Letters to the editor

Pakistani earthquake deserved more coverage I
just thought that such a huge natural disaster like the Pakistan
earthquake, in which tens of thousands of people died, should
warrant some coverage on the front page of the Daily Bruin. Instead
I found it on page four in the Oct. 10 paper and page five in the
Oct. 11 paper. Granted, local news is also important, but surely
the earthquake was of more significance than how a UCLA team went
on an autonomous road vehicle race (“Driverless ride into the
desert” News, Oct. 10). Shishi Zhige Luo Third-year,
mathematics

Academic freedom about conduct, not making quotas
Apparently Kyle Gilde should have spent more than a week and a half
contemplating the conservative position on academic freedom,
because he really missed the mark (“Conservatives’
academic view inconsistent” Viewpoint, Oct. 13). Proponents
of academic freedom do not believe universities should be forced to
hire more conservative professors. This is the equivalent of
affirmative action and goes against everything we stand for.
Universities should hire professors who have the best
qualifications, whether they are liberal or conservative. The true
conservative position on academic freedom is that professors,
regardless of political affiliation, should not allow their
political bias to influence their grading. Furthermore, professors
should not use the classroom as a political soapbox if the class
has nothing to do with politics. I shouldn’t be hearing about
how horrible Bush is in my chemistry class. This is a waste of
students’ time and money and should not be tolerated.
I’m glad that Kyle has a firm grasp on why more professors
are liberal than conservative, but he is missing the big picture.
Professors need to stop using their power and influence to bully
students. It is unprofessional and unfair. Mark Lincoln
Managing editor of the Bruin Standard

Increased dining hall staff could alleviate long
lines In the article “New dorms stress dining
halls” (News, Oct. 12), Michelle Ouaknine writes about how
the two new residential plazas are putting a strain on the dining
halls. But what is being left out of the article is the role
short-staffing plays in making lines longer and service slower.
Having to accommodate 1,350 more students on the Hill puts a
heavier workload on the people that help us get through the day.
I’ve talked to several food service employees in De Neve who
told me they are short staffed, are working like crazy and are not
able to provide the quality of service we as students have come to
enjoy. Connie Foster, the associate director of Dining Services,
states that the dining halls are “always crowded at the
beginning of the quarter.” Perhaps if she had hired more
people to deal with more students living on the Hill (which seems
like common sense to me) then the lines would not be as long, and
students would be much happier. Lizzy Keegan Second-year,
sociology