Letters to the Editor

Same-sex schooling a benefit for students

As a former boarder at an all-boys private school and later
graduate of a public co-educational school, three unsurprisingly
flaccid and typical points were made in Lana Yoo’s column in
her attempt to rebuke the emerging opportunities for students to
choose the learning environment that best suits them
(“Don’t teach the gender gap,” Nov. 27).

Yoo would do well to convince readers of her position without
restricting her argument in part to bannered and flaunted
platitudes of “diversity.”

First and foremost, it would be more useful if readers could be
exposed to critical analysis of the implications of single-sex
schooling without being fed typical hysterics over diversity and
its apparent undebatable value.

Also, the argument that single-sex schooling validates sexual
stereotypes and is therefore unacceptable raises the question as to
which outcome society values more: measurable benefits to
individuals’ achievements and self-confidence through
single-sex education, or the squeamish sacrifice of such advantages
to allay fears of bias.

In my experience, single-sex education not only nurtured my
ambitions more, but also gave me immense respect for the opposite
sex simply due to novelty.

If this sort of positive bias is the worst single-sex education
can do, society at large would be better off with more of it.

Nicholas M. Louw

UCLA Class of 2005

Meetings are not the only thing USAC does

By focusing on weekly council meetings rather than the
productivity of our offices and commissions, the undergraduate
student council critics marginalize the contributions of the
hundreds of UCLA undergraduates who give back to their campus
through being part of the Undergraduate Students Association
Council.

A recent letter (“USAC leaders should focus on
business,” Nov. 27) reflects a common misconception.

It is not 13 students who meet every week, but hundreds of
students in 13 offices who participate in programming and advocacy
all over UCLA and beyond.

For example, by reducing the Academic Affairs Commission to one
person who spends a few hours Tuesday nights in council meetings,
you trivialize the work of the 56 UCLA students in the Academic
Affairs Commission who plan academic events on campus and advocate
on your behalf regarding academic issues.

If you judge USAC by our council meetings, you will neglect the
vast majority of USAC’s contributions to your campus.

Nat Schuster

USAC Academic Affairs commissioner

Fourth-year, neuroscience

Drafts are the mark of strong nations

I consider it a sad state of affairs for so many of my peers to
immediately disdain the possibility of a draft for national
service.

The controversial war in Iraq aside, Congressman Charles
Rangel’s proposal to reinstate the draft offers us the
potential to work together for something greater than
ourselves.

Myopic, weak-kneed self-interest is not what the people of great
nations are made of.

If our up-and-coming leaders cannot see past a war that will
eventually end and recognize the honor of serving one’s
country, I fear for our future.

Jaime Wing

Third-year, political science