A racist denial of racism
Colin Kalmbacher doesn't come straight out and say it, but he intimates that there's either no racism at play in the Jena Six case or that whatever racism exists in Jena doesn't matter ("Lynching reason from Jena Six case," Oct. 8). The facts speak for themselves, which explains why there are so few in Colin's column. Black students at Jena High School sought permission to sit under the "white tree." White students hung nooses from the tree shortly thereafter, which white residents of Jena have dismissed in interviews as a harmless prank. The district attorney declined to charge those students with a hate crime because they're juveniles, yet he attempted to try the Jena Six as adults for attempted murder before an all-white jury - even though the beat-up student was in and out of the hospital and attended a party later that night.
Beating up someone is wrong, but calling the Jena Six "cruel and violent human beings" and pretending there's no racism in Jena is racist. For his posturing as a smarter-than-thou ally of the civil rights movement, Kalmbacher is giving Bill O'Reilly a run for his bigotry.
The Jena Six is just one egregious instance of systematic racism in this country, particularly as it is perpetrated against youth of color, who are suspended and expelled from schools at least three times more frequently than their white counterparts. I urge Texan readers to check out www.brownfemipower.com and other blogs by radical women of color for news on incidents like Jena around the country that have slipped under the mainstream radar, as is the norm with these cases.
Ansel Herz Journalism senior
Overlooking UT's staff
In addition to faculty, students and whom Kiah Collier refers to as "administration," there are other people who actually show up every weekday (and sometimes weekends) to make sure this university functions ("Budget cuts may hit administrators' pay," Oct. 8). While her piece was informative in addressing the salaries of faculty and upper administration, not once is there reference to the rest of the administrative body. She mentions that the average salary of an administrator is $100,000, giving the impression that staff such as administrative assistants and other clerical employees are living high off the hog, which is far from the case. Prior to that article, Anita Avram wrote on Sept. 27 about the increased wages in Austin ("Increased wages in Austin not inflation") and not once addressed the wages of the staff at UT, despite the fact that this university is the largest employer in the city. Is the staff so insignificant as to not even be mentioned or acknowledged in such important news items?
Emil Kresl Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost staff
Proposition for UT athletics
The Austin American-Statesman reported last week that the operating budget for the athletics department is more than $100 million for this upcoming year. Since the Longhorns have come of another disappointing loss in what is going to amount to a disappointing season, my question is: Can we take all of the benefits that the coaches and players would have received if they had been good this year and transfer them into something actually useful for the school? For instance, since we are not going to a national championship, just take the $400,000 bonus Mack Brown would have gotten and use it to start fixing the electrical engineering building and free people from having offices in portables like a high school.
Also, instead of spending $200,000 on Xbox 360s, Playstation 3s, flatscreens, leather recliners and a big television controller in the shape of the UT Tower for the football players' locker room this year, give 50 semesters of scholarships to students who work their asses off to pay for an education they actually want and complete?
Albert Swantner Engineering graduate student
Pianka's state of denial
In response to "In a state of denial," Firing Line, Oct. 5: Professor Pianka is the definition of arrogant when he lambastes an opinion piece for being "uninformed." Is it odd that Pianka offers no facts of his own while claiming that Earnest's are wrong? It's one thing to argue an issue with counterpoints, but it's something else entirely to just slam someone. Pianka is obviously irritated by the growing number of studies that are unwilling to name humans as the cause for climate change. In his irritation, he has forgotten to debate the issue. Instead, he's assailed a student without making a constructive argument.
His calling for a new economic system in the U.S. is as radical as it is senseless. Growth has proven to be a very effective way to expand our economy and keep the country stable. The way to harm the economy is to waste billions of dollars on unfounded government programs to address things such as global warming. The only denial evident is Dr. Pianka-Strangelove's denial that socialism fails and capitalism works.
Clint Chegin Economics junior
Don't misrepresent Kyoto-ers
In response to "In a state of denial," Firing Line, Oct. 5: Some people feel that today's global warming may be caused chiefly by factors such as those that melted glaciers before mankind was active. However, it is unfair of them to give the impression that most supporters of the Kyoto Protocol are not sincere, but are conspiring in a socialist scheme. These Kyoto supporters sincerely believe that mankind can now save the world from global warming.
John W.F. Dulles Latin American Studies professor
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