McDonald's miscalculation
A fact correction is in order for Tony McDonald's Firing Line, "Not Powers' hour," Sept. 21. I am not sure where Mr. McDonald's numbers are coming from, but the University received an increase of $36.4 million for the 2007-2008 biennium - a 7.2-percent increase. However, of this $36.4 million, $23.2 million was dedicated by the Legislature for specific purposes (capital improvements, the McDonald Observatory, the Marine Science Institute and the Garner Museum), leaving only an increase of $13.2 million of recurring general revenue to operate the University. The University is starved for recurring operating monies. This is an increase of 2.7 percent for the biennium and about 1.8 percent annually, as President Powers correctly stated. This 1.8-percent increase does not even cover the increase in costs due to inflation, which has been around 3 percent for the last several years.
Keshav Rajagopalan Two Year At-Large Representative Student Government Plan II and communication studies senior Article Reference Link
Burns protestors are brats
In reference to "WWII film incites uproar," Sept. 24: Protestors of Ken Burns' "The War" documentary are coming off as just a bunch of ungrateful brats (and I say that as a very grateful son of a World War II veteran). Not one person out of a hundred knows what it takes in terms of applied artistic judgement and pure hard work to produce a massive epic like "The War." After all that work, with a finished product in hand, Burns added 18 minutes to placate Hispanics who protested. Now, that addition is being discarded by the president of LULAC as "an insult." However, a Hispanic watchdog group, along with a veterans' organization and PBS itself, agreed that the addition was appropriate and adequate, making one wonder just where LULAC and Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez shine in. Well, you just can't satisfy some people, especially when they make a living out of being dissatisfied. LULAC and Dr. Rivas-Rodriguez would appear much more credible if they would stop complaining about other people's work and instead make their own documentary - with their own money.
Alan McKendree School of Nursing staff Article Reference Link
Check your borders
In the article "LBJ School hosts panel on impact of Hispanic boom," Sept. 24, Eddie Aldrete, senior vice president of IBC Bank, is quoted responding to a question from former State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos. Specifically, Sen. Barrientos asked Mr. Aldrete what he thought the role of the Mexican government should be on the issue of immigration. Mr. Aldrete responded first by stating that Mexico is "failing at its job," and then supported this argument by stating that "Mexico is unable to control its southern border with Nicaragua."
I really hope this was a mistake by The Daily Texan editors, because if indeed Mr. Aldrete thinks Mexico shares a border with Nicaragua, he's terribly wrong. I don't want to exaggerate what might have been simply a small confusion, but I believe the names "Nicaragua," "Guatemala" and "Belize" do not sound very similar when pronounced. We are not talking about unfamiliar names such as "Kazakhstan," "Kirgizstan" or "Uzbekistan," which arguably sound very similar and thus can be easily confused - right? I suspect this small episode is yet another piece of evidence of what is, in fact, the biggest obstacle to solve the issue of immigration: ignorance. There's ignorance on the side of the American government for treating the issue of immigration as one of national security, such as it does with issues of terrorism or drug trafficking. There's also ignorance on the side of the Mexican government for not defending the human rights of citizens across borders, as the Mexican Constitution compels and as various legal international agreements (ratified by the U.S.) allow. Finally, ignorance exists on the side of Mr. Aldrete for not knowing that Mexico shares borders with Guatemala, Belize and the United States - in case he didn't know.
Gustavo Rivera Government graduate student Article Reference Link
YCT not hosting Awareness Week this year
I was surprised to open the paper Monday to find out that the Young Conservatives of Texas at UT were going to be hosting Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week ("A conservative threat of Islamophobia," Sept. 24). As chairman of YCT, I assure you this was a total surprise to me. Between our full fall schedule of distinguished speakers, events and protests, I had decided many months ago that we simply didn't have the time or manpower to pull off an event exposing the radical ideology of our Islamic terrorist enemies.
In fact, I was contacted by a Daily Texan reporter a few weeks ago, and he asked me if YCT-UT was hosting the event. I informed him that we were not. I don't understand how this information was not relayed to the editor or Mr. Pace before his column was published.
However, I must make it clear that even though YCT-UT is not participating in Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, we do support its message. This event is not about spreading hatred or racism. It is not about Christianity vs. Islam. It's about informing college students about the threat our nation faces from Islamic terrorists at home and abroad. The only people who should be offended by Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week are terrorists and those who support and defend their actions.
If any UT students would like to help YCT spread this message, I invite you to attend our next meeting on Oct. 2, when you can learn about the events that we are actually doing.
Liz Young Government junior YCT chairman Article Reference Link
Top Ten law not outdated
I object to your editorial's characterization of the top 10 percent law as "outdated and unnecessary" and "limit[ing] diversification," ("Balancing the state of the University," Sept. 20). In fact, Top Ten has succeeded by expanding racial, socio-economic and geographic diversity at Texas flagship universities.
Top Ten has served as a convenient scapegoat for the real problem in Texas public higher education: lack of supply to serve demand. When the policy was enacted a decade ago, a growing student population had yet to enter post-secondary education. Texas struggles with providing its high school graduates - a group that's grown 40 percent since 1996 - access to the best colleges in Texas. Meanwhile, the number of slots at Texas flagships has remained flat. Texas, with only two schools ranked among U.S. News & World Report's Top 50 Public Universities, lags behind other states such as California, which has eight colleges on the list, and Virginia, which had three.
Thus, proportionally fewer spaces exist for more qualified applicants, resulting in many unhappy high school students forced to matriculate elsewhere. This shortage would exist with or without Top Ten. If the Legislature deserves blame, it's not for passing and upholding Top Ten; it's for failing to plan for and fund another desperately needed flagship.
Regardless, Top Ten has enriched Texas' flagship universities and students by allowing those schools to truly fulfill their mission to serve the entire state of Texas, maintain acceptable (though not ideal) minority representation at UT, expand access to rural and urban students throughout the state and serve as an important signal that the best students, regardless of family income, belong at UT.
Finally, to the admissions department, which complains about having to accept "70 percent" of its students under Top Ten (actually an overstatement), I ask, "Would you accept fewer Top Ten students without the law?" Similarly ranked public universities, unencumbered by Top Ten, accept more students from the top 10 percent of their classes than UT (University of Florida accepts 85 percent, and University of California at Irvine accepts 98 percent). Does admissions want a lower-quality student body?
Drew Dupuy Austin resident Article Reference Link
Right-wingers, cease fire
In response to "Give us firearm freedom," Sept. 25: UT administration opposes the top 10 percent rule because it wants to consider diverse factors in admission decisions. The Law School fought its own battle (Hopwood) to consider race as one factor. I say we give this authority if they'll use it to keep right-wingers off this campus. Let them build their own school for a well-armed student body, where quickness on the draw can be an important factor in admissions.
Thomas Van Orden Austin resident Article Reference Link
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