RSO run-in at Eleanor Roosevelt
Editor:
Recently, I was visiting some friends in Eleanor Roosevelt College, and as I was walking back to the parking lot, I saw a friend of mine who looked like she was feeling ill. I stopped to make sure she was fine. She was. I offered her my services, and she politely declined because they weren’t needed. A police officer soon showed up along with two resident security officers. One RSO was questioning the young lady and convinced her she needed to be watched for the next four hours. I chatted with the police officer on the girl’s behalf and told him she was merely walking from her car in the Pangea structure with her designated driver to her house, and that I stopped to be a Good Samaritan. All our actions were in the best prescribed manner they could possibly be in. A few moments later he accused me of being “drunk.” He referred me to the RSO after they had arrested this girl for public intoxication.
The RSO asked me all sorts of questions that I felt I had to answer or otherwise I would have been in direct defiance of a university official. I did not want to answer them and said as much, due to certain clauses in the U.S. Constitution. The RSO and her male associate followed me to my car after I told them to stop following me.
I would like to express my disgust with the overall situation. First, the girl clearly did not need to be escorted downtown for public intoxication. This was a waste of everyone’s time. At a school comparable to UCSD, such as Stanford, this situation would have never occurred due to a more lenient alcohol policy and respect for the students. UCSD students don’t need to be policed like children. Secondly, I think that the police officer didn’t believe me because of my lack of shoes. The information I provided was accurate and helpful. I have only worn shoes on occasion since my senior year of high school as it is symbolic of my personal beliefs. Never at any time was I a threat to myself or any other person, and most importantly never did I act in a disorderly manner. Lastly, I am 22 years old and very insulted and appalled that at an influential university such as UCSD that affirms the right of freedom of expression and open expression of individuality, I was not treated in a courteous, sensitive, confidential and respectful manner. What I learned from this experience is the very people installed to uphold the principles of community are its biggest detractors.
— Michael Nitzani
John Muir College senior
Accusation of chauvinism unfounded
Editor:
I am responding to Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance President Mary McQueen’s letter regarding domestic violence, in which she falsely accuses me of being a “chauvinist.” This, however, is untrue — simply read my letter to the editor (“UCSD feminist groups promote harmful myths,” April 19) and you’ll find no evidence that I am a chauvinist.
I should also clarify my previous letter: My argument is solely concerned with domestic violence. I have never made any claims about the male/female victim ratio regarding rape. McQueen uses a false statistic: She claims, “In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Justice … 85 percent of domestic violence victims are women.” Of course, this (outdated) number is obtained from police reports, which are obviously biased; if a male victim calls the police, he will likely be laughed at, not taken seriously, or accused of being the abuser and arrested.
It’s no wonder that, according to the police, most victims are women.
Let’s look at another quote from McQueen’s letter: “using [an] outdated statistics source from the 1980s that was based on faulty reasoning, Bronstein writes, ‘it has been shown that women attack their partners at roughly the same rate as men.’”
I assume that she is referring to the Strauss-Gelles survey I mentioned in my letter, one of many studies that support my point. The survey has hardly been discredited; feminist groups simply claimed that the abusive women in the survey must have been defending themselves (using the common myth that any woman who attacks a man must be acting in self-defense). Their claim, however, is false.
But regardless of your opinion on the survey, there are plenty of other studies that support my case. For instance, a study by Brinkerhoff and Lupri found that “severe” violence by wives against husbands was significantly more common than the reverse. If you’re interested in looking into this subject, check out the following Web site: http://www.menweb.org/ fiebert.htm. It lists over 100 studies — in reputable journals — that support my case.
In any case, we must not allow the feminist groups (such as the National Organization for Women and UCSD’s very own Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance) to define domestic violence solely as a male on female phenomenon. Men, do you want to go to jail, accused of being an abuser, after being attacked by your partner? Women, do you think that violent females should be exempt from jail time? Feminist groups have a dangerous goal and it is imperative that they not be allowed to succeed.
— Adam Bronstein
John Muir College junior
Greek system provides opportunities
Editor:
I’m glad that the Guardian chose to run a PRO/CON on the Greek system (“The Greek system, April 19) because it allows students to learn more about our population of almost 2,000 undergraduate students. We are members and prominent leaders of almost all of the 400-plus student organizations on campus, including the A.S. Council, Women’s Commission, college student councils, the Student Organization Funding Advisory Board, Student Affirmative Action Committee and many more. We are a facet to student life, among the many other great organizations out there.
There were some things that I did want to expand upon that were fallacies:
About segregation: There is no one in the Greek system that would look at someone and think, “Oh, you aren’t so-and-so, you can’t look at me.” How ridiculous is that? You don’t just make friends with your sisters or brothers, you make friends with all of their friends, too. I have learned so much about all the different activities on campus through my sisters. Networking is everything in this world, as all graduating seniors know. You want a job? Look no further than the Greek system: Someone always knows someone who can help you find a job, sell a car, or just buy a taco.
About paying dues: We don’t buy our friends. That money goes to philanthropies, operating costs and all the perks that we get. Our dues are like a deposit on something huge that we get back. Paying $500 to $1,000 per year for dues is not bad when you can get $1,000 to $10,000 in scholarships and grants exclusive to Greeks.
About “active Greek members routinely avoid[ing] members of all ethnic and cultural groups”: As members in probably all cultural organizations on and off campus, as well as doing charity work for organizations all over the world, I can’t see how this has any substance. If you think we avoid you, why don’t you just come up and say “hi” to us first?
Just come see what we are about and ask questions to people that you see proudly wearing their letters around campus.
— Rachel Corell
A.S. Panhellenic representative
