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Column misses the point

To the editor,

I enjoyed reading Moniqua Lane's Thou Shalt Not Post, in the February 28 issue of the Daily Wildcat. I am afraid, however, that she missed the point.

When the Supreme Court invented the so-called "wall of separation" between church and state, it gave root to what has become intense enmity between the state and anything at all religious. Consequently, as the state intrudes further and further into our lives, God is being forced out.

True, laws already exist that forbid a child to "steal his parents' shotgun," "discharge any gun in a heavily populated area," or "to murder people." But Moniqua misses the point altogether when she places the posting of the Ten Commandments into a category with these increasingly unheeded legalisms.

You can not legislate a respect for life, or for property or for any of the rights that we recognize in one another. You must instill that respect through the teaching of morality. And you can not instill lasting morality without the influence of religion and the transcendent.

To the philosopher, this principle is known as the "noble lie." While the religious foundation for the moral precept may be fictional, the political philosopher recognizes the moral precept itself as a vital contribution to peace and prosperity. Spiritual faith, even if based on a "lie," is what gives the moral precept its strength.

To the religious minded, on the other hand, this principle is a "noble truth." God has wisely given to us moral precepts, informing us of the fundamental moral realities of human nature.

Whatever your perspective about the source of our moral sense, you must admit that we need moral education in order to prosper as a civilized nation. The mayhem in America's schools is proof of this. Moniqua says that we "need to find a way to instill in children a respect for life, peace, authority and order, just to name a few." The truth, however, is that the way has already been tried and tested true. It is precisely through moral and religious education. We must, as a people, return to God.

Simply posting the Ten Commandments in schools will not solve the problem. But it is a step toward re-recognizing the need for transcendent moral instruction in all of our lives.

Vaughn Hromiko

MBA/MS(MIS) candidate, May 2000

Puerto Ricans disenfranchised

To the editor,

An article in Monday's Wildcat got me thinking about the island of Puerto Rico and its residents, which included me from 1991 - 1996. The article noted the people of Puerto Rico - all of whom are American citizens but none of whom have the right to vote for president - did get the chance to cast ballots in the Republican primary election on Sunday. The opportunity seemed mainly for PR - public relations, because even Democrats were welcomed to the table. The candidates didn't bother to visit the island, clearly well aware of its lack of political power.

This lack of political clout in the national arena is difficult to fathom for Americans who haven't experienced it. As a native Chicagoan who became an official resident of Puerto Rico, I was surprised at the extent of the disempowerment I felt after years of knowing there was no congressperson, no representative, to whom I could address my concerns over national policy. Sure, there is the resident commissioner, a locally elected "member" of Congress. But this "member" doesn't get a vote either, so we were virtually all in the same boat. And it wasn't a powerboat.

This lack of power has some insidious consequences. Perhaps the worst of these is that residents of Puerto Rico have no real say in the U.S. military's occupation of two-thirds of its island of Vieques. To warm up for wars in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and wherever else U.N. forces fly, soldiers flock in from all over the world to drop bombs on Vieques. Some of these explode. Last year, one of them killed two Puerto Rican fishermen who were trying to eke out a living on their native island despite the U.S. occupation. During their lives, their cries to stop the bombing went unheard. We can only hope that their deaths will give new fuel to the more than 30-year struggle to get the U.S. military out of Vieques.

The people living in Puerto Rico have no political voice in this country. So those of us living within the voting boundaries must speak for them. Tell your senators and representatives loud and clear: End the U.S. military occupation of Vieques!

Melanie Lenart

Renewable natural resources graduate student

Engineering/Business class misunderstood

To the editor,

I wanted to allay any concerns students may have about our offering MAP 478 (Creating a High Performance Company) this semester for both engineering and business students in light of our other important teaching obligations.

The one-credit, one-week-long intensive course is being taught for free by Burgess Winter, the former head of Magma Copper, and members of his senior management team from when Burgess was head of the company. Burgess and his team were responsible for Magma Copper being recognized by The Wall Street Journal as unleashing the full potential of the people of Magma Copper and thereby turning the company into a leader in its industry. The course will thus provide enrolled students direct contact with top engineering/business leaders as well as a marvelous networking opportunity.

In addition to teaching the course gratis, Burgess Winter has also generously offered up to 100 scholarships so that there is no cost to students enrolling in the course. The scholarships are being funded through the foundation set up by Burgess and his wife Patricia.

Our College is immensely proud of the opportunity Burgess and Patricia Winter have provided to help us build a stronger partnership with our colleagues at the College of Engineering and Mines. Indeed, we have been overwhelmed by the student interest in the course. While we expected to get no more than 30 students the first time the course was offered, thanks to the support and marketing efforts of Dean Tom Peterson of the College of Engineering and Mines, we have over 115 students who have enrolled. This response indicates to us that a deepening of the partnership between the two Colleges will be beneficial to our students and, ultimately, the organizations in Arizona who hire our students.

Mark Zupan

Dean,

Eller College of Business and Public Administration

Facts on affirmative action

To the editor,

In response to Michael Eskue's letter, I would like to say, learn the facts about affirmative action before you speak. Affirmative action was created in the 1960s, not as a tool for racism, but as a tool to help minorities who have been victims of discrimination for centuries. Affirmative action was created in an attempt to reverse the effects of things like segregation and the denial of women and non-whites the right to vote on our society as a whole. There is no intention of racism built into the system of affirmative action. And since you seem to be stuck on the idea that white people do not benefit from these types of actions, let me inform you that without affirmative action most of the people whom we regard as important would not be where they are without it. Clarence Thomas would not have become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice without affirmative action, regardless of what he believes. The implications of affirmative action are not that minorities are ignorant, the implications are that this society as a whole has a fixation on the color of a person's skin or the sex of a person, rather than on the qualifications of that person. To say that affirmative action implies stupidity is to say that all women are stupid, since women are included in the affirmative action. In a society with this many women, I don't think that is something that you want to say. So, before you write another letter or say another word, read about the things that you are attacking so adamantly.

Akisha McGee

Political science and psychology junior

Comics probably not brilliant

To the editor,

I'd like to give Josh Halger the benefit of the doubt and assume his recent comic strips, depicting negative stereotypes of Christians and conservatives, are actually subtle meta-observational commentaries on the destructive nature of hatred and bigotry.

Then again, I've read his other comic strips, and have a hard time believing he really is that brilliant.

In any case, I hope neither him nor his readers share the same bigotry depicted in his comic strips. Hatred is hatred regardless if it is directed at conservatives, Christians, liberals, atheists, gays, white people, black people, Mexicans, or Jews.

Chris Ashton

Computer engineering senior

Affirmative action helps all groups

To the editor,

As I sat reading the opinions in the Wildcat over the past week, the affirmative action issue grabbed my attention. Or so I thought that's what I was going to read about. It couldn't help but to notice how BMW, Ralph Lauren, the GAP, and various other so-called "upper-class" white-synonyms were thrown around. I was taken aback to say the least, because it they have nothing to do with affirmative action.

I think people just assume that affirmative action only applies to those who are not as fortunate as others. I hesitate to go as far as to say poor. This could not be further from the truth. Affirmative action is designed to help those classified as non-white males or white men in some cases, to have a greater opportunity for success. While this is all well good and intentioned, it nevertheless does not solve the problem. In fact, one could argue that differences between various races has not improved since affirmative action was instituted.

I agree with merit based systems, that is in fact the only fair way. If one doesn't meet those requirements, I hardly believe calling into question ones race or sex is relevant nor fair. I think one would like to know that they received the job because they were qualified for it and earned it. Not because of their race or sex. Oh and yes, I do drive a BMW, have Ralph Lauren clothing. Does that make me more qualified than someone else who doesn't?

Eric A. Hochstatter

Political science and history junior

"Mock" Spanish not racist

To the editor,

I am writing in response to Maya Schecter's piece on mock Spanish. I think the first problem with this type of discourse lies in our obsession with screaming at every attempt to combine and build new culture. Culture is always in the process of changing and evolving. This is what keeps it alive. The task is for us to maintain old traditions while building new ones. I think it would be more racist ad terrifying if cultures did not overlap. By developing new words or using non-native words to express ourselves, we are affirming that particular culture by showing that those words better serve our purpose. Calling these attempts at bridging culture racist denies the very essence of community. While I respect the notion that phrases from a different language should not be used to "mock" that particular culture, perhaps it is more realistic to see it as a complement. We can't find a good way to say it in English, so perhaps Spanish will do the trick.

Nichole Lamarche

International studies senior