do with preserving an extra night of partying. It has to do with Judaism.

As you may or may not be aware, Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath, and most Jews refrain from doing work on Saturday. Now, I may be wrong, but finals certainly classify as "work" to me.

Think about it - would anyone ever even consider having finals on Sunday? Of course not. The idea would be considered humorous, if not blasphemous. In my opinion, not showing the Jewish Sabbath the same respect as the Christian one is a subversive form of anti-Semitism.

Now, what did we tear down that wall for?

Jennifer Picard
creative writing sophomore

Find a basketball ticket solution that is fair to all

Well, after six years of reading September and October letters about the unfairness of the men's basketball ticket lottery, I've got the solution. I propose a lottery that gives preference to students with the initiative to sign up and that takes seniority into account.

All students who purchase a Zona Zoo card can be entered in the lower level drawing, however, they must go and sign up for it at a separate time and place. All other Zona Zoo members will automatically be entered in the upper level drawing. Seniority would be taken into consideration with a weighted lottery.

Seniors would get eight entries, juniors six, sophomores four, and freshmen two. Graduate and professional students should get five.

All right, I hope someone at the athletics office is reading this; if nothing else, it could save me the hassle of reading another letter from a pissed-off upperclassman.

Chris Stevens
second year medical student

Bachelor contestant a nice guy, says NAU student

I am a student at NAU, and I have known your bachelor survivor contestant Greg Cummings since we were 5 years old. We graduated together in 2001. He and I are still the best of friends, and if I would like to say a little about Greg's character. He is one of the nicest, most honest people that I have ever met. He has good morals, he stands up for what he believes in, and he is nice to everyone.

Now I noticed that his vote count was not at the top, but I was nonetheless surprised to see how high it was. In my opinion, Greg should win the contest by a landslide because after reading the other candidates' answers, I was disgusted with their blatant superficiality.

I believe that if Greg does not win the competition that will reflect poorly upon your student body since the other candidates are obviously saying what they say because they think that is what people want to hear.

I know Greg better than every student on your campus, save one, and I know that he is being genuine. If Greg is voted off we will know where the heart of your student body lies: in the gutter.

Sven McNeil
NAU student

Set up cameras to prevent bicycle thefts on campus

I have read over the past years of how bicycles have been stolen from bike racks all over the campus.

I believe I have a simple solution. Why not set up video cameras on the larger bike rack areas, and at least the person committing the theft might be identifiable. It also might act as a deterrent to future thefts.

Murray E. Leimsieder
special education and rehabilitation counseling graduate student