Letters

Accusations made against U.S. Army need reality
check

I was looking for an article on the outstanding UCLA
women’s water polo team when I came across Shirin
Vossoughi’s column (“Army targets, misleads
youth,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint, May 28). After reading
her column, I concluded that collegiate naivete is alive and well
(and I thought we had that market cornered in
the early ’70s).

Some points in the column are well taken, e.g. media
manipulation/advertising. Good points to ponder. But a
balanced analysis would reveal that this is a cultural phenomenon
that far exceeds the grasp of the U.S. Army.

I suspect that even UCLA is guilty to a certain extent of such
“recruitment” by incomplete disclosure. But Vossoughi,
while trying to express a viewpoint, instead demonstrates instead
her total lack of knowledge of reality when referring to Okinawa,
the Persian Gulf, and the Philippines. I’ve been to those
places.

When she writes, “Have them tape-record the death and
destruction, sexual abuse and displacement caused by the U.S.
military,” all I can politely say is: you don’t know
what you are talking about. 

I suppose you probably thought that Memorial Day holiday was
just a three-day weekend. After you get through with the
hallowed halls of Ivy, get a passport, travel the world, and get an
education in reality. Better yet, join the military and defend the
country that gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your
ignorance as part of the media.

Randy Edwards Lt. Col. U.S. Marine Corps
(Ret)

EAP offenders ruined program for all
involved

What is the difference between rule-abiding students and those
who storm past the military into a terrorist stronghold (“EAP
violators should accept responsibility,” Daily Bruin,
Viewpoint, May 28)? According to the University of California
Education Abroad Program (EAP), absolutely nothing. As a
participant of the now-suspended EAP Israel program, I am furious
that I am receiving the same punishment as the two UC students who
aided the terrorists responsible for the program’s suspension
in Israel.

EAP director John Marcum and the EAP staff should be ashamed of
creating such an equivalence. I urge EAP, the Board of Regents and
the UC Berkeley and Riverside chancellors to consider expulsion for
the reckless students who broke multiple rules and laws and
endangered their lives and EAP’s reputation.

Robbie Hurwitz Hebrew University Jerusalem, Israel
Third-year Political science

UCLA women’s club soccer is fighting good
fight

Thank you to the Daily Bruin Sports staff for the article on the
women’s club soccer team at UCLA (“Women’s club
soccer fights to play,” Sports, May 14).

The formation of this team is proof positive that students
working together can have an impact despite logistical
hurdles. As the article noted, this team creates an
opportunity for truly skilled players to continue to play the game
on teams that accommodate both their academic and work
commitments.

I would also like to note the efforts of another team member,
Kerry Goletz, a third-year student at UCLA who originated the idea
of this club team, spending last spring and summer organizing it
into reality. Currently studying in New Zealand, she will be back
on the field for us next year.

Lawrence Pasion Team manager

Bruin athletics about more than statistics

After reading Gilbert Quiñonez’s unfortunate column
in the Daily Bruin today (“Softball only hope for choked up
Bruins,” Daily Bruin, Sports, May 24), the only credit I can
give him is his audacity to think that readers actually find his
columns meaningful.

The athletic community at UCLA is a close-knit group because we
all understand what being a Bruin means, and what being a team
means. The commitment level of a collegiate athlete resembles that
of having a full-time job while trying to maintain grades. We study
on airport floors, write papers and take tests on the road, and
play our hearts out, only to be scrutinized over our stats by a
random person like him. Obviously, he doesn’t know what it
means when you truly love a sport and that stats are simply
numbers, and nothing more. The numbers do not say anything
whatsoever about the people we are and the road we have been on
that took us to UCLA athletics.

In his column, he seems to have it all neatly figured out
““ that UCLA athletics choked. The word itself summarizes not
observance, but ignorance. Personally, I love being an athlete and
I especially love being a Bruin athlete. We take pride in
representing our school around the country and around the world. It
saddens me that people like him are needles in the haystack of the
masses that I am proud to represent.

On another note, I am rather surprised at his being so consumed
with our stats when there are far more important things at play in
the world right now. Our athletic department collaborated efforts
and took time out of school and practice to raise $45,000 for the
Freedom of Families Scholarship Fund. Aside from athletics, we care
about making a difference in the lives of the kids who lost
families on Sept. 11. Where was his calculator then? We also take
time out of our lives to promote the I’m Going To College
activity where kids come to our athletic events to see what college
is all about, and we encourage them to make college part of their
futures. We meet them. We talk to them.

But instead of noticing this, he contributes pieces on the
assumption that he would get a reaction from readers. Well, he has
gotten what he wanted. Yes, the numbers will always state
something, but that is only the cover of a book that he obviously
hasn’t read.

Alyssa Beckerman Second-year UCLA
gymnastics