Guns can help stop madmen
We have all by now heard of the tragic shooting that occurred at Virginia Tech Monday morning. One gunman - more than 30 casualties. I think this clearly demonstrates the failure of the strict gun control laws college campuses have implemented that directly overrule state laws. I firmly believe that if another student or staff member had a handgun and a concealed carry license, then this incident would have ended much sooner. Unfortunately, many campuses, including the University of Texas, implement a strict "No Guns Allowed" policy that disarms law-abiding students who own firearms.
With these laws in place, the shooter faced virtually no opposition. With these laws repealed, one responsible gun owner would have stopped the carnage long before the first dozen casualties. I am thoroughly angered at the preventable deaths of the students, and even more angered at the fact that no other gun owner was able to stop him, because there were no other gun owners at the scene who conceal-carried. After a 911 call, it takes anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes for the police to respond. A bystander with a concealed handgun license and a Glock would have stopped the criminal in 5 to 8 seconds. As they say, "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."
Jeff Shi Computer sciences freshman April 16, 2007
Middle East already has nukes
Let me remind Grant Manning that there is already one country with nuclear weapons in the Middle East ("U.S. must curb Iran's nuclear wake," April 16). It is because of this country that all other nations in the Middle East will seek nuclear capability and will not and cannot stop until they get it. It is because of this country that Iran desires nuclear capability. It is because of this country that Saddam Hussein desired nuclear capability.
This country is Israel, and its sponsor is the United States. Israel's role as a hostile, aggressive intruder in the region, with no respect for human dignity or human rights (which we are commemorating this week with the White Rose Society's Action Not Apathy campaign), will continue to sow violence and chaos until it chooses to take responsibility for the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees and makes genuine peace with its neighbors. Nuclear fission is not magic - it is simply physics. If we want to survive, we need to learn how to live with the reality of the destructive capabilities of our neighbors and learn how to negotiate with people with whom we don't agree. If we do not, then God help us, because it will only end badly.
Mishal Al-Johar Hydrogeology and geography senior April 16, 2007
YCT invited to survey classes
I suppose that if, like me, you specialize in Soviet and post-Soviet studies and teach a course about vampires, you must expect to end up on watch lists from time to time. I write The Daily Texan with thanks, since I heard first from your paper that I had been included for a second time on the YCT watch list. YCT did not feel that they needed to contact me until Saturday afternoon, after they had made the list public. I have friends and colleagues on both the "Watch List" and the "Honor Roll," so I do not know which inclusion would have pleased me more.
A few things do trouble me, in addition to not having been informed of the honor in advance. I do hope that YCT and their informants will consider attending a more recent class. The passage they posted on their Web site is cited as from a 2004 lecture. It contains errors in content and grammar. Although I approve of recycling, I think that they might have attended a more recent course, or at least corrected the mistakes in their old information.
I would like to extend an invitation to YCT and any of their representatives to attend one of my current classes. I would be happy to provide them with any notes or assistance so that my words may be correctly cited and disseminated. I would have recommended my course on Chechnya from last spring. I will be offering the Slavic vampire course again in Fall 2007, should they wish to visit.
Thomas Jesús Garza Associate professor of Slavic and Eurasian studies April 15, 2007
Watch List an evaluation form
Accusations that the YCT Professor Watch List and Honor Roll is a blatantly partisan propaganda tool must be refuted. A reading of the lists will reveal that professors representing both sides of the political spectrum are present. Submission for both lists is open for all students, regardless of their political persuasion. After undertaking a verification process, YCT publishes all substantiated student submissions. We do not censor submissions, nor pick and choose which we will include in the final list.
The Watch List has also been vehemently bashed as a tool to hinder debate and blacklist professors. Critics of this student publication carelessly evoke powerful pathos, with extreme accusations of "McCarthyism" and "blacklisting." This is obviously a fearmongering exaggeration, in direct conflict with the very spirit of the document, as well as the pursuit of academic freedom in general. The academic freedom movement dates back to the 1940s, and rests upon the principles of open, productive discourse and inclusion of all ideas without an instructor forcing allegiance to one school of thought, either through an overt or subdued coercion, intimidation or humiliation.
The Watch List is simply a student evaluation forum. Students are free to express their reviews of professors through these outlets, and YCT wishes to provide another outlet for students to express concerns or appreciation regarding the professors at this University. A University that strives for excellence should rightfully allow peer and student review of their employees. Some students may realize a class may not be the right one for them based on a variety of reviews and reasons, a paradigm that varies by student. Some may decide they will prosper or enjoy an environment described in the Watch List. It is their choice, it is their freedom. We should not fear student review. We should, however, fear the threat of political correctness and skewed accusations silencing fundamental rights to express opinions.
Brianna Becker Government freshman YCT director of academic freedom April 16, 2007
Cloud no indoctrinator
We were dismayed by The Daily Texan's choice to run the "YCT Watch" article on the front page of Friday's paper. We have collectively taken six classes from Dana Cloud, and one of us has been her teaching assistant for several semesters. From our experiences, we can say with confidence that Cloud upholds the University's core values. The YCT claims that its list does not consider "a professor's ideology," yet the first piece of "evidence" listed in the report about Cloud is her membership in the International Socialist Organization, not a statement about her classroom.
The YTC also claims its report is based on whether a professor presents "fair and balanced delivery of information." An examination of Cloud's course syllabi (available on her Web site) reveals that students supply many of the readings in her courses and participate in debates concerning both sides of issues. And, though Cloud does ask students to look at partisan news sources, she suggests students choose from either side of the political spectrum (students can read The Nation, The Economist, The Socialist Worker or any number of publications).
Any student who has ever spent 10 minutes in a classroom with Dana Cloud knows that she goes out of her way to foster learning about controversial issues in a fair and balanced way. Cloud would never single out a student for his or her political beliefs. We ask that students at UT give her this same respect.
Amanda J. Davis and Lisa Glebatis Perks Communication studies graduate students April 15, 2007
Leave science to the scientists
Leave it to a Republican government major to refute a theory presented by a highly trained and experienced scientist ("Retired physicist claims 9/11 attack was really controlled demolition," April 16). I didn't realize that government majors were being taught composition of materials and fluid dynamics. It doesn't surprise me, though. Republicans have always known more about things like global warming and controlled demolitions than the rest of us.
As for bending the facts, if a scientist is willing to put his reputation on the line for something as taboo as claiming Sept. 11 was an inside job, he must be pretty confident that it was. Scientist aren't the only ones bending facts to go with their personal opinion. Just look at your fearless leader in Washington.
Mike Nelson Aerospace engineering sophomore April 16, 2007
Friday's red meat for UT conservatives
University conservatives must have been ecstatic to see Friday's Daily Texan. Stories that demonize liberal UT professors and the new proposed legislation of a mandated elective bible class for High School students must have sent them into a partisan frenzy ("YCT watch list aims for neutral classrooms," "Proposed bill would provide Bible elective," April 13).
With all the hoopla, I wonder if anyone noticed that the neutrally positioned and David Horowitz-inspired YCT happened to single out, almost exclusively, only those professors that are allegedly "liberal"? It really was a nice touch to add the quoted opinion of the "neutral" David Horowitz concerning Professor Dana Cloud. In the list, provided by their Web site, I found one conservative professor, Dr. Bromars, who teaches economics and was cited because he allegedly leans heavily toward a capitalist economic model. Call me crazy, but I would have expected at least one or two more conservative professors in a representative sample. I smell a witch hunt.
On to the Bible story! After a nice gulp of highly partisan conservative cheerleading, enabled by the Texan, we got to move on to more important propaganda like trying to insert Christianity into public schools. Apparently, Republican Rep. Warren Chisum is under the impression that we must force all public schools to offer an elective Bible course because Texas schools have obviously moved past the stage of basic education. Figures taken from the Texas State Comptroller's office indicate that Texas ranks 49th in verbal SAT scores and 46th in average math SAT scores. Maybe Rep. Chisum thinks that if they pray hard enough the scores will improve.
Furthermore, for the Fall 2005 enrollment, the expenditure per student dropped from 25th to 40th nationwide. It seems the Republicans truly believe in faith-based learning. Unfortunately, intercessory prayer doesn't academically help improve Texas schools, nor does it help pay for expenses. So what's Rep. Chisum thinking? As Paul Krugman noted in his recent column, the official Texas Republican party platform is to "dispel the myth of the separation of church and state." Gimme a B-I-B-L-E!
Satire aside, I wouldn't object to a comparative religion course. Preferably, one that also subjects religious beliefs to the rigors of the scientific method. After all, the authority derived from many religions stems from belief in the supernatural. If you're going to subject children to unsubstantiated claims, it is imperative they understand that such claims are devoid of substantial integrity. Tell them the truth and let them decide for themselves.
Kenneth Wills UT staff April 15, 2007
YCT's hypothetical debate outcomes
In regards to the Young Conservatives of Texas' laughable watch list the YCT is correct about indoctrination, it is a quite a social problem. Yet what is so ironic is that it is hard to find another group so vulnerable to indoctrination as are the members of the YCT. John Jarzemsky's Firing Line suggested that the YCT switch methods in their ongoing struggle against indoctrination and instead resort to debate, but people who choose their delusions over their ability to reason fear debate.
Instead, they would opt for heavy-handed tactics that would silence opposing points of view. If debated, not only will most of the ideas of the YCT prove to be wrong, but their ideas would not even prove to be conservative (at least by a standard dictionary's definition of the word).
Ben Chorush UT alum April 16, 2007
Help stop the crisis in Darfur
The cause has been the same for the last three years, stopping the greatest humanitarian crisis on earth, the genocide in Darfur, a region of Sudan. Sure it sounds remote, but maybe you saw the roses on campus to honor the victims of the Holocaust. If you visited the Web site on the fliers you'd realize that the same grassroots organization behind handing out 10,000 roses on campus is also behind a national, state and university campaign to stop the genocide in Darfur.
The world watched the genocide in Rwanda, and we could not stop it in time. Today the genocide continues in Darfur as we slowly watch in idle. Calling for the use of force is brave, but as you noted the idea of the U.S. sending troops into Africa went sour with Somalia ("Free Tibet, stop Darfur, save Congo!" April 11). Japan has not yet created an international fighting force, and the Islamists would be ever so happy to see Israeli troops in Darfur. Egypt and Saudia Arabia are Arab Muslim majorities, while the African Union forces that are on the ground are from neighboring African countries.
Yes stopping the crisis in Darfur will require more than diplomacy, but force may not be the only answer. Sudan is unresponsive to social and political pressure. However they are historically responsive to economic pressure.
The Darfur activists have a petition for the University of Texas Investment Management Company to divest from companies supporting the Sudanese regime, an enormous and successful letter campaign, a team of student lobbyists, a hired public policy relations group, national affiliates, a bill passed in the Texas Senate and dozens of sponsors for divestment legislation in the Texas House of Representatives. Texas Senators plan on making a trip to Darfur this summer.
Targeted Sudan Divestment for Texas follows a well laid out plan to target a list of companies that are the worst offenders. These companies provide energy, oil, telecommunications and, of course, enormous funding to the Sudanese government and military. They are directly complicit in the genocide, and our money is invested in them. Pulling out investments, and simply threatening the same has already evoked attacks by the Sudanese government, even taking out a full page in the New York Times indicating that they don't want the campaign to continue.
You might think "raising awareness" has no effect, but the truth is that only a few students are aware of the crisis in Darfur. You can't make people care, but you can make people aware. Sign the petition.
Colin Lowenberg Electrical and computer engineering senior April 14, 2007
Judgement just part of life
Regarding "Conservatism stigmatized on campus," (April 13): Lauren, assuming you are a female, you are going to be judged and stigmatized just based on that. What color is your hair? People judge you on that. How many extra pounds do you have? Judgement. Who designed your clothes? What kind of car do you drive?
No matter who you are, what you believe, your level of education or your achievements, you are going to be judged, categorized, stigmatized and labeled for your entire life. If you have strong beliefs, speak them. Being silent isn't going to make people judge you less.
And, my friend, trust me - liberals are judged also. We must defend our views just as you do. I am a white male liberal and understand what you mean when you say you feel judged by the color of your skin, but the fact still remains that your skin color gives you a privilege in this country and most of the world.
And if people might be less open to you because they think you might be a racist, prove them wrong. The only way to change it is to not complain about how you feel oppressed because of your beliefs.
Joshua Howton UT alum April 13, 2007
Upgrade your gray matter
In regards to Lauren Ratcliff's column on Friday ("Conservatism stigmatized on campus," April 13), bless your heart and your self-professed "ideology."
During these critical, educational years and before you are truly let loose on the world, please consider upgrading your political ideology to a political philosophy - an independent and educated thinker professes the latter and eschews the former at all costs. UT has considerable resources to take advantage of in developing a cogent and integral political philosophy.
Ideologies on either side of the aisle are the reason we are in so much of a mess these days. "Neoconservative" (is that an oxymoron?) and Christian views in particular have proven an enormous threat to the Constitution and the values the founding fathers established in our form of government.
Mike Rock UT alum April 13, 2007
Stay classy, Texas
"I enjoyed my year here at Texas." When Kevin Durant finished speaking the first sentence of his statement last Tuesday, the hearts of orange bloods sank a little. Most had braced themselves for the worst, but had hoped for the best. Following the press conference, Longhorn fans expressed their feelings about The phenom's departure to the NBA. On Burnt Orange Nation, a blog designed for Texas Longhorn fans, comments ranged from "Thanks for the memories KD. You were a hell of a player - my second favorite Longhorn basketball player of all time," to "Kevin, thanks for the memories and best of luck in the future. By all means let's retire his number. His accomplishments are truly remarkable."
When the news that Billy Gillispie was leaving Texas A&M to coach at the University of Kentucky, Aggies left their own hostile comments spread across online outlets denouncing Gillespie for leaving.
When comparing the reactions of these two passionate fan bases, I can't help but feel proud of the way the my fellow Longhorns have handled the situation. You stay classy, Texas.
John Estrada Radio-television-film and government senior April 10, 2007
Applauding the jeers
Kudos to those who protested Minutemen leader Chris Simcox last Tuesday, and to the 750 people who came out to tell Simcox to go to hell at his appearance Wednesday at UT-San Antonio.
Despite the "reasonable" face he wears for his campus tour, Simcox and his Minutemen are not merely spokespeople for immigration reform. They are a vigilante group whose aim is to instill terror in immigrant communities, performing armed patrols of the border and harassing day laborers seeking work. The leader of the San Diego Minutemen is currently under investigation for an attack on a migrant labor camp in which the group destroyed the workers' belongings and chased a witness with knives.
In 2005, the entire university community united to condemn the Young Conservatives of Texas when they planned a mock immigrant hunt. We should support those who protested when the YCT brought the real immigrant hunters to campus.
Mike Corwin UT Staff International Socialist Organization April 12, 2007
Pots, kettles and anti-Americanism
The Firing Lines responding to Salil Puri's column ("Revising history on U.S. and Iraq" April 6) show an unfortunate tendency toward the same revisionism decried by Puri. The quotes given do not directly contradict his arguments, though they are presented as damning evidence of his lies or misunderstandings. In fact, the quotes merely support what Puri admits: namely that the U.S. provided support to Iraq in forms other than weapons. Perhaps this support was misguided and perhaps it enabled Saddam Hussein to enact worse atrocities, but these are entirely separate arguments from the issue of whether or not we provided Iraq with weapons against Iran.
Moreover, I would like to respond to Ansel Herz's final paragraph (Firing Line, April 11), where he begins to substitute virulent anti-Americanism for even dubious factual objections. He states that America contributed to Iraqi suffering by supporting Saddam, but continued it by invading and occupying Iraq. I find this a logically incoherent position to hold, as it suggests a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" attitude toward America's involvement. Should we have continued the support for Saddam's brutality that Herz believes we were providing? Or should we have invaded, deposed Saddam, and then left Iraq to fend for itself?
I think his last sentence, which uses the phrase "the brutality of the U.S. corporate-state," reveals that he truly believes there is no right answer for America, no matter what policy it chooses. I find this blind hatred of our country offensive and disturbing in a future American journalist.
Jeff Russell Classics and ancient history senior April 11, 2007
April cold, June may be hot
Scott Specht is at it again, dutifully disseminating GOP talking points. This time he tackles global warming: Texas is cold this April, so clearly global warming is false (Firing Line, April 12).
Average global temperatures have risen 0.5 degrees Celsius since 1970. It's such a small number, but everyone should care. Weather patterns shift as global temperatures increase. For instance, the half degree increase over the past 30 years has caused severe drought conditions across parts of the Sahara, leading to unstable sand dunes. Without moisture to cause the sand to clump together the dunes are crawling over developed areas, forcing villagers to flee or risk being buried in the sand.
These shifts in weather patterns are also responsible for the bizarre snowstorms America experienced this month. Consider that four of the five warmest winters on record since 1900 happened in the last decade, while we simultaneously experience cold springs and larger weather fluctuations that are unusual even for Texas.
Scientists don't know that human activity is the cause of the temperature increase, although many suggest it. They don't know what happens next, although they've done their best to make predictions so that we aren't caught unaware. Check out the International Panel on Climate Change. On the bright side, we don't have to bury our heads in the sand - if we stand still long enough the weather might do it for us.
Tim Larson Biomedical engineering graduate student April 12, 2007
Taking on Burd
With all due respect to my former professor Gene Burd, your argument that UT professors use university resources to preach their own opinions (Firing Line, April 12) loses several degrees of credibility when you use The Daily Texan to, well, preach your views.
I, and anyone else who has ever been in your class, have witnessed you use your position to expound on the "way things used to be" and "how things should be now." You are opinionated and relentless in your delivery of your opinions, mixed in with the unquestionable facts of the history you teach.
If I hadn't stood up to re-educate the class about the global epidemic of AIDS, the class would have left sadly misinformed, because of your own personal bias and outdated information.
Your classes are valuable to the UT journalism department because you don't hold back. You say what you believe, but you welcome challenge and will admit you are wrong. That is what journalism is about: informing the public, getting the correct information, even if it means standing up to authority. That is what many of the professors you deride in your Firing Line choose to do, and that you may disagree with some of them does not change the fact that you are no different.
Joshua Howton UT alum April 12, 2007
Precociously adverbial
Is it just me, or has the world's record for excessive and cloying overuse of adverbs and $10-words been broken by Leah Finnegan's opinion piece published on April 10 ("College admission at the roll of the dice")? Please, please don't tack a "ly" onto a word like "melancholy." It makes me sick to my stomach. Did you really laugh "haughtily" at your friends? It's one thing to be clever, but it's another to "haughtily" flaunt it in people's faces when your piece reads like a special edition of Mad Libs published for precocious kids.
Samuel Litt Radio-television-film and English senior April 12, 2007
New Mopac lanes double tax
Re: "New lane expansions for Mopac will likely be used for carpools," April 10: Managed lanes don't reduce traffic. Just ask the frustrated folks paying $1 a mile on Highway 91 in California. Adding managed lanes to Mopac will cause more traffic congestion as drivers slow down the flow of traffic by having to cross over three lanes to enter and cross over the same three lanes to exit. And tolls should not be placed on roads we've already paid for, such as Mopac, even if the tolls are called another name such as "managed lanes." That's a double tax.
Sal Costello Online reader People for Efficient Transportation April 10, 2007
Protesters drown free speech
I think the people who protested Minutemen President Chris Simcox are rude, disrespectful and completely unjustified in believing it's their First Amendment right to ruin his speech. This has nothing to do with my personal views of immigration and the Minutemen. Earlier that day, I went to the rally the protesters held at the capital, and when someone tried to protest them, organizers said, "This is not the place to do that. This is a respectable event. Please be respectful," and the protester stopped.
But when Minutemen protestors disagree with something, they consider it their Constitutional right to ruin an event where people who do agree with the issue have gathered. If you are in a movie theater and something happens on screen that upsets you, it doesn't mean you can stand up and start yelling at the screen demanding they turn off the projector. If you really believed in free speech you would welcome any and all differing opinions without feeling the need to stomp on attempts to spread them. Let people decide for themselves that they hate the Minutemen instead of trying to stop the group from spreading their message.
Sharon Ventura Online reader April 11, 2007
Booster-seat quarterbacking
As a father of two, I have some random thoughts regarding the opinion piece written by Lauren Ratcliff, the childless freshman ("Conservatism stigmatized on campus," April 13). One year is ample time for a parent who cares for the safety of their child to comply with a child safety law. Five- and six-year-olds exhibit very little independence and will return to sitting in a booster seat if instructed to do so by a parent who has brought them up to respect adults, including their parents. The ability to dress and feed yourself has little to do with being safe using an auto manufacturer's one-size-fits-all seat belts. Parents do not expect their five- and six-year-olds to act like adults. Rational and realistic parents do not expect their children to act like adults until some time after they graduate from college. I would fire you as a babysitter if you did not use my booster seats when transporting my children in your car. A birth certificate or birth-registration card proves a child's age. If, when you have children, you do not use booster seats for your young children, you will be a bad mother.
John Howard UT alum April 9, 2007
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