Letters

UC must follow Higher Education Act As an
alumna of UCLA, a public high school college counselor, and a
member of the UCLA Alumni Association, I’m in complete
agreement with Ian Eisner’s column (“Financial
aid a privilege, not a right,” Viewpoint, April 24).
Every day, I help students find sources for financial aid, be it
filling out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA),
applying for Cal Grants or even helping students find scholarships.
There are so many students who are trying everything possible to
afford college. If the federal government has made the decision to
not give aid to students who have been convicted of using or
selling drugs, this should be acceptable to the UCs. Every year,
I’m called by the Alumni Association asking for donations for
alumni scholarships as well as the annual fund. There is no
question that I will give a resounding “No” when called
this year. If the UCLA Financial Aid Office has so much money, they
obviously don’t need mine!

Jane Howard Blitz UCLA alumna

A&F’s racist tees no surprise I was
glad to read Cheryl Yip’s submission (“Shirts show
ignorance, old stereotypes,” Viewpoint, April 25) explaining
why Abercrombie’s racist caricatures on their T-shirts are
hurtful to Asian Americans. One issue not addressed by Yip or any
of the other college students who protested about the T-shirts is
Abercrombie & Fitch’s failure to reflect America’s
diversity in its advertising. Should we really be surprised that
this insensitive and ignorant mistake was made by a company whose
advertisements portray only Caucasians?

Benjamin Kong Third-year Economics

Housing poorly notifies Last week my friend
walks in to my dorm room, asking me if I have picked up my housing
assignment for next year. Apparently, housing asked students
wishing to return to on-campus housing next year to pick up their
assignments at Covel Commons on Thursday, between the hours of 12
and 8 p.m., with no additional times or dates listed. So I drag
myself grumpily away from a much-needed nap to do
this. However, the housing office failed to publicize this
vital event in any way, shape or form, other than a single line in
our original confirmation letters a month ago and tiny 14-inch
by 20-inch signs posted in obscure areas such as the front desk,
which many residents pass by without a second glance. My floor
government did not know about any of this, and surprisingly, even
our dining and environment representative did not know. Our
program assistant did not know, nor did our resident’s
association president! This is a blatant disregard of
students’ welfare, once again, by housing director Michael
Foraker and Housing Services. I was under the impression that
housing and ORL, as well as every resident’s association,
held a meeting once a week in order to disseminate vital
information like the $2,000 deposit due by May 13. I guess I was
mistaken.

Mark Chen First-year Undeclared