Letters to the Editor God does not 'like' everything he created To the Daily: In response to Jesse Herzog's letter about God's thoughts on abortion ("God's opinion on abortion unclear," 1/21/2000), I feel I must question just why people think God only created things that he likes. Yes, God did give us abortion. He also gave us murder, greed, deception, war, Satan, etc. I very much doubt that God "likes" or supports such things. I remember when I asked my Sunday school teacher years ago why God would create such terrible things, the answer I got was that it's all in God's plan. He created men (men as in "mankind") and men are prone to sin. Murder, greed, deception and yes, abortion are considered sins. And in the end, to paraphrase, sinners will get what coming to them (if we want to start tossing out Bible verses, how's about Romans 6:23 and Romans 12:19 for starters). J.Y. Yeh LSA junior Lopez's columns were boring To the Daily: In honor of Mike Lopez's finally leaving the editorial page of the Daily, I would like to summarize everything he has ever written for the Daily. Yawn. Since he was obviously no good at writing worthwhile articles, he was forced to stoop down to the juvenile writing level. I understand that some columnists simply enjoy being criticized, so they write stuff with the sole purpose of evoking "hate mail" from readers. (Branden Sanz is the champ of this.) However, Lopez's futile attempts at getting people riled up were so blatant, only a fool would get mad at his incoherent ramblings about rape victims keeping the children of their rapist and the like. Hopefully, if next semester's class of columnists stinks at writing stuff people want to read, they'll at least write something to piss people off that actually pisses people off. Hey - I have an idea, how about a column about suicide being the best alternative to going to the dentist; people will really get pissed about that. A.J. Wilson Engineering sophomore Grad Library has an 'odious stench' To the Daily: The time is upon us to stand up and demand change. Any student who frequents the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library is well aware of the stench that plagues its entrance stairwells. This odious stench permeates the air and radiates from the papers and books upon which we cast our weary eyes; it sets the tone for the duration of our studious expenditures in this facility. Thus, it is at the height of great desperation that we propose a solution to this problem, which proves to be the fountainhead of impediment in the progression of our scholastic aptitude. We propose that, in order to eradicate this foul odor, each grip lining the stairs emit, upon pedial contact, a pleasing aroma. Of course, "pleasing" is a subjective term and its definition may therefore be determined at the disposal of the student government. Ashleigh Gersh LSA sophomore Stacey Schwartz LSA sophomore 'U' administration's salaries seem high To the Daily: I am writing to say that I am completely appalled at the amount of money that the administration at the University makes. First of all, why does any of the faculty merit a 5.9 percent pay raise? The Daily reported that Bollinger is now going to be the seventh-highest paid employee with a $311,000 salary. I am wondering what any human being needs that much money for, let alone the half a million plus that Gilbert Omenn is paid. I understand that we attend a top-notch university, but I also understand that that money could be used elsewhere. I'm sure that everyone has had the pleasure of having classes in building that are in a state of disrepair or living in dorms where there is barely enough room to breathe. Not to mention the thousands of people attending this school on financial aid that could use a few more dollars to pay the rent. Is it really necessary to pay anyone that much money? The president of the United States doesn't even make as much money as our administration. Doesn't anyone else find that ridiculous? Maybe the University could start paying cafeteria and grounds workers more, or maybe they could pay someone to shovel all the sidewalks on the campus instead of drenching the snow with soy sauce or whatever disgusting liquid that is. Or perhaps they could spend some more money on books (putting more of them on reserve, etc.) so that those of us who can't afford to spend $500 a semester on books will be able to do our homework. I just think that in general, the amount of money our administration is paid is absolutely ridiculous. I am sure that almost any student at this school could think of a more useful way for their tuition dollars to work. I, for one, am not happy thinking that the thousands of dollars in loans that I'm going to be paying soon are being used to line someone's bank account or to decorate their house or pad their IRA, since I am highly skeptical that anyone needs to spend $515,000 simply on living expenses for one year. Ruth Paster LSA senior Coffee house chains abound in Ann Arbor To the Daily: Walking down State St. yesterday, I passed by a mailbox with a sign reading "Support local coffee shops, boycott Starbucks," referring to the new Starbucks that recently opened on State and Liberty. What I thought was so ironic about this was that the sign was posted right outside of Caribou Coffee, a Minneapolis based chain with locations throughout the United States and even in Europe. Then I looked across the street and saw Espresso Royale Cafe, yet another chain, based in Ann Arbor, with locations throughout the country. Within spitting distance from the location I was standing at was Borders Book Store, Einstein's Bagels and Bruegger's Bagels, also huge chains and popular destinations for Ann Arbor coffee lovers. Even Amer's and Cava Java have multiple locations in Ann Arbor alone. So instead of forming a human chain outside of Starbucks, just relax, have a cup of coffee and try actually thinking about something important. Stephen Corbin Engineering senior God's will cannot be discerned with one Bible passage To the Daily: In response to Jesse Herzog's letter, ("God's opinion on abortion unclear," 1/21/00), I would like to say please do not fall into the habit of quoting the Bible out of context. People have been interpreting the Bible differently ever since it was written, as evidenced by the number of different religions that use it in some form or another. To simply state, however, that "God created everything (Rev. 10:6), therefore God created abortion," and to assume that God does not consider abortion bad is contradictory to everything else the Bible preaches. By that logic, rape, murder, hatred, bigotry and thousands of other acts would be okay, since God created them. That simply isn't true. Using one verse to justify your desires is a common occurrence, but that is not the intent of the Bible. We were all created with free spirits, and the actions of men don't always reflect the will of God. To say whether or not you believe that abortion is wrong is one thing, but to say that God doesn't care ... maybe you ought to read a little deeper. Jared Fitzpatrick Engineering junior Originally on page 4A in the 1-26-2000 issue of the Daily.