Letters

Blame game must stop in Middle East

I find it depressing and ironic that Mujtaba Ali’s
submission, “Sharon
fosters unrest in Middle East“ (Daily Bruin, Viewpoint,
Jan. 8), unwittingly demonstrates the major obstacle to peace in
the Middle East. As long as both governments (and their respective
supporters) focus on each other’s various atrocities and
warlike behavior, the conflict will go on indefinitely. It is time
for both sides to stop passing the blame and focus on the steps
that they can and should take toward peace. Self-reflection, not
self-righteousness, is necessary to avert war.

Robert Johnston First-year Biochemistry

Ackerman must be in union with needs of
students

While I cannot say that I agree with every step of Idan
Ivri’s plan to better the Ackerman Union mess, I must say
that he brings up several good points (“ASUCLA
fails to meet student needs,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint,
Jan. 7).

Cigarette sales should not be so forbidden; I would hope that
free-thinking adults in college could finally be free of
the DARE-era taboos of elementary and secondary schools. I myself
am a non-smoker, but I don’t believe it is the
university’s responsibility to monitor the legal use of
cigarettes by its students.

Also, I live on campus and have the Bruin Premiere 19 meal
plan. I traded 24 meals at $5.50 per meal for a case of
Frappuccinos and a case of Aquafina, which sell for much less than
$132. Why the extra balance is not carried over as BruinCard money,
I cannot discern. I ought to tell my parents that $132 of
the money they spent on my meal plan went to a pathetic two cases
of drinks. I hope the university doesn’t think that offering
us the option of wasting money on the meals-for-drink option is
doing us any favors.

Jason Fasi Second-year Spanish and
Linguistics