Letters to the Editor

Recycling is worth the effort

The article, “Recycling programs trashy, say
students” (News, Jan. 8) was completely disheartening. I was
appalled that students are unwilling to recycle because it is not
“easily accessible or convenient.” The life span of an
aluminum can is 80-100 years, a plastic bottle lasts 700 years, and
a glass bottle endures for 1 million years. Taking these life spans
into consideration, sacrificing a few minutes of your time to
recycle isn’t such an inconvenience.

I understand college life is demanding, but the Earth supports 6
billion people. Recycling is the least we can do.

Linda Huynh

Fourth-year, communications

Give the team a break

I have read enough harsh commands about our recent loss to
USC’s basketball team. People act like our defeat was the end
of the world.

Winning and losing are a part of any sport. The greatness of
winning should not be solely based upon a single victory, nor
should the loser be judged solely by a single defeat. Let’s
face it, it is not easy to be great and almost impossible to be
great all the time. We only lost by five points and the Trojans
came a long way to beat us. Please be patient, be understanding,
and stop the verbal attack on our team.

Douglas Lee

Applied mathematics

No easy solution to Carson problem

The students of Carson High who have worked hard to apply and be
accepted to UCLA, like all students from UCLA, should be respected
and applauded for their accomplishments. Students who have studied
hard and behaved well should have an equal chance of getting into
our school. To deny equal opportunity is unjust.

My idea to disallow admission to Carson High students was simply
a suggestion (Letters, Jan. 8). It is far from perfect, and I
challenge anyone who took the time to read my letter to think of a
solution of their own. I hope those who supervised the field trip
have at least faced some disciplinary action. To do or say nothing
against incompetence is to accept it. And that is a tragedy for
everyone.

Antonia Jordan

Second-year, undeclared

Know the facts before you speak or write

I just wanted to note that of the three students in the Jan. 10
“Speaks Out” regarding President Bush’s stimulus
package, not one was an economics student.

It seems kind of moot to ask such opinions from biology and
engineering students who have no idea how macroeconomics works. I
would like to inform these oblivious students that the
“poor,” let alone the whole bottom 50 percent of
taxpayers, pay less than 4 percent of total income taxes, while the
top 5 percent of earners pay more than 50 percent of total income
taxes. We do not live in a socialist society where we can shift
income from the rich to distribute to the poor.

I would also appreciate it if the members of the editorial
board, who seem to think they are expert economists, stopped giving
opinions on such things as economic stimulus packages without some
evidence to support their opinions.

James Kim

Third-year, business economics