Letters

All thrills, no success?

Editor:

I have to congratulate Jeanene Harlick (Oct. 3, "Sex before
marriage: why we should wait") for having the guts to stand up for
deep and meaningful living. One thing she does not mention is that
once people start developing "thrill consciousness" (and valuing
temporary excitement more than the long-term good), the next step
after sexual over-indulgence is "let’s try drugs."

People only concerned with immediate sensory stimulation rarely
achieve excellence or make any positive contribution to
society.

Daniel May Physics Fourth-year senior

UC Student Association

Editor:

The Daily Bruin headline, "UC Berkeley’s withdrawal further
cripples UCSA" (Oct. 3) was both incorrect and highly misleading.
It was incorrect in that, as the article itself stated in its
second paragraph, the decision to withdraw was overturned. It was
also incorrect in that the initial decision to withdraw was made
only by the undergraduate UC Berkeley government – the Berkeley
graduate students have never attempted to withdraw. Similar
misstatements were made in the article concerning the UC Davis
situation: the Davis graduate students remain members in good
standing.

Aside from these errors, the article was also very misleading.
The University of California Student Association has always had
members who, for a variety of reasons, decide not to actively
participate for brief periods of time. Moreover, if you were to dig
into the causes of the withdrawals of the undergrads at Davis and
(briefly) at Berkeley, I believe you would find them rooted more in
political disputes than in any particular grievance with the
students’ association. In any case, UCSA presently has as many or
more members than any time in its history. It is, therefore, not
"crippled."

A strong and healthy UCSA is needed by all UC students to
represent our interests to the regents and to the Office of the UC
President. The vast majority of the UC student governments
recognize this need and continue to wholeheartedly support the
organization. Minor disputes and changes should not be contorted
and amplified to create the appearance of otherwise nonexistent
"crippling" events.

Kevin Welner Graduate Students Association Vice
President for External Affairs Member, Board of Directors, UC
Student Association