Greeks do good for campus community

This is in response to two articles featured in Monday’s paper. The articles explained that two fraternities on campus had raised a significant amount of money through their philanthropic endeavors. One of the fraternities was able to raise more than $4,000 for a local women’s shelter, and the other raised a large amount of money to be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I not only think that these organizations should be commended for their outstanding efforts, but they should also serve as a model to every other student on this campus to get involved and make a difference. I know that people have many preconceived notions about students involved in the greek system here on campus. They automatically assume that the only thing fraternities and sororities do is party. Being in a fraternity myself, I can verify that every greek organization on campus has some type of philanthropy in which it participates. I think it’s great that the paper has shown the rest of the campus exactly what these organizations are all about and the fact that they do contribute positively to the community. Maybe after reading the articles, other students will take it upon themselves to get involved because although many students actively participate, more people are always needed.

Column’s assessment of language instruction accurate

I would like to commend Vanessa Valenzuela for her insightful analysis on the poor state of language education at Arizona. I personally tried learning two different languages at the UA and learned nothing in class. When I went abroad, I felt like for every week there, it was the same as a semester in the classroom.

I’ve met students majoring in a language from the UA who couldn’t even hold a conversation. Graduate students and instructors may beg to differ, but there’s a silent majority of students out there who know that UA language classes need to be fixed.

Rumsfeld should be lauded for military strategy

I find myself worried today at the impending and tragic end of Donald Rumsfeld. If it wasn’t enough that the general public turned its back on this brilliant man, he now has to see the military brass do the same. It just isn’t democratic that a man in his position should be left out in the cold due to the whims of the people, both civilian and military. These former leaders of various military branches feel it is their duty to criticize a man whose job it is to make them perform to their best. They clearly do not appreciate the size of the task Rumsfeld has in his hands. He must make the military more efficient so it can fight wars on multiple fronts. During the Cold War, this would not have been a requirement, but in this age of global terrorism, the Bush Administration realizes that wars on multiple fronts with less than desired troop numbers is the only way to win. Rumsfeld was smart enough to realize that the best way to find Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders was not to go rampaging around Tora Bora, but rather to destroy all his possible destinations after Afghanistan. So bin Laden, think you can run to Iraq? Think again. Iran? Think again in a few months. So, I think the top brass at the Pentagon should lay off Rumsfeld and let him conduct the necessary business of fighting a war they couldn’t possibly understand like he does. Lets give “”Rummy”” our support like the president does.

Pornography leads to rape, social ineptness

Today there are about 260 million Web sites devoted to pornography, averaging more than 60 million hits a day in 2000. It is an industry with annual revenue adding up to more than 57 billion dollars. The largest group of consumers is in the age range between 12 and 17. America has quickly become obsessed with this phenomenon, and it is frightening.

I admit that I have seen pornography, but I’m not proud of it. I know about its attractive draw and everything that goes along with that. However, it’s a bit like chocolate-covered poo. It looks good, and at first it tastes great too. Then you take a bite only to realize how bad it really is.

Some people even become addicted to pornography, spending 12 to 14 hours a week looking for pornographic video clips on the Internet, when they thought they were only on for a few minutes at a time. This has negative impacts on the social activities, time, behavior and personal tolerance of the individuals. One of the most frightening aspects of pornography is its obvious correlation with drug use. Many people addicted to porn start with a chance encounter and their uncontrollable addiction tightens its grip every time they use it. There have also been studies concluding that one of the strongest influences on rape is the use of pornography. This is especially terrible considering that one in eight women on college campuses will be raped.

Some people defend its use by stating that porn can keep an individual faithful by letting him or her experience multiple sexual encounters while still in a committed relationship. However, numerous researchers have cautioned that long-term exposure to sexually explicit material may decrease attraction to one’s primary partner or increase the desire for emotionally uncommitted sexual involvement, because it pays scant attention to men’s needs for sensuality and intimacy while exalting their lust. I’m not here to be an advocate for the censorship of pornography, because let’s face it, that won’t help. I’m writing to say that we have a duty to one another, in order to protect others and ourselves, to stay away from pornography and encourage others to do the same. Sadly, if we continue on our current track, we will be left with a socially inept, unfaithful and rape stricken world. I say let’s make a change today.

Minutemen simply attempting to protect country

The members of the Minuteman group are not doing anything wrong. They are simply a group of people who are concerned for the security of the country. When someone is breaking into your house, you call the police, so with that logic, when someone is breaking into your country, you call the Border Patrol. Most of the members are for immigration; they are just against illegal immigration. Immigrants are a necessary part of our economy, but we cannot ignore the possibility that some cross our border for malicious reasons.