Iraqi elections show progress, achievement

After the success of the Iraqi election this weekend, people who stand against our presence in Iraq need to seriously re-think their position. This is a momentous achievement that will benefit the Iraqi people and the American government for decades to come. With a strong ally in the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy will advance and terrorist nations will be weakened. History was made these past few days, days that should be celebrated by all Americans.

Mike Dickerson
mechanical engineering sophomore

Ban one, ban all un-American institutions

I totally agree with Mr. Kunzelmann's assertions that this country should be thoroughly Americanized. However, I think he only scratched the surface by suggesting that Cinco de Mayo should be banned. So, for the sake of being consistent and American, we should also ban any celebrations of St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, Christmas, Passover, Chinese New Year and any other un-American festivities. We should also raze all the Chinatowns, Little Italys and any other neighborhoods that reek of un-Americanism. Furthermore, we should also ban every invention and innovation that we currently use that was made in another country, such as automobiles, guns, compasses, maps and clothing. We can also ban ideas from other countries as well, like Christianity, mathematics and the concept of bartering. This raises a concern because technically the language that most of us speak, English, is an import. To rectify this problem, we can invent a language where we communicate through burps and teethclicks.

P.S. Would you please change your name, Mr. Kunzelmann? It sounds too foreign.

Ben Prusak
media arts junior

Students need to know where tuition goes

Thursday's edition of the Wildcat contained an article describing the likelihood of yet another tuition increase. After reading the article, I was somewhat appalled and my immediate thought was, "Why?" According to UA President Peter Likins, who was quoted in the article, tuition money is not used (primarily) to "operate the university" (Only 5 percent of in-state and 10 percent of out-of-state tuition is used for this purpose). If this is true, then what on earth are we paying for when we fork over $8,000 a year to the school? I suppose what I am really wondering is what exactly is meant by "university operations." Does that constitute paying employees of the various shops and restaurants within the student unions? Or does "university operations" refer more to the construction of such buildings as dorms and the new chemistry building? Are we paying professors? Are we contributing to the ridiculously inflated salaries of college deans (e.g. the $400,000 salary of the newly hired dean of the Eller College of Management)? I suppose that I may be coming across as bitter, but I imagine that a lot of students are ignorant to where tuition money goes as well. I just don't understand why we as students need to be paying more money to fund events and projects that we are not even aware of, if that is indeed the case. I also feel that students have a right and deserve to know what their tuition money is actually supporting. Perhaps it would be nice for the board of regents to provide us some information as to where the money is going, or to outline what is meant by "operation of the university." Because if I had even a vague idea where my money was going (as opposed to my apparently incorrect assumption that it went to support the school), it would probably be a lot easier to swallow tuition increases.

Allisyn Keyser
physiological sciences and microbiology sophomore

Article makes good points about porn

Great piece! These are the most eloquently put arguments I've yet heard against the patronizing, and often near hysterical, anti-porn lobby.

My perspective is that this is very much a generational thing. The generation of my parents, having grown up in the '50s and '60s, still find it all beyond the pale. Whereas a high proportion of my female contemporaries at least tolerate porn, though as you say very few are openly pro.

I don't know if you're aware of the work by Dr. Ellen Laan at the University of Amsterdam. She developed something called the Sex Chair, which could measure the level of arousal of both men and women while they watched porn. The guys were pretty straight-forward, when they got turned on they said so (not much point denying it). But while many of the women claimed to be disinterested, even bored, their physiological measurements indicated they were much closer to the men's level. Now Dr. Laan used this to investigate the psychological elements of women's arousal, but as a layman I can't help thinking there's an awful lot of denial going on here. And this, remember, is in the Netherlands.

Once again, well done for standing up to an easy prejudice.

All the best.

Jeremy Levis
independent filmmaker

Kidz Korner a start for student-parents

In response to Lisa Barnes' letter "Kidz Korner not helping parents," I would like to say that I often find myself in this precise dilemma. How do I study and watch my children while simultaneously providing both with my undivided attention? I can't, and quite frankly I don't know. But somehow I still manage to do both. Believe me when I say that I wish to God that there existed an easier way that my studies would not have to pay the price of my children's needs, but often they do. I am nonetheless trying my very best to manage parenting and my pursuit of higher education. I personally am very grateful to the UA, the dean of students, the vice president of Campus Life and the Commission on the Status of Women and Commuter Student Affairs. Kids Korner has provided me a way to come into the university with my kids and study or check something on the computer, an otherwise virtually impossible option. For some of us there is no alternative, we must study with our kids. The university has many resources available for students. However, our needs as parents and students are not being met. I am still not able to go into the library (I have done so in the past but often was greeted with dirty looks from fellow students) and can you imagine what would happen if I walked into the Rec Center with my kids? I agree the Kidz Korner is not the solution to a problem. But it is a start, a very welcome start and I hope just the beginning of what the university may someday (hopefully soon) offer to us, the several thousand students and parents on campus.

Corinna Carrasco
sociology junior and mother of three