Bruins for Israel deserves support
As a Muslim, I am disturbed by the criticism directed at Bruins
for Israel for playing a video on Bruin Walk that shows children
being taught to be violent toward Israelis.
The propaganda that runs daily on official Palestinian Authority
television is provocative, anti-Semitic and encourages children to
become suicide bombers. Any reasonable person can see this from
Palestinian textbooks, newspapers (such as the official Palestinian
newspaper al-Hayat al-Jadidah) and television.
If we want peace in the Middle East, all Muslims must recognize
the horrific nature of hateful Palestinian media and unite against
it. The BFI table on Bruin Walk is fostering peace by countering
hate.
Ismail Migrabi Third-year, Middle East
studies
Activity Center has long history
I think the Daily Bruin might have missed the point of the
inauguration of the Students Activities Center in the article
“Activities Center opens its doors” (Jan. 28). The
article focused tremendously on the notion that SAC centralizes
resources for students into one location, yet the goal that
students and campus members were trying to assert was only alluded
to at the end of the article: “SPARC was re-submitted and
passed in 2000 with the help of both graduate and undergraduate
students.”
The successful passage of the Student Programs Activities
Resource Complex (SPARC) Referendum in 2000 demonstrated the
tireless efforts and activism of many students over an extended
period of time. The SPARC referendum was first proposed in 1999 by
the administration. It was widely rejected by students for several
reasons, including timing, specifics of the referendum, and the
lack of an active student voice in developing the proposal.
In 2000 the SPARC Referendum passed, due to the concerted effort
by strong groups of students ““ not individuals ““ who
asserted to the administration that students must come first and
not last in the process. Holes, peeling paint, and cracked walls
were part of the old Men’s Gym (now SAC), yet amid the
celebration over renovations the Daily Bruin forgot to focus on the
historical student struggle to create change and ensure our student
voice is part of the process.
Fabian Renteria Fifth year, history and Chicana/o
studies
Right from wrong not left from right
In response to Antonio Raimundo’s column, “Court
must ban barbaric practice of executing minors” (Jan. 28), I
would like to point out a misleading statement in his column. By
posing the reader with the question, “Is there some magic age
when a child becomes an adult, with the capability of understanding
the charges against him or her?” Raimundo disguises the issue
under polished rhetoric.
The fact is, our rights as citizens are determined on a lowest
common denominator basis. While some 17-year-olds read The Wall
Street Journal and are clued into government, the majority of them
don’t and aren’t, and hence we hold that all
17-year-olds cannot sway elections or hold a rifle in combat. On
the other hand, the majority of states have decided that 16- to
17-year-olds are capable of handling their lives and others’
on national roads.
Yes, we can determine “some magic age” when it comes
to this same age-group committing capital crimes. Unlike political
knowledge, the value of human life does not materialize in the
minds of young adults by experience. The mere fact that a few
17-year-old Einsteins might know the difference between Democrats
and Republicans yet still falls short of being treated as adults
does not negate the fact that even those at the lowest end of the
16-year-old spectrum inherently know the difference between right
and wrong.
Nicholas Louw Third-year, mathematics and
economics
Editorial provides education for peace
I just wanted to commend the Daily Bruin staff for the editorial
“Students should get educated about Islam” (Jan. 26). I
think it’s so important that students are sincerely open
minded because there is so much to learn about each other. And the
only way to be at peace with each other is to not be scared and to
learn about each other. So good work, keep it up.
Khadeeja Abdullah Second-year, undeclared