LettersWish for wins
Editor:I am writing this letter hoping that my wish will come
true. As you may
recall, I often write to you about winning games for me. Some
have called
me number one rooter for UCLA.
I want you to know I feel very badly about the football team
losing to
the Arizona State Sun Devils. But this is what I want the
football team to
do for me: Win the next two games against the Washington Huskies
and also
against U$¢. I know you can do it.
I believe those devils put grease on the football last Saturday
– that
caused four turnovers! I believe you (the UCLA football team)
are the
greatest, and have the potential to fulfill my wish. I haven’t
been feeling
well lately. You can make me feel better: First, WIN against the
Huskies,
and then go and beat those $ "men" from $¢. Please – you
CAN DO IT –
LOVE,Maxie Sonnenschein
Alumnus, Class of ’42
Psychology
Broken silence
Editor:It’s funny, but from the media coverage of the UCLA
protest a few weeks
ago, you’d never know affirmative action is an Asian Pacific
Islander
issue.
DOES ANYONE HEAR ME?
As I watched the news and read the newspapers, it seemed clear
that the
focus was on African Americans, Latinos and of course,
Undergraduate
Students Association President York Chang.
I AM TIRED OF BEING THE SILENT MINORITY!
I have never had so much as a speeding ticket, yet I felt
honored to be
among the 30 or so UCLA students arrested on Oct. 12, 1995.
According to
the police report, we protesters were from the "UCLA Black
Students’
Union," yet I was booked as an "Oriental."
Unfortunately, the LAPD and the media are not the only ones who
just
don’t get it. (Seen any Viewpoint letters recently?) I donate
blood,
volunteer at a soup kitchen, tutor inner city kids and rescue
stray dogs. I
also vote, write to my state and congressional representatives
and protest
injustices in lawful ways.
Yet, I know I speak for all those arrested at the affirmative
action
protest when I say we chose to disobey the law because we tried
(and
continue to try) to right the wrong done by Pete Wilson and the
UC Regents
through legal means, but THAT IS NOT ENOUGH!
So many people think that Japanese Americans (and other Asian
Pacific
Islanders) are not interested in taking a political stand
because we have
"made it." To this claim I can only ask, "Made what? Made
ourselves
indifferent?"
I remember that my greatgrandparents couldn’t own land or
become
citizens. I remember how my grandparents worked 70-hour weeks to
put food
on the table. I remember the bigots who jeered at my father
because of the
color of his skin. I remember the internment and the struggle
for
reparations.
Civil disobedience is a right, not a crime, and forgetfulness is
a
luxury we cannot afford.Christina Shigemura
Third-year
Geography/environmental studies