God unites people, doesn’t divide them I
am sorry to hear that Fried (“Pledge divides nation
“˜under God,'” Nov. 6), who calls for an end to
divisiveness, would rather not share her God with me. Chanting
“one nation, under God” with Protestant classmates
pained her because she “was a Jew, and (she) never forgot
(her) religious differences.” As a Catholic, I always learned
that Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and those of
other faiths were all united under a higher presence. Declaring
“under God” does not mark us as belonging to one
religion; in fact, it connects us to our brothers and sisters who
accept dogma that is different from our own. Those subscribing to
atheism, which is a subjective belief as is any religion, are free
to make their personal statements by omitting the phrase. Fried
cites peer pressure as an obstacle to this freedom. However, I
hardly think that we live in a society where expressing a belief in
God is a way that children try to “”˜fit in’ and
acquire acceptance among their peers.” Separation of church
and state uphold the right to acknowledge God, through whatever
religion, as well as the right to deny His existence. It aims to
provide both of these options openly and not to discourage or
destroy either one.
Ita C. Nagy First-year, Spanish
Pub perfect for older students It
certainly sounds like underage-sour-grapes, but I am sure that
Katharine Jensen has some good points in her article (“Bar
inappropriate for Ackerman,” Nov. 5). But I ask that she (and
other students in opposition) consider this ““ not all
students are underage. I am a third-year student, a single parent
and a 46-year-old. I don’t live in a dorm or a sorority; I
don’t have friends on campus yet (it’s my first quarter
here). And beyond school, I don’t have a life. What I mean
is, I don’t have the opportunity to go out and party in
Westwood. My evenings are homework, cooking dinner, homework, bath
time, homework ““ you get the idea. The social atmosphere of
most places on campus is not conducive to most oldsters like me. I
enjoy Ackerman, but I can certainly live without the many TVs
blaring MTV. A pub at Ackerman is perfect for the students like me.
I enjoy having a beer and relaxing without having to worry about my
kid or driving. I would rather give my money to the student union
than give to some bar in Westwood anyway. Students like Katharine
need to realize that the university does not revolve around their
age group (18-20). There are many older students like myself. My
age group may be the minority, but we still appreciate all the
things the university offers, and having a pub on campus is a great
idea.
Teresa Raines Third-year, American Literature and
Culture