Opinion
 

Letters to the Editor

An apology

To the editor:

The Student Program Board would like to apologize to all the attendees and everyone who could hear the performance at Hip-Hop Night at Frontier Fiesta. I have read all the columns in the Cougar, and I have to agree that I was shocked when I heard the profanity coming out of some of the artistsi mouths. When we heard the first curse word all our heads ducked in embarrassment as we ran to talk to the artists' managers to fix the problem. It got so bad at one point we attempted to pull the connection to the mikes.

All the members here at the Student Program Board realize that the integrity of the University is involved in all its social activities. And, during the planning of this event, we realized there would have to be some changes to content of the artistsi lyrics. We did ask that they not only tone it down, but also get rid of all offensive lyrics.

However, one thing you have to realize is that when youire working with music artists, you are dealing with major egos. Just because the organizers and the managers tell them they need to change the nature of their lyrics doesn't mean they'll do it.

Insults directed at females, requests to raise our middle fingers and profanity are in no way condoned by any of us. We think very highly of ourselves and to condone such behavior would be unthinkable.

All the members of the Student Program Board and advisors in attendance at Hip-Hop Night tried our best to insure a good, clean performance, and we deserve credit for at least that much.

Candice N. Moore
SPB marketing chair

Spitting myth

To the editor:

I read with interest your coverage of the March 20 teach-in ("Debate flares at 'teach-in' rally," News, Friday), and I appreciated the extensive coverage that you gave to the event. As one of the event's organizers, I was there for the entire event, and I have two corrections on your reporter's account.

First, the counter-demonstrator, who was given the microphone by Cheyenne Bsaies, did not say the troops now in Iraq need our support. What he really did was repeatedly demand of Cheyenne whether, if she really supports our troops, she knows who the commander in chief of our troops is. It is perhaps true that the man with whom Cheyenne shared the microphone meant to say that the troops in Iraq need our support, but this is certainly not what he said. He came off as belligerent and heckling, not as the calm, reasoned voice your reporter invented for him.

Second and far more important, the claim that there were counter-demonstrators in uniform present and those participants in the teach-in spat on them is outrageous. Anyone present at the rally would have seen that there were no individuals of any political persuasion wearing military uniforms, a fact which alone discredits the more difficultly verified claim of spitting, which, uniforms or no uniforms, seems to me to be entirely out of character with the tone and attitudes of those present at the teach-in.

This claim, which your reporter propagated when he quoted a pro-war protestor as making, represents a fascinating recycling of an urban legend that circulated during the Vietnam War, that anti-war protestors allegedly spat upon returning veterans.

There is, in fact, an entire study devoted to this popular myth. It is written by Jerry Lembke, himself a Vietnam veteran, and it is titled Spitting Image. Lembke conducted extensive interviews with veterans and found that anecdotes of anti-war protestors spitting were entirely unfounded. 

It is significant and revealing that a slur used to discredit anti-Vietnam war protestors has been recycled by one of our students and cited by your reporter and in the March 21 staff editorial to discredit those of us who hold the opinion that this war is unjust, unwise or immoral.

After all, if this were another Vietnam we were embarking on, who would be most patriotic ­ those blindly supporting it, or those questioning it? And, if this were Vietnam we were talking about, which side would really be defending the lives and futures of the young Americans currently encamped in the deserts of Iraq?

Margot Backus,
associate professor, English

No peas, no pod

To the editor:

I was amused by Tom Carpenteris column ("Bush and media deceive all," Opinion, Monday). Although I am not totally sure of the reasons for the war in Iraq, I find it hard to align both President Bush and the media on the same target, since Bush is about as Republican as he can get and the media is the epitome of liberalism.

Also, I realize that many people, including the French, Germans and Russians ­ not to mention the Pope ­ are opposed to the fact that we are at war. However, more than 44 countries, at last count, are participating in the war. While I would have preferred a peaceful resolution to the standoff in Iraq, I fully support the Bush administration.

I would like to know what the purpose of this war is in Carpenteris opinion; I could not find it when I read his column.

Tim Fulghum,
graduate student, chemistry 
 

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the UH community and should focus on issues, not personalities. Letters must be typed and must include the author's name, telephone number and affiliation with the University. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, language and space. Letters may be delivered in person to Room 151, Communication; e-mailed to dclettrs@mail.uh.edu ; or faxed to (713) 743-5384.Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu