Letters

Editorial examples don’t support claim
Your editorial comparing the U.S. investigation into the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11 to the World War II internment of Japanese
Americans is inaccurate and sensational (“America
is prison for Middle Eastern men,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint,
Nov. 6) You provide three men ““ Ramez Noaman, Hady Omar
Jr. and Mustafa Abu Jdai ““ as proof that the FBI is engaged
in a “hysteria-driven manhunt.” However, your editorial
misrepresents the circumstances surrounding each man. Ramez Noaman
was held as a material witness because, according to his cousin,
the FBI believes he knew three of the suspected hijackers while he
lived in the same apartment complex they did. You imply that his
rights were violated, yet detaining someone as a material witness
to a crime is no infringement of constitutional rights. He was held
for 12 days while law enforcement officials frantically responded
to the most devastating terrorist attack in American history.
Considering these circumstances, it seems unreasonable to accuse
the FBI of being “blinded by fear and hatred” because
it held a witness longer than is normal. Hady Omar Jr. was
initially arrested because he used the same computer as suspected
terrorist Mohammed Atta to book plane tickets, and you accuse the
FBI of racial profiling in detaining him after the issue was
apparently found to be a coincidence. Unfortunately, you gloss over
the fact that he as well as Mustafa Abu Jdai is now being detained
not by the FBI but the INS because of visa expirations ““ one
of several warning flags raised by the terrorists that law
enforcement tragically failed to act upon before the attacks.
Again, do you accuse the FBI of acting unjustly because it is
encouraging the INS to crack down on a proven loophole in American
security? What’s more, by stating that the FBI is able to
repress constitutional rights because of the agency’s caution
in disclosing information to the public (information potentially
useful to fugitive terrorists), you are suggesting that every judge
who oversees the investigation is permitting these supposed
injustices to continue. I would caution you to provide proof of our
judicial system’s corruption before you dare to claim it.

Robert Johnston First-year Biochemistry

Aid should not be dependent on race Sophia
Smith’s submission, “Students should pay heed to
affirmative action proponents,” (Daily Bruin, Viewpoint, Nov.
1), is correct in recognizing the fact that we should help those
students who are not provided the opportunity to pursue an adequate
education. Any affirmative action opponent would not begrudge
someone who was given assistance because of hardship. The
opposition arises when financial hardship is automatically
associated with a particular race or minority. Social class and
race are two separate traits. Some members of minority groups
may be well off economically, while at the same time, there are
many whites who “start off with a financial
disadvantage.”Â Not all members of a particular race are
poor and disadvantaged; that is stereotyping and should not be
supported by institutions of higher learning such as UCLA. It is
true that we don’t live in an ideal world where everyone is
equal, yet affirmative action is not the road to equality.

Steven Skinner Economics