The numbers speak for themselves
Israel’s strategy in Gaza: Show you have a terrorist enemy and then kill with impunity hundreds of Gazans facing curfews, checkpoints and food and water shortages. Only 137 supply trucks have been allowed into Gaza to feed 1.5 million people facing “unprecedented poverty” according to the UN. Israel doesn’t even respect international limits of decency.
Recently, the UN gave the Israeli army the coordinates of UN safe havens ““ which were soon hit by Israeli tank fire. It is in this context that some forces within Gaza did something immoral ““ they fired rockets killing 16 Israelis. Every human life is valuable, but the numbers speak for themselves. Nothing justifies the murder of over a thousand Gazans ““ not even Israel’s security-driven thirst for unilateral military occupation and subjugation.
Lena Khan
UCLA ’02, political science and film
Studying abroad worth time, money
As a former EAP student (Göttingen, 1977-78) I was pleased to see Nam-Giao Do’s piece praising overseas study (“Studying abroad a chance for global understanding,” Jan. 14).
As long ago as my EAP year was, I never lost the perspective the opportunity to live in another country gave me. An academic year abroad is barely long enough to say you “live” there. Nevertheless, you become sufficiently habituated to the groove of student life that you no longer feel that you are in a distant, exotic place. And with sufficient preparatory study, you become fluent in another language to the point that it no longer sounds foreign to you.
In one aspect I think Do overstates the expense of overseas study. Although these vary by country, the fixed expenses are little more than a student would pay to attend UCLA.
James van Scoyoc
UCLA ’84, MLS
Don’t redefine commitment
In “I might like you better if we slept together” (Jan. 15), Nicole Forde mentions commitment, which, I agree, is what we all want in a relationship, along with a sense of maturity and dedication. However, what kind of a commitment is she referring to? Is it really a true commitment if you know that you probably won’t be together in X number of years? Perhaps she meant “open” commitment? We may be able to make up our own rules when it comes to relationships, but making up definitions to words is a different story.
Carrie Wood
Fourth-year English student