Finally a frank sex discussion I wanted to
commend the article on prostate pleasure. (“Explore uncharted pleasure
territory,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint, Oct. 10). In all my
years at UCLA, I never dreamed that an article so frank and so
liberal would come out of the Daily Bruin ““ and I have been
an avid reader of The Bruin and the Viewpoint section for some
time. I wish to support this frank talk about freedom of
sexuality. You’re doing a great service to the Bruin
community by publishing Handler’s work. Please don’t
let conservative forces try to censor this movement. I look
forward to reading more articles that defy straight and narrow
nor
James Chau UCLA Alumnus
Westwood Village not only for students I am a
local homeowner (my husband and father are UCLA alumni) who would
like to respond to Ivicevich’s submission (“Local community leaders attempt to
stifle all forms of Village nightlife,” Daily Bruin,
Viewpoint, Oct. 3) in which he calls Sandy Brown “the
enemy” of a truly student-oriented Westwood Village. First of
all, he seems to want to demonize a person who merely represents an
opinion that is different from his own. During this tenuous time in
our world, when our country’s leaders are emphasizing that
what makes America different from our enemies is our tolerance of
different ideas, Ivicevich sounds rather intolerant to me. He
accuses Brown and those she represents of rigidity. There are over
1,000 homes on the east side of Westwood Village. There are
probably 4,000 homes in the entire surrounding area. These homes
are filled with men, women and children of all ages. While Westwood
Village is adjacent to UCLA, and should speak to the student
body’s needs and interests, the Village should not be
regarded as an extension of the campus. The campus has many
facilities to suit the needs and interests of the student body. The
Village itself already has a number of student-friendly venues such
as Maloney’s, Westwood Brewing Company, Acapulco and
Sepi’s, where students can enjoy the beverage of their
choice. I do find it interesting, however, that you are encouraging
USAC to get involved when most undergrads are under 21 (unless we
count all the fake IDs). Homeowners are rightly concerned with
which tenants go into the Village. The average student will be gone
in four years. We homeowners will have to deal with the aftermath
of whatever inappropriate development might be geared specifically
to the student body that Ivicevich purports to speak for. Many
homeowners were here in the ’80s when the Village became so
“happening” that people were getting shot or run over
by cars, and the neighboring streets were littered with beer
bottles on weekend nights. It took more than 15 years to get
reputable businesses back in. If it weren’t for Sandy Brown,
many of the businesses that everyone (including the UCLA student
body) enjoys would not be in the Village today. Daylife and
nightlife do not have to be mutually exclusive but they do have to
be mutually beneficial. Nobody wants the “placid senior
citizens’ paradise” Ivicevich thinks we do. We simply
believe that Village property owners have an incredible opportunity
with the recent upgrades in the Village to continue to mold the
Village into a moderately upscale area that serves the needs of
local families and students alike.
Jolie Jashni Westwood Resident
Lack of patriotism reveals ignorance In
response to Mitra Ebadolahi’s and Shirin Vossoughi’s
piece, “Proper
retribution entails more thought, less force,” (Daily
Bruin, Viewpoint, Oct. 9) merits a few words in response. The
writers assume that to respond “to one crime against humanity
with another exacerbates a dangerous pattern of violence.”
Yes, that is true. What they do not say, however, is that not
responding to a crime against humanity invites more unilateral
crimes against humanity. They resort to condescending remarks like,
“Americans were absent in kindergarten when we learned about
loving everyone equally and not hitting back.” How much else
do you two find reprehensible and morally inferior about
Americans? These young women did not live through Dec. 7, l941
““ when the attacks on Pearl Harbor occurred ““ as many
of us did. Thank God that their advice was not followed by the
leaders of this country at that time, or later when the United
States and Nazi Germany went to war. And certainly, the Russians
did not turn the other cheek when Hitler’s armies
invaded the USSR. Or does the wisdom of their peaceful insights
apply only to the United States? I am for alleviating poverty. I
did it in my own life by working very hard and studying very
hard and eventually graduating from UCLA and earning several
degrees. No one’s compassion got in my way to attempt to
convince me that I could not possibly achieve that without their
help. I realize that you have every right to express your opinions
but what I find most reprehensible about what you write is the
manifest contempt you feel for this country and its people.
Manuel H. Rodriguez Burbank
Shapiro’s wrong on coming out I have to
write to express my anger regarding Ben Shapiro’s offensive
column regarding Coming Out Week. (“Gaudy display of pride does
nothing to raise awareness,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint, Oct.
10) It is interesting how he can dismiss an entire community of
people, comparing us to those who would celebrate their proclivity
for masturbation. The fact is that being gay is a part of a person
that defines their identity. Masturbating is not a practice that
results in having significant others of the same sex ““
something difficult to explain in a society that prefers to be
ignorant of these types of relationships. I guess it is very
difficult for a heterosexual world to know what it feels like to
have the most defining relationship of their life invalidated by
the rest of the world. And he is wrong in that we are demanding
acceptance from everyone. Maybe some of us are, but as an example,
demonstrating that not all of us are looking for this, I offer my
experience of coming out to my oldest brother. He happens to be a
Jehovah’s Witness who is very serious about his faith, and
when I told him of my sexuality, he wrote me a letter saying that
he could not approve or condone my lifestyle, and he compared it to
adultery and murder. I wrote him a letter back, telling him that I
hadn’t been seeking his approval, just that I thought that
since he was part of my family, he should be able to know who I am
““ all about who I am. This is the point of coming out ““
to be known for the person you are, not to be fully accepted. God
knows that none of us are ever fully accepted by everyone, and that
trying to would be an unrealistic goal. I wonder what kind of
response Shapiro would have received had he said similar remarks
regarding other minority groups. Saying that there is no reason to
celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day because college campuses are
already aware of the black community, for example. Like Martin
Luther King Jr. Day, National Coming Out Day is a celebration of a
minority community. But unlike it, it celebrates a community that
is not taken seriously because America is still skittish about
sexuality. My point, though, is that had Shapiro aimed his comments
at a minority that is seen as more legitimate, he would most likely
never have even been published; and if he had, most people would
simply perceive him as prejudiced and callous. And I hope very much
that, that is how most readers perceive him with this column;
however, the unfortunate thing about the world we live in is that
there probably is a substantial number of people who don’t.
And that, more than any other thing, is the reason that we do need
National Coming Out Week.
Kelly Finn Staff
Americans need humility, unity I am writing in
response to “Did God
really shed his grace on us?“ by Greg Rubinson (Daily
Bruin, Viewpoint, Oct. 8). Since time began, people have turned to
a higher power or supreme being for assistance and faith in order
to fathom the unexplainable. We ask the divine question
“why?” ““ and our lack of understanding should
come with a degree of humility and subjection as we try to come to
terms with our human limitations. I strongly agree with Rubinson
when he argues against the belief that Americans are first on
God’s mind and because of this are given more freedom and
wealth than other countries. This belief can be misleading. Wars
are not won by the illusion of power but by the expression of
greatness. With no intention of justifying the attacks, I do not
believe they were God-ordained as God does no evil nor does he
strongly support mindless acts of terror. I acknowledge the fact
that we humans need explanations and some level of sanity, but we
also need humility. Watching the news all I hear are people saying,
“We are America, we will win, we are the world power.”
I do not argue with these statements, but we also need to go back
to the drawing board and reflect on how we got to this stage; it
was the perception of false security. We need to unite for one
common cause regardless of race, color or creed to ensure that the
wicked do not triumph.
Isioma Orihu Third-year Biology