Spiritual facts
I think Garret Mize would be well-served to actually read the First Amendment he so adores ("YCT misses the mark," Firing Line, Dec. 10). It starts with "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
I think the ACLU is clearly out of hand when they argue that clause actually means: "Local governments shall take no action concerning religion or spirituality that could conceivably offend the most sensitive atheist."
That's the core point of the Solstice Barn. Mize would have known that if he went and saw it - but by claiming that Charles Darwin was a participant, I can tell that he didn't. Garrett, next time you want to criticize YCT to gain free press for your fledgling club, you should get the facts right before you slide into one of your incoherent, angry rants that mischaracterize everything conservatives stand for.
Tony McDonald Chairman Emeritus Young Conservatives of Texas Economics and government junior
Reasons to educate
Isn't college education a public good ("White collar tower," Firing Line, Dec. 10)? Isn't healthcare a public good? If we had sick, uneducated people walking around (which we clearly do), it wouldn't just be a loss to them, but rather a loss to society as a whole. Sure, we can't cure all diseases, but wouldn't it be grand if people took care of themselves and were given adequate care to protect themselves and others? Or how about getting an education so they can contribute on a grander scale, given that we value a college education as a right and not a privilege (we as a society must determine that). Health and education provide a feedback loop between individual and society. Denying those who can't afford it an education or healthcare isn't a matter of survival of the fittest but rather condemning the rest of society to both the tangible and intangible burdens of such a proposition.
Ramya Sankar UT Alum
Ramen revolution
In response to "Tuition cap not the answer, " Dec. 10: It seems the University of Texas Board of Regents finally got a taste of some Ramen Noodles. 126 million, to be exact. Last week, the Board of Regents offered UT students an early Christmas gift - capping tuition increases at 4.95 percent annually or $150 per semester, whichever is higher. This tuition cap slashes the two-year, 15 percent tuition increase proposed by the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee three weeks ago. The total savings amounts to more than $15 million, or 126 million packages of Ramen noodles. Indeed, this is a true victory for middle- and lower-income students with part-time jobs and obscene amounts of student debt.
This is also a victory for the Tuition Accountability Coalition. Recently, we marched across campus with Ramen in hand, warning students that if tuition continues to increase, they'd better stock up on the 12-cent noodles. We urged TPAC to utilize UT's alternative revenue sources, such as our multi-billion dollar endowment, as a means to decrease the tuition burden on students. Board of Regents Chairman H. Scott Caven Jr. said on Friday, "At this time there are other sources of revenue and savings associated with our numerous system-wide cost saving initiatives that can be tapped to meet a portion of these costs." Finally, someone has heard our call for financial relief.
Regardless of our progress, we have more work ahead of us. Next semester, we must take this movement to the Texas Legislature. The measly 1.8 percent increase in appropriations UT received last year is an embarrassment. Legislators must put politics aside, stand up and increase funding to the state's flagship University.
Moreover, we must take this movement to our unrepresentative Student Government. This victory proves that when students stand up for students, we can achieve real change. SG, Senate and GSA's failure to represent struggling students during this ordeal should alert us all to a crisis in student representation. Rather than representing students to the administration, student leaders are representing the administration to the students. If our student leaders refuse to stand up and represent students, the Tuition Accountability Coalition will.
Perhaps, then, it's time for a Ramen Revolution to begin.
Zack C. Hall Government junior
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