Letters

Letters to the editorDo unto others…

Editor:

Although I am neither Christian nor homosexual, I was disturbed
by the

advertisement that the Students, Friends and Alumni of Campus
Crusade for

Christ at UCLA so piously purchased on page 28 of Thursday’s
Oct. 12

issue.

Their sponsored idea of a program to "cure" homosexuality is
ridiculous.

Programs of this sort are the worst type of deceit, for they
make two lies.

First, that homosexuality is a negative thing that one should do
his or her

best to get rid of, and second, that it is in fact possible to
do so. It is

as possible to "cure" homosexuality in the same way that it is
possible to

"cure" being, say, Japanese or left-handed – that is, not at
all, and why

would anyone need to anyway?

All this ad does, by further highlighting the absurdity and
ignorance of

infantile, right-wing nutcases like the Students, Friends and
Alumni of

Campus Crusade for Christ at UCLA, is to take credit away from
the many

caring and tolerant Christians who have accepted the fact that
homosexuals,

bisexuals, and others, are, in fact, a valid minority.

The refusal of many right-wing religious groups to accept
homosexuality

as a valid lifestyle has caused immeasurable trauma and
thousands of

suicides among people struggling to accept what is a difficult
enough task

to accept for a more secularly-raised person. For any Christian
who is

struggling with his or her own sexuality, I recommend the book
"Stranger at

the Gate: to be Gay and Christian in America" by Mel White.

What’s this group’s next big project, a seminar geared at
proving that

the earth is flat and at the center of the universe? It’s too
bad we can’t

develop a program aimed at "curing" intolerance, ignorance and
stupidity

and run the Students, Friends and Alumni of Campus Crusade for
Christ at

UCLA and anyone else behind this advertisement through
it.Jonathan D. Petersen

Second-year

Undeclared

Jailbird president

Editor:

I call it nothing but an embarrassment for undergraduate student
body

president York Chang to be arrested. Militancy is not the
answer. The only

thing Chang accomplished, as captured by TV cameras, handcuffed
and dragged

by officers, is tarnishing the respected name of an elected
officer at UCLA

and the name of the students he represents as well.

These so-called "grass root" ways of Chang and other members of
the

victorious "Students First" slate are ridiculous. Which students
are put

"first" when York Chang is in prison? Nothing is resolved by
being

arrested. How long has it been since a member of USAC was
arrested? How

about the president?

Let us focus on what needs our attention. I don’t know how much
our

president can accomplish from behind bars, but I do know that no
one who

voted for Chang can tell me either.

Let us grow up and conduct business like every other successful
person

does – with civility, integrity and intelligence. Chang is the
official

representative of the undergraduate student body, of me and you.
I am

embarrassed.Mahtab Darvish

Junior

Political Science