Thursday, 5/22/97 Letters
Political stance clarification While I appreciate The Bruin
printing my letter, I would like to mildly chasten them for their
presentation of my response. Putting my name next to a big, fat
hammer and sickle on the front page of the Daily Bruin is perhaps
just a LITTLE bit inflammatory, and not at all representative of my
political stance. For those who know me, I’m generally a benign and
bashful guy, and wouldn’t advocate the violent overthrow of a hot
dog stand, let alone the entire bourgeoisie. The far left is no
more admirable than the far right in this regard; I take care to
dissociate myself from the rather cut-and-dry implications of The
Bruin’s framing of my letter. Also, by branding my article as
"Communist," what with the drawings of big red flags and stuff, The
Bruin paints my article in monochrome, obscuring the main point
that I wanted to get across. What is admirable about the Marxist
and Maoist protesters on Bruin Walk is not the specificities of
their arguments – which are often comical – but rather the fact
that there’s any leftists out there at all. While in some areas
this school has an admirable record of student activism – the
anti-209 campaign being one shining example – there are times when
the range of debate is almost non-existent. For example, when the
regents put off considering the motion against special admissions
consideration for sons and daughters of wealthy donors, there
should be a hundred letters flooding the Viewpoint page, demanding
that such students wait in line like anyone else. It is, after all,
hypocritical for the regents to assert the need for "equal, fair
standards" with respect to admissions for underrepresented
minorities, and then turn around and give special consideration to
rich people’s kids. I am not asking students to storm Murphy Hall
armed with pitchforks and torches. What I am asking for is for
students to recognize that they have a right to make their views
and needs known to the university, to recognize that as a public
institution, this university has an obligation to them that is
larger than they sometimes let on. Surely low tuition, fair
admission processes (and, by the way, recognition of SAGE’s right
to negotiate with the administration) is not too much to ask? Dale
Chapman Graduate student Ethnomusicology