Thursday, November 7, 1996
Do homework for endorsements
As you publish ballot endorsements, one would suspect you to
have done your homework and to provide factual documentation
supporting said endorsements.
I am specifically citing your endorsement for District Attorney,
unsure why you would support a candidate like Lynch over Garcetti,
who, despite bad press from high-profile cases such as the Simpson
case, may be a more reasonable candidate. I read your "reasons" for
endorsing Lynch. What I found was unsubstantial, to say the
least.
So Lynch has a smaller financial campaign base ($50,000 as
opposed to Garcetti’s $700,000). Is this a reason to support an
official? While it may seem humanitarian to you to support the
underdog, you have provided no clear reasons why you support Lynch.
There was no identification of the candidate’s political agenda nor
mention of anything he has supported or rallied against.
Students may rely on the Daily Bruin as a source of factual
information, and I feel that it is the inherent responsibility of a
publication allegedly encouraging sound journalistic techniques to
provide such information, otherwise you are doing a disservice to
your readers.
Nina Gregory
Fifth year
World arts and cultures
Affirmative action needed to fight racism now
The story of top Texaco execs caught on tape in August 1994
casually and cruelly denigrating black employees while conspiring
to illegally destroy documents germane to the class-action
discrimination lawsuit brought against them on behalf of some 1,500
minority employees breaks none too soon (New York Times, Nov. 4
1996). For voting Californians still under the illusion that racial
prejudice is history, or that affirmative action programs are no
longer necessary, the Texaco tapes exemplify what most women and
people of color already know: Continued pro-active action is
necessary to ensure equal opportunity for all, from the factory
floor to the penthouse suite.
Curtis D. Hardin
Assistant professor of psychology
John J. Hetts
Graduate student of psychology