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Show ™ DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE O•PINION www.dailyutahchronicle.com Friday, December 2, 2005 Attacking undocumented students is wrong Editor: This letter is in response to Luis Alves1 letter to the editor, "Don't accuse people of racism," Nov. 29. Let me keep this as short as possible because this debate could go on forever. J.D. Bowns was misinformed when he said that undocumented workers do not pay taxes, and Alves was misinformed when he said that the state issued Social Security numbers to anyone with a driver's license. Alves targeted a specific ethnic group by wanting to prohibit them from rights such as driving and an education, even though he acknowledged that they are being exploited for labor and contribute to taxes for benefits they never take. Alves, your arguments are racist. You are insulting the group of undocumented students currently attending the U, who you called criminals for being here (most of whom had no choice because their parents brought them here as children), and you want to deny them a higher education. No false identity information is necessary because undocumented students do not need to "pretend" to be legal for admissions to the U when they sign their admissions application. They are not committing fraud. Aren't you ashamed that you are viciously attacking a group of fellow students? You singled them out when you said that they shouldn't be allowed to attend the U and that they should be deterred from becoming successful. The U is not granted the authority to enforce the law; it is given the authority to educate members of society. Undocumented or not, each diverse group ideally brings something beneficial to all who study and work here. Undocumented students have more obstacles than most students in getting into the U—that*s why fewer than 20 undocumented students are currently enrolled. We should applaud them for overcoming boundaries designed to keep them out of higher education and appreciate what their presence contributes to our own educations. If you feel your opinions were not respected, I apologize. However, I will never validate your reasons for the simple reason that you encourage discrimination against undocumented students. Mike Torres Junior, Civil Engineering Your newspaper sucks Editor: Congratulations. You have reached a new low. Rob Sykes Junior, Middle East Studies Religion doesn't really matter ... exit strategy, exit strategy... Editor: If there were no God, life would continue as it has for millions of years. If it turned out that there were no God, why would it be such a big deal if that were the way it had always been? The earth would still turn to help the sun rise, and the tides would still change with the moon. It wouldn't be any different from the way it is now. The only thing that would change would be the way we think. The outside world would be exactly as it is now. Why would it be such an awful world if we did, in fact, evolve from apes and weren't actually created from the rib of God? What if Christ was just some guy who died on a cross for a crime he did actually commit? Nothing about the physical world would change. Life around us would continue as normal. So why do we attack people for what they believe, when it really makes no difference in our lives? The girl on my left may believe in Allah, the guy on my right in Darwin, and I may believe that life just is. Why can't we all be friends? Simply because her people will attack his, and my world is in the center. Amid all this fighting, I look out my window and see that bees are still buzzing, night still falls, and it is as if none of this really matters to the world order. Why then, if all we are doing is tearing apart the world we want so desperately to protect, does it matter if I believe in Ra, Buddha, Christ or nothing? We don't want our egos to be deflated. Are we really willing to destroy others because our ethnocentric egos may get bumped on their quest for world dominance, or just a spot in The Chrony? Vanessa Johnson THE CHRONICLE'S. VIEW W e at The Chronicle feel it is our responsibility to push boundaries, make people think, stir up controversy and spark debate. Ultimately, The Chronicle is an independent and college newspaper, and it should reflect that. We aren't The Salt Lake Tribune or The New York Times. We reflect what is happening to students at the U and get their reactions to various events and trends. Our campus is made up of a diverse group of people, and sometimes it can be hard to accurately reflect all groups at the same time. What one person finds hilarious, another person finds offensive; what one person finds informative,,- • another person finds worthless. Obviously, some people will disagree with what we do, regardless of how we do it or why we do it—or even how well we do it. At the same time, there are instances where •wegotoofar, ' !•••.• y . i K $ v \ V ' > ,.' This week, there have been several instances in which readers have let us know that we have crossed a line. !. 1 ; We would like to acknowledge the fact that sometimes we go too far in our efforts to put out an independent student newspaper, crossing; the line of propriety. ''*/"'$ ??•:£". •''^•' l P£$^?^ 1 jl In the case of this week, we feel like we " ^ crossed the line to an extent that warrants a ..£1 response and apology to those who were oK^.'K : fended. '-;>We appreciate readers' feedback in cases such, as this. The content of The Chronicle is the re- ;*; 1 suit of the brainstorming of several individuals," • and different individuals have different opinions-; about what constitutes good taste. -.' ' ; That is why we rely on you, our readers, to let o us know how you feel about our publication. £6 This is not to say that we won't continue to Q push the envelope in the future, but we will try;•;:« to do so more conscientiously. 4-i Sophomore, Sociology Now that we know what constitutes crossing*:;; the line in our readers' minds, it will be easier .yj to make judgments about future content. ;i$ We don't promise that you won't be offended .1 in the future, but we do promise that we take ^ your feedback seriously and we are constantly , reassessing our editorial decisions. Editor: In the end, don't let our few slip-ups in judg- ,,. Tye Smith's column ("The hyment overshadow the positive attributes of ^ . pocrisy of Santa Claus," Dec. 1) had : Lying to children weakens their faith The Chronicle. -•••• . ^ ^ ; Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion ot The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, religion, • creed, gender, appearance or sexuat orientation will be edited or will not be published. All letters to the editor will now be published, online at wwto.dailyutahchronicle.com. Letters that the editor deems best represent those received will be printed in the newspaper.. aswellasonline;; < , : • " • • • . . •. .'.-''''"• Chrony online poll Which do you find most offensive? Madame Ezmee's horoscopes 54.6 percent 56 votes Calendar's event listings 26.8 percent 28 votes Patrick Muir's "Peeping Tom" column and occasional rants against BYU 18.6 percent 18 votes This The Odily Utah Chronicle poll is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those Internet users who have chosen to participate. The results cannot be assumed to represent the opinions of Internet users in general, nor the public as a whole. Visit www.ddiiyutdhchronicie.com [Q vote on next week's question: When did you start studying for finals? a parallel in the Deseret Morning News ("Teacher's cause is antiClaus," Dec. 1). Both articles made many valid points that reinforced my plan to keep my future children Santa-free. This plan came from a scenario that a friend suggested. Imagine (or remember) somebody telling a child the truth about Santa: "Have you ever seen Santa? No? Then he doesn't exist." "Have you ever seen the Tooth Fairy? No? Then she doesn't exist." "Have you ever seen the Easter Bunny? No? Then he doesn't exist." Follow this to the logical conclusion: "Have you ever seen God? No? Then he doesn't exist." The kind of thinking that is used to dispel the belief in an imaginary Saint Nick can establish a dangerous pattern for matters of faith. Not all things that are true can be seen (I can't see oxygen, right, so it must not exist), but if most of the unseen things we teach our children about turn out to be fabrications, they may have difficulty believing those things that are true. Let's stop lying to our children and dwelling on material, things, and return the holiday to its true purpose. Steven Paradise Graduate Student, Electrical Engineering Don't hate the playa... Regardless of how you feel about ASUU, it's made up of students just like you L ast spring I spent many a morning and afternoon distributing bagels, flipping pancakes, yelling my name and approaching meandering, hungrylooking students. No, I wasn't panhandling on campus; I was electioneering] In an effort to convince those students of the importance of our own student government and their respective voices in the governmental process, I'd go to embarrassing lengths to get—and hold—their attention. I even brought my guitar one day to bring back that groovy, activist feeling from the swingin' '60s. No dice. I was usually met with a mix of stares, smiles and well-timed profanity. After that glorious semester of propounding myself and my party, which was victorious, I hunkered down over the summer in meetings and discussions to learn how v to fulfill better the role to which I'd been elected. I know how many of you feel about ASUU—that it's full of a bunch of uninformed yuppies looking to gussy up their resume's, none of whom has a clue as to what is going on unless they see it on VHi. I used to think the same thing. But beneath all the bureaucracy that admittedly exists—droning rhetoric, constrictive rules, ridiculous regulations, prohibitive policies and miles of red tape—lies the heart of ASUU: students like you. They struggle to pay tuition, make payments and eat more than Top Ramen, Some are married, most are single, many are brilliant, others are politicians, some are grandstanders, others are humble to a fault and most—if not all—just want to get through this experience as best they can and maybe succeed at it along the way. At the risk of sounding like LaVar Eric Vogeler Burton, you don't have to take my word for it. The proof is in the political pudding. In each branch of our student government, you'll find dedicated, hardworking students who spend long hours in cramped cubicles and stuffy meetings simply because they want to serve. Compensation (contrary to some popular belief) is minimal to non-existent, with many volunteer/non-paying positions dutifully staffed each semester. The latest challenge to be put before ASUU is the student health insurance debacle. I won't go into the details, but I will lay out how our government has handled it. I've heard vehement arguments from both sides. Some demand that ASUU do away with insurance altogether and install a nationally socialized health-care system (which is, unfortunately, a little bit beyond the student government level). Others think health insurance should be mandatory for everybody, everywhere, all the time. Most students, however, fall somewhere within those extremes. Representatives, senators and appointed officials spent hours researching insurance costs and plans, possible outcomes to any policy changes, polling students and classes to determine the level of support and more to decide fairly what should be done tofixthe current, failing system. This effort culminated in several -TTLt the risk of sounding like LaVar Burton, you don t have to take my word for it. hours of heated debate Tuesday night. That's hours of strong opinions, questions of ethics, logic and reason, all to determine one thing: the best interest of the student body. No matter what you think about ASUU, don't assume its members are uninformed or party organizers. They work hard. They take their responsibilities seriously. And they're just like you and me. letters@chronicle.utah.edu Editor's Note: In the interest of full disclosure, Eric Vogeler is currently serving as a Humanities Representative in the ASUU Assembly. |
