I.D.-Palestine Link Rings Hollow
Dear Editor:
The article run on May 25, 2006, “How the Palestinian Advocates Intelligently Design Each Debate” by David Cerutti, makes an outrageous comparison between the specious arguments of intelligent design and the arguments in favor of Palestinian rights. The purpose of the article was nothing more than an attempt to attack and null the rights of Palestinians by placing Palestinian aspirations on the same baseless footing as creationism. The brazen attempt to create a parallel between the complex dynamics of over a century of history and an essentially philosophical debate on the scientific method is an offense to reason.
The vacuity of the argument is evident in the lack of even a single concrete fact, which would have proved inconvenient to the argument. The childish logic boils down to little more than: Intelligent design is false, therefore Palestinians have no rights. However, the author fails to note that the early Zionist argument, a land for a people without land, is founded primarily within the Bible, for within it is written, “Return, O Lord, unto the tens and thousands of the families of Israel” (Numbers, 10:36). So to say that the right of Palestinians to return is false because intelligent design is false is to negate any veracity and soundness to the early Zionist argument, because it is founded primarily within a text that is the foundation of intelligent design.
Furthermore, the article went so far as to reject even the existence of a Palestinian refugee problem when approximately 1 million residents of the Gaza Strip alone (80 percent of the population) are officially listed as refugees after they or their parents were effectively expelled from present-day Israel in 1948. Reality becomes an annoyance and is conveniently ignored. Even stranger is the claim that if only the moderates were followed there would be a mutual solution. Just who are these so-called moderate Palestinians he speaks of who are willing to renounce their rights as enshrined in the Declaration of Human Rights? In fact, the Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian public have never renounced their right of return or right to compensation. It may not be realistic given the imbalance of power, but to claim that this right has been renounced by moderates is sheer fantasy; if anything, it has been silenced by superior Israeli weapons.
This fantasy is matched by the “moderate” Israeli position of rejecting any responsibility for the refugee problem, rejecting a dismantling of all West Bank settlements and rejecting any division of Jerusalem while most Palestinians only want the eastern part of the city. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an incredibly important and little-understood issue of which our government is an intimate part. Real discussion based on historical scholarship and international law should take place, not immature chicanery propagated by a staff writer who obviously has no intellectual background on the issue at hand.
— James A. Besada
Earl Warren College Junior
More to Sixth College Than the Name
Dear Editor,
In last week’s paper there appeared an article by David Johnston entitled “It’s Time to Bring Sixth College Into the Fold.” I was upset by the unfair coverage given to my college. To begin with, Mr. Johnston describes our logo as appearing “to be a hockey stick getting friendly with the digit.” While I understand our logo is often misunderstood and therefore causes talk (“It’s a six with a cat eye,” “It’s a hockey stick getting busy with the digit,” etc.), it is simply a number six with a stylized drop shadow.
The article then goes on to say that Sixth College is at a clear disadvantage because it has no name to make it stand out. I would tend to disagree with that statement. As a high school senior with limited knowledge of the UCSD college system, I was drawn to Sixth College because of its namelessness. It made me want to learn more.
Because of this, I fell in love with the college and I could not think of attending a different one. While my story might be dismissed as a simple fluke, many of my friends here have experienced the same “fluke.” The author offers the hypothesis that Sixth College students are at a disadvantage because we do not have a name to rally around. We are not at a disadvantage just because students cannot identify us with a famous person.
Students identify with the college because it is unique. Johnston states, “What Sixth College needs, and its students deserve, is a namesake who embodies the spirit of the college and acts as its proud symbol.” While I look forward to having an official name for my college, I would like to remind you that we have a symbol and a name to rally around. We are Sixers and proud of it. As a John Muir College student, Johnston fails to understand our sense of community and college pride. Sixth College is the smallest at UCSD, but we are large where it matters. Just last week, our Chocolate Festival drew a crowd of about 650 students. That’s not too shabby, especially when you consider that it is one of the largest crowds at any UCSD event that does not include a live band. Every year we grow more and more. This year will mark our first commencement and we couldn’t be happier or prouder.
I would like that thank Johnston for his kindly suggestions of namesakes, though, as he suggests, this is a college matter and should be dealt with by Sixth College administrators and students. It is our name, our identity. So, thank you, but we are handling this. We have had town hall forums as well as invited students to come speak at naming meetings. Sixth College has taken every opportunity to involve its students in the naming and founding of traditions for our newfangled college. As the author mentions, it took Thurgood Marshall College 23 years to decide on a name. According to my calculations, we still have 19 years to tie them.
— Honore Pedigo
Sixth College Sophomore
Student Voting a Must In June 6 Election
Dear Editor,
As the California primary election nears, students are facing larger attacks to access and affordability of higher education than ever before. State funding for higher education has decreased from 16.8 percent of the state budget in 1975-76 to 11.3 percent in 2005-06. In order to offset these profuse state budget cuts, University of California undergraduate, graduate and professional student fees have skyrocketed. Since 2001, undergraduate fees have increased more than 79 percent, graduate fees 84 percent and professional fees 69 to 131 percent. Student fees must be dependent on family affordability rather than the cost of instruction to the university or state.
Legislators who vote against access and affordability often argue that the state of California is in a budget crisis. However, legislators need not rely on students and their families as a source of revenue. No student should feel deterred from attending a public university due to financial difficulties.
Over the past 30 years the denotation of financial aid has shifted from grants to loans. Today the average UC undergraduate is expected to work full time each summer and will still graduate with over $20,000 in debt. Half of all UC students work in order to offset the partial costs of school and of those half; one in four work over 20 hours a week.
Currently, the University of California does not reflect the diversity of the state. At UCSD, 37 percent of students identify themselves as Asian, 32 percent as white, 14 percent other/undeclared, 8 percent Mexican American, 3 percent Latino/Latina, 5 percent Filipino, 1 percent black and less than 1 percent American Indian. These statistics are startling but remain a harsh reality that should encourage fellow students to demand greater accountability from elected officials. At the current rate, our public higher education system will become socially and economically privatized so that only a privileged few will be able to afford its high price. Please join thousands of students all across the state of California as we take the first step in demanding such accountability on Tuesday, June 6.
— Eddie Herrera
A.S Vice President External
