Bush: not so tall
In response to Daniel Earnest's article ("Bush stands tall, but alone," Sept. 7), I have to admit: I see how Daniel could have formed his point of view, because there was a time when I shared his views. But when Daniel says that "Bush is not your typical politician" he's mistaken. Bush is not your typical politician for a democratic society.
When Bush makes decisions that affect the nation based on his personal values, he's sending the message that all other values besides his are wrong. The fact of the matter is that right and wrong are subjective, and for that reason, most democratic societies separate church (subjective values) from state (Constitutional precedents and legal physical evidence). So, when Bush stands tall on his views on gay marriage, immigration and the Iraq War based on Biblical persuasion, he refuses to see the validity of other viewpoints. When it comes to the war in Iraq, transcripts from a meeting of the President with his cabinet on Sept. 12, 2001 show that Donald Rumsfeld said, "Shouldn't we take this opportunity to do something about Iraq?"
The problem Americans have with the war in Iraq is that it had nothing to do with Sept. 11. In fact, Saddam Hussein's regime was the reason the Taliban and al-Qaida stayed out of Iraq. Had Bush focused his attention on Afghanistan, we may have actually reached some justice with the true culprits of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Raj Trivedi Psychology sophomore
Science of a presidency
Man of his word, man of conscience, man of principle. I thought these traits were compliments until I heard one, "man of principle," used as a euphemism for someone who is stubborn and stuck in his beliefs ("Bush stands tall, but alone," Sept. 7). I don't take issue with the actual subject of the column, but I do with the way Bush was defended. Blind faith should not be regarded as a good quality. Ask any scientist and they'll tell you that if you don't allow for the possibility of disproval by new evidence, then scientific inquiry would become stagnant and we'd never have calculus or differential equation classes (wait, maybe that's not a bad idea).
Scientists don't claim to have all the answers, which allows science to correct itself and get closer to the truth. In life, having a set core of values is good, but if the situation changes, beliefs must change too. If we all were "men of principle," and never changed our beliefs, this world would possess no originality. If you like Bush, fine, but don't defend him by saying he's stuck in his ways.
Colleen Bertoni Chemistry sophomore
'Agreement' with Earnest
In reference to "Bush stands tall, but alone," Sept. 7: I agree. The media and popular culture should stop treating George W. Bush like a buffoon who can't help mangling the English language, and hold him accountable for his crimes against the nation and the world. Earnest is also correct to compare Bush to Reagan. Both were convenient dupes who had the sense of entitlement to believe they deserved to lead, though in reality they both were hollow figureheads, while real subversive minds controlled policy.
Jon Pearson UT Alum
F- for McDonald
In last Thursday's Daily Texan, Tony McDonald criticized the Senate of College Councils and SG for their handling of the plus/minus issue.
Tony claims he was unaware of the state of the issue until last week. Apparently, keeping "decent track" of campus issues isn't enough to notice any one of the eight separate mentions of plus/minus grading in the Texan before then, four of which (April 13, April 27, May 8 and June 5) were on the front page. Tony was also not present at either of the open forums hosted by the Senate.
Keeping "decent track" of campus issues is also, apparently, not enough to know Senate is the body charged primarily with representing students in academic affairs, not SG.
A "leave it to me, I'm the expert" attitude is a bad way to approach representation, and it does show itself in our elected leaders sometimes. However, I'm willing to bet Tony's criticisms would have been taken more seriously had they been even slightly researched.
Students, please hold your student leaders accountable, but do your homework first.
Also, I heard that you want to be the next SG President, Tony. During your campaign you would do well to avoid publicity stunts like this one, lest you find yourself on the other end of the Firing Line.
Joshua Ogden-Davis Music senior
F- for McDonald II
I enjoyed reading Tony McDonald's letter admitting that the Young Conservatives of Texas are too busy to keep track of issues vitally important to the student body ("Time to lock horns?" Firing Line, Sept. 7). Where was his leadership as a former chairman of YCT during the period the plus/minus grading issue was resolved?
Instead of focusing on this issue, he and his cadre of political nerds were engaged in self-righteously insulting professors and instructors for their teaching methodologies.
YCT should admit it is a failure as a student organization because it doesn't adequately monitor SG or the UT administration it so vocally criticizes. McDonald claims to have been "paying bills, working for ... grades and maintaining a semblance of a social life." As a former chairman of YCT, however, he is not a "typical student." He was aware of the policy and, therefore, was willingly ignorant of "how far this bad policy had advanced." He holds SG in contempt, so why should he be surprised they can't quash a faculty proposal? Instead of blaming SG for failing to lead, McDonald should blame YCT and Elizabeth Young, who was YCT chairwoman at the time, for failing to keep the student body informed and organize sit ins, discussion forums or letter-writing campaigns.
Had YCT been doing it's job as an advocacy group, McDonald would't have been blindsided. The fact that the resolution passed in May and YCT was unaware of it until Wednesday indeed says it all.
Charles Tolliver UT alum
The last word?
SG did not fight this proposal. They made a soft request that it be tabled, and the language used with the Faculty Council implied they'd be able to get by with it. The March 7 Faculty Council meeting minutes reference SG representative Keshav Rajagopalan's comments: "He said Student Government had not taken a positive or negative position on the plus/minus proposal but was requesting in its resolution that the plus/minus motion be tabled until student opinion could be ascertained."
The minutes are filled with gutless statements like these. Considering the timing of the vote makes me feel as if my opinions have been pissed on by the administration, someone in the meeting should have been hopping mad.
While it's true the Faculty Council shouldn't have been able to shamefully pass this proposal into eternity on May 16 (the day after finals) student opinion had been pretty consistent. Everybody I've talked to about this policy either opposes it or has major concerns about its provisions.
Where was I when this weak opposition was taking place?
Like most students, I was a little more concerned with a line-up of tests, papers and finals. By the lack of visible outcry, I had wrongfully assumed the administration was showing respect to the students by holding this off until fall. I also wrongfully trusted that our elected student leaders were taking steps to protect students from an arrogant administration.
After looking at the issue more closely, I was very ready to meet it head-on this semester, when - surprise! - we found out in the Texan that this policy was set in stone four months ago. I won't make the mistake of not getting involved next time.
Tony McDonald Chairman Emeritus Young Conservatives of Texas Economics and government junior
The useless 'Great Debate'
Now that the great McDonald-Myers-Solomon debate has come to a head, it's time for students to realize the marginal role undergraduates actually played in the train wreck that is plus/minus grading. The problem, Tony, is not that Stephen Myers or Andrew Solomon failed to challenge the faculty or the administration on the issue: Both student leaders passed resolutions and encouraged similar behavior campus-wide by writing editorials, setting up forums, etc. The fact that they failed is the real problem. It hints that SG and the Senate of College Councils are fundamentally unable to represent the student population - period.
RTF junior Russell van Kraayenburg hit the nail on the head in his Friday Firing Line: The proposal passed "because the plus/minus grading system had near unanimous approval from the UT faculty." The Faculty Council was aware of the negative student response, and the fact that the it passed the issue in the summer shows the lip service many of the faculty and administration pay to student delegates, and confirms that student response is unlikely to succeed under the fascist tendencies of the University.
Tony, though you are "chairman emeritus" of the shining beacon of freedom and liberty known as YCT, I believe you may find comfort from words of the Students for a Democratic Society:
"The [collegiate] extracurricular life is ordered according to in loco parentis theory, which ratifies the Administration as the moral guardian of the young. The accompanying 'let's pretend' theory of student extracurricular affairs validates student government as a training center for those who want to spend their lives in political pretense, and discourages initiative from more articulate, honest and sensitive students. The bounds and style of controversy are delimited before controversy begins."
In summation, a final question for Mr. McDonald: Are you really surprised at any of this?
Joshua Garber Plan II and geosciences senior
Exploitation transportation
Students interviewed for Friday's Capital Metro article did well pointing out the unbelievable truth that absurd route alignments make walking faster than bus riding ("Fewer students opt to take UT shuttles to class," Sept. 7) However, the Texan neglected to mention the main reason there are fewer boardings on the UT Shuttle: The service has been cut from 166,000 hours in the late 1990s to 132,500 hours today (about 20 percent). The Transit Authority has done this by exploiting the transitory nature of students and the stupidity of UT Shuttle committees past.
Glenn Gaven UT alum
Be the first to comment on this article!