Support Neuheisel’s message
In his article “UCLA Athletics shouldn’t advertise by phone” (Viewpoint, Jan. 9), columnist Ross Aikins describes new coach Rick Neuheisel’s mass telephone call as a poor attempt to sell football season tickets to current students, a potential abuse of the BruinAlert system, and even a display of arrogance on behalf of the university.
These notions are absurd and completely unfounded. If you actually listen to the message, it is clearly targeted at recruiting alumni and fans in the area to buy season tickets and not for recruiting students.
Think about it: How would the university make any money if they were trying to sell $69 season ticket packages when regular season tickets cost as much as $300 per seat?
The call was extended to us merely to garner our support for Neuheisel and the team, because in the end, aren’t we the ones seen screaming on TV? Aren’t we the ones marching in the Beat ‘SC parades and bleeding blue and gold every Saturday?
I wouldn’t exactly call this tactic a display of arrogance. While we are a highly reputable academic institution, we did not become internationally known through our research and Nobel Prize winners alone.
The fact is that athletics is the fastest way for a university to advertise and recruit across the nation.
Is a phone call really that arrogant when ‘SC is placing billboards in our very own backyard? This message was nothing more than the first step in the fight against ‘SC football dominance, and anything that will crumble the evil empire is fine with me.
Drew Dushkes
First-year, biology
Illustration does not cross lines
I found Nicole Forde’s piece, “This new year, find new ways to explore,” (Viewpoint, Jan. 8) quite entertaining and the illustration by Jessica Donig appropriate for the article.
I certainly hope that a few negative reactions will not dissuade the Daily Bruin from including more articles of an adult nature in its pages. The vibratory nature of the image seemed fairly obvious to me.
Even if it had been male genitalia depicted in the illustration, I’d have found it hard to be offended, as it seems peculiar to take umbrage at something I see every day.
Andrew Harris
First-year graduate student, library and information studies