Monday, 4/14/97
Letters
Prop. 209 fairness
The recent un-injunction of Proposition 209 will make a big
impact on campus. According to Tom Lifka, "Any program or
organization that receives any kind of university or public funding
… and has some sort of ethnic, racial or gender dimension to it
may possibly be scrutinized." Besides the obvious targets, like
women’s studies, all the ethnic study programs, admission processes
and cultural clubs, a lot of other programs should also be
affected.
First off, one of the biggest programs with a definite "ethnic
dimension" to it would have to be the entire English department (we
must be fair). I mean, can we say "Eurocentrism"? Remember, English
is not the official language of the United States … from the
literature (British and American) to the language itself it is
definitely ethnic. So the English department should lose all its
funding, according to Proposition 209. Along with English, all the
foreign languages (definitely ethnic/racial) should go … so just
take out the linguistics department.
The next big one ought to be the entire Greek system. The whole
thing is based on Hellenistic (Greek) culture. How much clearer can
that be to being ethnically based?
Now to the recreational stuff. Ski Club should go too, since
alpine skiing only occurs in mountainous countries (therefore
minority), and the whole sport basically originated in Europe. So
that’s Eurocentric and favoring a minority culture. Next on the
list are ALL of the martial arts classes in the Wooden Center.
Karate (Japanese culture), Tae Kwon Do, Tang Soo Do, Hwa Rang Do
(Korean culture). Ka’i/
JKD (Pilipino culture), Kung Fu, Wu Shu (Chinese culture).
That’s pretty clean cut. Don’t forget to trash Yoga, ’cause it’s
derived from Indian culture.
Hey, the UC Regents themselves are dominated by old rich white
men (mostly appointed by Wilson). That disproportionality equates a
"racial dimension." So lose them too!
Joey Gil
Fourth year
Microbiology and molecular genetics
Widespread cult
San Diego County cultist suicides should show us what all
irrational cultists are all about: avoiding reality, creating their
own realities, letting others think for you when the act of
thinking gets too difficult.
A couple of thousand years ago, there was a cult that began
around a baby born under a bright star to a mother who supposedly
had never copulated. This star-baby with a suspicious birth grew up
and had many followers, his followers being a motley group of
people who mistrusted the government and reigning cult leaders of
the time. Generally, they were people who just didn’t fit into
society and formed their own cult to feel comfortable in it.
This cult told people their leader could do many physically
impossible things like make bread out of stone, among other feats.
In those days, people tended to believe such things with little or
no proof. Not that they were stupid, they just had simpler lives
and there was not much stress on rationality. What seemed to be
true was good enough.
The clincher that made this cult outlast the majority of cults
that have existed is that this star-baby of suspicious birth who
claimed to be able to do the impossible was the earthly public
relations rep for a big invisible entity in the sky that created us
all and could destroy us all. Star-baby’s dad was a big
human-traited spirit that felt anger, jealousy and love for earth’s
humans he created.
Finally, star-baby was killed by his society for his rebellions
and according to his cult, did the ultimate impossible act!
Star-baby came back to life! He then went up to meet invisible
sky-dwelling creator. Star-baby promised to come back and take
everybody with him. Typical of most cults, there is a promise of
some great death scene where the good cultists and bad people of
the rest of society are separated and get what they deserve.
What’s scary is this cult is still practiced in variations all
over the world. Let’s not be so shocked at what happened in San
Diego County.
Raymond R. Ackerman
B.A., political science, 1991