Tuesday, November 24, 1998
Thumbs up/thumbs down
Measure to deny same-sex marriage
Thumbs down to a California proposition that has qualified for
the March 2000 ballot which prohibits same-sex marriages in the
state.
The bill intends to "preserve a traditional definition of
marriage" by recognizing only marriages between men and women.
This proposition is yet another example of an initiative system
gone askew. Same-sex marriage, and the legality thereof, is not an
issue that the general population should vote on, especially
considering how often the wording of initiatives and advertisements
misleads voters.
An uninformed electorate should not be responsible for voting on
an issue of personal morality.
College bookstores win price war
Thumbs up to a New York City federal court decision which judged
that a major university publisher, Cambridge University Press,
could not have a dual-pricing system that discriminated against
university bookstores.
Before the lawsuit, Cambridge Press charged college bookstores
more than trade bookstores, like Crown Books and Barnes &
Noble, for classroom texts.
College bookstores basically have a guaranteed market for
academic texts; trade bookstores do not. Publishers offered
discounted prices to trade bookstores as an incentive for the trade
stores to buy and carry their books. Students who purchase from
college book stores shouldn’t have to pay a different price because
of the money-making schemes of publishers.
Bill to ban youth sex in Texas
Thumbs down to a proposed Texas bill which would make sex
between youths under the age of 18 a misdemeanor.
Underage youths caught engaging in "intercourse, oral sex and
genital manipulation" would not face jail time, supporters say,
only counseling and supervision.
Supporters hope that the bill, if passed, will "help parents
with incorrigible teens."
The proposal not only attempts to pass the burden of controlling
"unruly" teenagers from parents to the legal system, but it also
does little to address the actual problems involved with underage
sex, such as sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy.
Free bus fare to campus proposed
Thumbs up to the Academic Senate for their attempts to alleviate
the parking troubles on campus.
A resolution passed that would provide free bus service for all
students, staff and faculty on all bus lines that come to UCLA.
Though the efforts and ideas of the Academic Senate would be
beneficial to UCLA, a source of funding needs to be determined. The
4,000-person-long waiting list for parking permits indicates the
need immediate action.
The parking service’s motto is, "Find another way to UCLA"; we
say, help us.
Thumbs up/Thumbs down represents the majority opinion of the
Daily Bruin Editorial Board. Send comments and suggestions to
[email protected].
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