Letters to the Editor

More UW culture!

As an employee of the UW, I am continually amazed at the wonderful variety of lectures, plays, performances, meetings, concerts, seminars, films and other events that happen here every day. This university is such a brilliant, multi-faceted place of unimaginable richness. While I enjoy reading The Daily and consider it a fine example of a student-run newspaper, I wonder if you perhaps give a bit too many column inches to athletic events. I love sports as much as the next person, but a good quarter of your paper is regularly devoted to athletics coverage. Perhaps more space devoted to the student experience in other aspects of life at UW would give your publication more balance.

Just a thought. Congratulations on your fine work, and thank you for considering my opinion.

Donald Summers

director of development

for the humanities

Care for all - even the Yankees

This is in regards to I HATE THE YANKEES (letters, Oct. 26). When did hate mean that one was the ultimate Mariners' fan? I have to admit, I'm feeling more than a little annoyed at the Yankees, but not hating them doesn't mean I don't support the Mariners. To avoid sounding preachy, in simple words, it's feelings like that which cause tragedies akin to the destruction of the Twin Towers. The terrorists that attacked America hate us. Not 'mild antipathy,' as you put it, but 'fucking hatred.' No one's going to kill themselves just because of 'dislike.' Baseball is a sport.

And sounding rather preachy again, having fans hate other fans (Dawg Breath Oct. 24) is just as, to be plain, intolerant. Seeing that you mentioned 'burning in hell' and 'devil-spawn,' I assume you believe in some sort of religion where a 'hell' actually exists. To voice an idea, perhaps the ones going to 'hell' would be the ones who display hatred and intolerance toward others simply because their opinion differs from one's own opinion.

Using Christianity as an example (mind you, an EXAMPLE), one is supposed to accept and care for all. Not doing that (a person doesn't even have to believe in a deity to uphold basic human compassion) is what causes a lot of the troubles in America and in any country. I won't even bring up the fact of the less-than-tolerant opinion in Vernon Chin's letter.

Cheryl Hou

freshman, pre-health sciences

Computer science and engineering rules

Thank you for your article on the recent survey by the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students on graduate programs throughout the country. The article accurately observes that the highest grade earned by any UW doctoral programs was a "B+," which included my department, Computer Science & Engineering (CSE). However, a reader might infer from the "B+" (overall grade, on a collection of recommended practices) that CSE is better than average but "just OK." Digging a little deeper shows that this is simply untrue: a) we were the highest rated computer engineering Ph.D. program in the survey; b) we were the highest rated computer science Ph.D. program in the survey; c) we were the highest rated program in ANY engineering department in the survey; and d) we were tied for third among ALL physical sciences departments in the survey.

We spend an enormous amount of time in mentoring and working with our graduate students. They've done extremely well in getting jobs at top places and becoming leaders in the field. This survey gives us great pleasure, since it is an indication that the students realize and appreciate this.

David Notkin

Boeing professor and chair, department of computer science and engineering

Pantheistic American Indian propaganda

I am disappointed to see that The Daily has resorted to printing religious propaganda on its opinion pages. Regardless of your religious or political beliefs, there is no other way to look at the smug, insulting article by Angelo Baca and the accompanying editorial cartoon. He makes a grossly unfair parody of the Mormon beliefs for the purpose of discrediting their religious system and advancing his own, and he does it with condescension that would make the Inquisitors proud.

I am not a Mormon, and I have serious disagreements with many of their doctrines. However, they have the same basic human rights to practice their own religion as every one else, and that includes the right to proselytize as their beliefs require. While Baca is free to reject their beliefs if he chooses, he does not stop there, instead calling the gospel a "virus" and calling their faith "self-hypnosis." He demonizes them for doing the very thing that he does in his article -- practicing religion and attempting to introduce others to it as a better way of life.

Furthermore, the Native American religion that Baca seems to advance is not alone in being attacked by mainstream culture. Conservative Mormon values of modesty, chastity and evangelism are constantly contradicted by our sex-obsessed, pluralistic culture, and I know from conversations with Mormons that they face constant stress from standing against the culture tide. Though I may not agree with their beliefs, I admire the courage they have in holding them.

If The Daily wishes to print propaganda for pantheistic, Native American religions, at least it can return the favor and allow the Mormons to have their say as well.

Jesse S. Bangs

sophomore, linguistics

Mormons are not a virus

The Daily's political cartoon leapt from the page at me on Thursday, Oct. 25. Under the title, which read "Attack of the Mormons!" were two well-dressed Mormons, one of which proclaimed the "truth" that people of color were given their ethnicity as punishment for their previous sins. Although initially taken aback by the brash cartoon, I turned to the editorial under it, expecting to find a well-balanced argument attacking the discriminatory beliefs of the Mormon creed.

Unfortunately, what I found was a meandering and irregular piece whose only aim, it seemed, was to attack Mormons in general. Mr. Baca refers to Mormonism as "a virus" and portrays Mormons as parasites too. "They (Mormons) have to get us. They need us to live, to thrive." His only justification for this description is that a Mormon text claims that African and Native American peoples received their darker skin by their past transgressions.

I happen to think, as does Mr. Baca, that Mormonism is bunk, not only for this reason, but for many other historical ones. However, unlike Mr. Baca, I don't consider Mormons parasites or Mormonism a virus. The majority of Mormons I've had the pleasure to come into contact with are friendly, generous, interesting and not the least bit racist. They are ignorant of their creed's beliefs, which is certainly not the same as being in accord with them.

Mr. Baca seems to think he is justified in labeling over eleven million people parasitic racists simply because they are ignorant. He is not. It astounds me that a piece which so blatantly demeans and stereotypes followers of a harmless religion was allowed to published in The Daily.

David Lindstrom

freshman, pre-engineering

Daily trumps national media

Excellent, though short, editorial opinion on the anthrax scare (staff editorial, Oct. 24). Have you read John Ringo's guest editorial in the NY Post:

(www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/34051.htm)?

Ken Schram made the same point last week on KOMO news -- unfortunately the national news media and local papers aren't listening.

Keep pointing out the important stories.

Judy W. Schroeder

secretary to Joyce L. Ogburn, associate director of libraries, RCMS