Retiring Member of UCSD deserves commendation

Editor:

I would like to relate a story of commitment and service by an outstanding retiring member of the UCSD community. As time was approaching to take a campus tour for what would likely be my last time with Larry Barrett, I realized how long I had known him and how gracious he had been over those 25 years.

My daughter Jackie, a high school senior, invited herself along to see my alma mater and potentially hers. Larry spent almost an entire day out of his hectic schedule showing us a campus that has grown up in 40 years to be a school that, at its current level of maturity, is not recognizable to me.

I was one of his first student interns in 1976 in the housing and food administration department at UCSD. The campus had approximately 10,000 students then, whereas today it has over 20,000 students.

He went on to explain to my daughter that had it not been for his prodding, I might arguably have taken more time to graduate than I did. It was difficult to leave such a beautiful beach resort like La Jolla. Two of my sisters and a brother-in-law all came into contact with Larry over the years and all were received by him and aided by his generosity of time and expertise as they pursued their educations at UCSD.

As I see the regentrification and the metamorphosis of UCSD to a world-class university, I cannot help but think of how much Larry has played a part in this process. Food and housing for us as new university students are the lifeblood of our collective existence as we separate from our families for the first time to proceed toward this new path of exploration that we collectively term the college experience. For me, he was an adviser in tough times and a coach in others, but fundamentally, he was a guidepost throughout.

As the years rolled on, and each of my subsequent visits to the campus allowed me to see the new challenges that Larry and the university had to meet, I could see he had met each with creative solutions. As I neared the end of our campus tour, I began to realize the magnitude of the people he had come in contact with and had impacted over his 35 years of service.

As I reflect on the trail that Larry leaves behind with this great university, I realize what a great leader and devoted public servant UCSD is losing. May we, as alumni and current students, be so fortunate to find someone to replace Larry that is as genuine and devoted as he has been to this university, my family and me? Thank you Larry, we will miss your class, style and leadership.

— Paul A. Trevino

Laguna Beach, Calif.

Class of 1979

Warren College

Christians Should Speak Out

I am sorry that your writer Arnel Guiang is so passionately against Christianity on this campus. I can understand how the invitations to Christian events could be overwhelming to someone who is not a Christian.

His point of view seems to be that of an individual who is merely annoyed by Christian pressure. It is his right to feel angry at the “”imbalance”” in Christianity when compared to religious groups, although it is not numbers that cause unbalance but the amount of heart we put into it. (Actually, I took it as a complement that he believed Christianity to be more represented than any religious group on campus, because I do not think the low number of 700 involved Christians affects the 19,000-member campus so much.)

I wanted also to explain to him, on a more personal basis, that spreading the good news of Jesus is my job as a Christian. I know how wonderful it is to be in communion with God because of Jesus’ sacrifice to us on the cross.

God has a plan for my life. He loves me more than I can imagine; He provides for me and He strengthens me. In my knowing that all people in this world can also have that relationship with God, how could I possibly be so selfish as to hold myself back from spreading the good news of Jesus?

Not meaning to offend him or belittle his personal beliefs, I would like to suggest that he give Christianity a chance. We should all be given the chance to rightly accept or reject the beliefs of others, so instead of passing up those opportunities of joining the “”crusade,”” see for sure if Christianity is nothing more than an obstacle, rather than a path to life.

Our passion comes from God and the validity of Christianity.

— Sunny Parisi

UCSD Student