Letters

Internet sites give valid sports criticism

I enjoyed reading The Bruin’s article on Internet junkies
(“Loud and Clear,” Sports, May 15). I do, however, take
exception to some of Peter Dalis’ comments. Why doesn’t
Dalis like these sites?

Because before the Internet took off, it was only a few letters
to the editor of local papers complaining about UCLA sports ““
and they could be dismissed as a minority of fans.

Because while Steve Lavin is the most divisive issue in UCLA
athletics and people are tiring of football’s late season
flame-outs, the one common thread on the message boards is that
people cannot wait for the Dalis era at UCLA to end. He uniformly
gets blamed for the under-performing athletic department and most
of us are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Dan Guerrero.

You want an end to the anonymity Pete? Fine. My name is on this
letter. The same name appears on checks for football and basketball
tickets every year. The same name appears regularly in fall and
winter L.A. Times’ Saturday letters. Get used to the fact
that Internet sites reveal there are more than 3 or 4 people
writing letters to the L.A. Times who want success for UCLA
athletics. We speak out because of our passion for UCLA and its
athletic programs. Would Dalis prefer silence and ambivalence?

Tony Siracusa Pasadena

Drunken one time sex is rape, not a mistake

Keely Hedges’ article, “One-night stands warrant
empathy,” News, May 14) says that one-night stands are both
learning experiences and positive outlets of affection. Having
experienced a few one-nighters myself, I agree with this ideal and
in fact, once on my soapbox, can go on and on about the benefits of
such behavior. But there is one major difference: my one-night
stands did not involve a drop of alcohol or dishonesty.

If one or even both people make the decision to have sex while
intoxicated, it is rape, and not what Hedges calls “hasty
measures of extreme affection.” This is not just my opinion,
but also the law. In fact, the reason it is illegal for adults to
have sex with minors is largely that society considers minors
incapable of making decisions with such emotional and physical
impacts. Certainly intoxicated college students are just as
incapable ““ perhaps more so ““ as sober 17-year-olds in
deciding who to sleep with.

Hedges’ article, printed during Women for Change Week,
should be an embarrassment not only to the writer, but also to the
Daily Bruin and the UCLA community. Many people I know have been
raped (males included) and committed rape (females included). Some
of them are now in therapy. I strongly urge Hedges and The Bruin to
consider apologizing for her article, and for the entire drinking
community to rethink the use of alcohol and other drugs in their
pathetic search for sex. When you’re sober, go ahead and
learn about the beauty of affection and how to be charming and
honest.

Scott Nadler Third-year Ethnomusicology