Bruin’s irresponsibility inflames
stereotypes
The story in the Daily Bruin sports section on April 13 titled
“Fighting an image” contains a glaring flaw concerning
U.S. women’s soccer player Cat Reddick. As her boyfriend of
4.5 years, I can assure the claim about her being “openly
gay” is completely false.
Please understand that this is not a homophobic reaction to the
lifestyle practiced by the other women mentioned, but one born of
frustration from the lack of journalistic integrity in the research
for this piece. I find it highly ironic and disappointing that an
article claiming to show the plight of woman athletes fighting
homosexual stereotypes would make such an irresponsible statement
about one of the very athletes the author was hoping to help. Women
in sports are often forced to defend themselves against such
generalizations, and the Daily Bruin’s article has forced
another athlete to do so.
Catherine has always welcomed diversity in her friendships while
maintaining her strong personal beliefs in the Christian faith. Her
past also shows that she is very outspoken about her beliefs and
has had the opportunity to speak publicly about her faith on
numerous occasions, while living it out in her personal life.
Playing soccer has provided a unique platform for her to
encourage other believers, and such negligent writing by the author
could certainly confuse her message. When athletes such as Reddick
are placed in the public eye, it is unfortunate that there are
writers who do not take on the responsibility of finding the truth
before publicizing such erroneous statements.
Unfortunately, careless or even nonexistent research in
journalism often does damage that a simple retraction cannot
repair. In the future, I hope the Daily Bruin will make an effort
toward journalistic integrity so that people such as Reddick are
not forced to “fight an image.”
Robert Whitehill Chapel Hill, N.C.
Using rabbi against Jews is disrespectful
attack
By featuring an ultra-orthodox fundamentalist as one of their
speakers on Tuesday evening, the Muslim Students Association has
chosen to pursue a path of humiliation and insult.
Any time one group uses a representative of the opposition to
denounce those very opponents, they are engaging in a hurtful and
disrespectful assault, as if to say, “We got you with one of
your own.”
Furthermore, by selecting a rabbi as their spokesperson, the
students have, unfortunately, transformed a modern political
conflict into a medieval religious disputation.
This rabbi, in fact, espoused views that are Jewishly marginal
but consistent with those of the MSA. Muslim students have
succeeded in finding “their Jew” but, contrary to their
stated motives, not in learning what Judaism teaches regarding
Zionism.
There certainly is a better way to make the case for their
cause. And if they were truly confident in the justice of their
claims and desired further understanding, some members of MSA might
even consider a dialogue with their Zionist antagonists. This is
UCLA, after all, and not the Middle East.
Chaim Seidler-Feller Rabbi and director of UCLA
Hillel