Letters to the Editor

Rogers bill curtails student voting

To the Daily:

I would like to respond to misinformation provided in Yael Kohen's article, "Rogers looks at voting rights." (11/12/99). Kohen states that Senate Bill 306, which banned students from voting at their University addresses unless they also change the address on their driver license, "passed unanimously by both republicans and democrats." This is simply not true.

SB 306 passed both the Senate and the House on almost exclusively party-line votes. Only one Democrat voted for this bill in the Senate, and none did in the House. Furthermore, both Sen. Dianne Byrum and Rep. Laura Baird offered amendments that would have exempted college students from this law, while still cutting down on voter fraud (the alleged intent of the bill). Not one Senate Republican voted to exempt college students from this law. In the House, the amendment actually had enough votes to pass, but the leadership didn't want it to, so they cleared the voting board and held the vote again. Amazingly, three Republicans who had voted for the amendment suddenly had to go to the bathroom, and the amendment failed.

Clearly, this bill was aimed at curtailing student voting, which is appalling.

Kelley Boland

LSA senior

Don't judge people by their race

To the Daily:

This letter is in response to all those letters regarding affirmative action and to those people who support affirmative action. I have always viewed higher education as the ultimate institution in our country. Some of the colleges and universities are pragmatic while others are idealistic in their curriculum. One notion that I had always hoped would be consistent throughout is the idea that education is where all can come together as equal. How can we possibly allow something as petty and disgusting as racism and discrimination to enter the sacred halls of higher education? I cannot find any answer to this question, but I can see it happen as universities allow the use of affirmative action in admissions.

The use of affirmative action allows discrimination. Instead of discriminating against the minority, it allows reverse discrimination against the majority. This process tries to right one evil with another. The fact of the matter is that discrimination is discrimination whether it is called discrimination or affirmative action.

Admissions allows the use of affirmative action to make the campus more diverse. This focus on race as a way for some to get entry that would otherwise not be able to, is not what civil rights leaders fought for. Martin Luther King Jr. asked to be judged "on the content of his character" instead of being judged by his color. I would agree.

Unfortunately, some of my friends say that this stance I have taken is elitist and prejudicial. I am only trying to follow the Golden Rule which has helped me for so long and is fair to all, even in its simplicity.

Instead, I would like to be judged for what is inside of me. This is why I encourage admissions and all who use affirmative action to bring this practice to a halt. Then we can all come to these colleges knowing we have protected these sacred halls of learning.

Barry Shapiro

LSA junior

Bush plan won't hurt minorities

To the Daily:

This is in response to the Nov. 17 editorial "Chopping Away." I was surprised to read the Daily's claim that the One Florida plan will actually diminish the presence of minorities at Florida's state universities.

I would be very interested to know exactly what kind of high school the author attended! I graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School in 1996. By most people's standards, Central would be considered an "ill-equipped, poor, urban high school." Of the approximately 120 graduates in my class, over half were either black or Latino/a. Of those 120 who graduated, I would say that less than 20 actually went on to a four-year college or university. I realize that my experience probably doesn't mirror that of the author, but I believe that it does represent the situation at most inner-city schools. Bush's plan would only serve to increase the proportion of "disadvantaged" students at state universities, and would therefore be effective. If anyone has facts to disprove this, I urge them to write a letter to the editor.

Dan Johnson

Business senior

11-22-99