Letters

Reparations suits not baseless

I have no idea what it is like to grow up as an African
American, and quite obviously Ben Shapiro doesn’t either. I
typically am amused by the naivety of Shapiro’s articles, but
when he argues that slavery has no causal connection to any current
difficulties in the black community, it is appalling
(“Reparations
lawsuits hurt blacks,” Viewpoint, April 1).

Shapiro argues that businesses like FleetBoston, Aetna and CSX
should not be held responsible for subsidizing slavery and
profiting from it. He believes that because slavery was a legal
practice when these companies endorsed it, they should not be
liable for the harm slavery has caused. Following Shapiro’s
reasoning, no individuals or companies that persecuted Jews before
and during World War II should be held accountable, because after
all, such behavior was legally sanctioned by Hitler’s Nazi
government.

Conspicuously missing from Shapiro’s article is the issue
of morality, which so frequently permeates his columns. So quick to
condemn the newest legal sex shop in Westwood, it is a curiosity
that Shapiro justifies slavery profits because after all, slaves
were legally considered property back then. We are talking about
people here, and he has the audacity to make a comparison to
tobacco ““ a plant, a commodity.

Finally, Shapiro and other conservatives argue that the black
community needs to take responsibility for problems they face and
not “blame everyone else.” However, while slavery may
not be the only cause of problems like poverty, it obviously is a
central cause. When the first generations of slaves were freed
““ Shapiro’s idea of progress ““ they were given
next to nothing. The education system hindered advancement and the
government segregated and prohibited political involvement. The
community had few resource and no good ole boy connections in
government to make necessary reforms.

Additionally, drugs were introduced into poor communities that
were all too appealing when faced with the harsh reality of
systematic oppression and historical bigotry. Faced with such
daunting obstacles, it is no wonder that some of the same problems
persist over 100 years after slavery was abolished. I’m just
a law student, but slavery reparations lawsuits don’t seem
“baseless” to me.

Dan Hernacki First-year Law

Bruin cartoon is tasteless, offensive

I cannot believe the Daily Bruin had the audacity to print the
cartoon of the wolfish “priest” fondling a young boy
reading a Bible. Not only is it offensive, it shows an utter
disrespect for the Church and a lack of knowledge and compassion on
artist Jarrett Quon’s part. His view of the current situation
regarding the Catholic Church only shows that he is buying into
what the media is selling him ““ and we all know how often the
media is correct. A cartoon depicting all Muslims and Arabs as
terrorists would cause an uproar. I knew the newspaper was going
downhill, but I did not know that it was digging itself a
grave.

Helen Chin Second-year Biology

Both leaders must work for peace

In the headline of your April 1 editorial, “Arafat,
Sharon must end the cycle of revenge“ (Viewpoint), you
call upon both leaders in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to work
to end the violence, but in the article you criticize only Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and unjustly and unfairly attack his
policies without mentioning those of Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat. The editorial calls upon Sharon to declare a
unilateral cease-fire, yet it fails to mention that Sharon has
attempted this several times and that although in total 10
cease-fires have been declared by Arafat and the Israeli government
since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, they have all been
broken by Arafat. The editorial claims that such a cease-fire will
put “pressure” on Arafat to call off terrorist acts all
together. This statement not only admits that Arafat is responsible
for terrorism and therefore the murder of innocent civilians, it
also acknowledges that Arafat had the power to call off such
murderous acts and hence stop the escalation of violence. The
editorial fails to mention that Sharon did call for a unilateral
cease-fire two weeks ago, and he did pull back all Israeli troops
from Palestinian lands and only redeployed them after a barrage of
three suicide bombings that left over 30 innocent people dead.

The editorial also calls upon Sharon to accept the Saudi Peace
Proposal that was unanimously approved at last week’s Arab
League summit in Beirut and once again it fails to mention that not
only did Arafat refuse to accept the U.S.-sponsored peace proposal
at Camp David, which offered almost all that is being asked in the
Saudi Plan, but he also stormed out of the meeting without
negotiating it at all.

This editorial seems to be intentionally filled with half-truths
and biased interpretations of facts to discredit a nation and
government of peace.

Gal Sitty First-year Undeclared

Comm department should be for all

I completely agree with Jessica Arterburn’s assertions
about the communication studies department at UCLA (“Students
shouldn’t have to compete for major,” Viewpoint,
April 1).

Coming into UCLA was one of my childhood dreams. My other dream
was to pursue a career in broadcasting, and I figured there was no
better way than attending one of the top schools in the country.
When I got to UCLA and discovered the rhetoric surrounding the comm
studies program and, for lack of a better word, drama involved in
getting into the major, I decided to switch to sociology.
It’s interesting, but doesn’t allow me to follow my
dream.

In the end, I decided to transfer to another university, and
will be a student at Arizona State in the fall, majoring in
broadcast journalism. As much as it pains me to leave the place
where I spent two awesome years and made some wonderful friends, it
is equally disappointing to have to choose between the school of my
dreams and the career of my dreams.

I encourage the administration to look at the major and make
some changes. It is a sad day when I would advise a high school
senior interested in communications to attend USC because of the
availability of their program versus the lack of availability at
UCLA.

Trisha Ranney