Letters to the Editor

Pigeons for fair labor practices!

I am very disappointed by Heather McGreaham's article, "Solving Our Environmental Problems Through Rodent Power." The plan to use squirrels to clean up campus trash is outrageous.

Pigeons and seagulls are being quietly left out of this sweetheart deal between the UW department of zoology and the Campus Squirrel Community (CSC) in yet another instance of mammalian dominance. It is unfair to organize a labor contract without hearing from all eligible candidates.

The University Aviary Society (UAS) deserves to be included in what could be the biggest critter contract since ... well, since ever!

Pigeons and seagulls would bring some distinct abilities to the workforce. Not only do they have more range than squirrels, but they can also dive bomb offenders in a litter prevention program. Also, birds can easily transport non-edible trash to where it belongs ... in Puget Sound.

I'm not trying to advocate that the UAS take on the full responsibility of a campus cleanup by themselves. I merely want to see the CSC and UAS work together, "beak-in-paw."

Sean Anderson

junior, psychology

Kemmling is uninformed

I was shocked and appalled to read Richard Kemmling's opinion in "Free Trade from its Bondage" (April 25). That an educated person could be so ignorant and single-minded is saddening to say the least.

Some of the economic points he raises are valid in certain contexts, but he completely ignores the other issues involved, namely the controversy over intellectual property rights and of course the central issue, environmental implications. He seems to be completely unaware that one of the biggest barriers to free trade is environmental regulation; once municipal restrictions on resource usage are removed, the multinationals can (and will) exploit them at will. Let nothing halt "progress" -- or is that "profit"? The two terms are synonymous in my mind. Kemmling's most blatant display of ignorance, however, has to be his snide reference to certain dedicated activists as "bored '60s rejects."

I can assure you, Mr. Kemmling, that these individuals are much better educated and informed than you will ever be with your narrow minded, ultra-conformist views. If you represent the views of mainstream society, kindly count me among the "rejects" as well.

Nathan Amthor

sophomore, cultural anthropology

Whose line is it anyway?

Too bad The Daily editorial board can't draw a line in the sand against immature reasoning.

"Are you Huskies or are you union members?" the board demands in its latest anti-union editorial. I want to say it over and over, so funny does it sound. Let's get a few things straight. Labor unions are not unAmerican and they are not unHusky! UW employees, including office and maintenance staff, teaching assistants and faculty, have watched their incomes decline over the past decade amidst a booming economy. Students at the same time have seen tuition rates soar.

Both are consequences of the defunding of public services in the name of tax cuts. The strike Friday was a wake-up call. The state has privatized, downsized and squeezed enough. Employees deserve decent wages, students should not face constantly escalating tuition and the UW and other public services need to be funded at decent levels. Maybe that is where we should be drawing our line in the sand.

James Gregory

associate professor, history

Editor's Note: Despite being "anti-union," The Daily's editorial board fully supports the Washington Federation of State Employees as well as the labor action taken by the organization as was stated in the staff editorial (April 23).

Hippies or philosophers?

Mr. Kemmling, time and again you blather on with your narrow perspective of life on this planet. Free trade will allow for cheaper consumer products, yes. What's the cost? We'll see, I suppose, but a decent guess might be that a greater negative impact on the environment would ensue. I imagine that most people in third world nations either plain don't care about environmental concerns, or don't have time, as in it's a day to day struggle just to get on with life. In these areas of the world, sure, production of goods will be cheaper, because there won't be the higher standards for toxic emissions into the air and water, as there are here in the U.S., where a middle class exists and has time to ponder what the hell's going on in the world.

And about "bored, back to the sixties" protesters, what do you think the sixties were about? Boredom? It's like any other revolutionary period when a large group of people realize collectively that they're being screwed by hegemony. So they freaked out, they ate acid, they smoked pot, they sang, they danced, they protested, they did anything they could to put their actions outside of, or against the standard conventions of life. These are the people who throughout the ages have created our best philosophy and art. Socrates was a hippie, Walt Whitman was a hippie, Jimi Hendrix was a hippie. These are the people that reject the status quo and help us all to move past our own greed and needs for excessive material goods.

Caleb Thompson

senior, English