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Opinion
 

Letters to the Editor

Campus needs a live mascot

To the editor:

I believe that one of the major things lacking at this school is a mascot. A real, live mascot. I have been at UH for three years and have attended every home football game. I only wish I could have seen a real live cougar strutting around Robertson Stadium for everyone to gain spirit and energy from. 

When I first read that the student senate was reconsidering its position on the issue, I wondered, even if that does pass, what good is a cougar at the zoo? It should be on campus in a very visible place where all Cougars, from freshmen to Ph.D. candidates, could see it. I would have no problem paying a new fee in the range of $5 to $10/ a semester to see this happen, and I think that students should get behind this idea. Or even better, why not seek out a donor from our rich alumni?

Jerry Greenspan
junior, political science

Oh, it's a quagmire all right

To the editor:

Ironically, Tyler Nelson's recent column was headlined, "Teddy's Iraq, Vietnam analogy way off." (Opinion, Tuesday) Nelson, in fact, is the one who is "way off" in his assertion that Sen. Ted Kennedy is mistaken in calling our present situation in Iraq a "quagmire." 

Apparently, Nelson is unfamiliar with the definition of the word quagmire. A quagmire is a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position. The operative word being entrapping. "Quagmire" is increasingly a fitting definition for our predicament in Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently affirmed these sentiments by stating that he expected the insurgency in Iraq to last at least a decade. That's 3,650 days, give or take a few days for leap years. All right, now some simple math. Our troops are dying at a rate of two per day in Iraq, how many will we have lost after 10 years? 7,300? Good! Add to that the nearly two thousand already lost. All this for a puppet democracy for the Iraqi people? The Bush administration lied its way into the "quagmire" (read the Downing Street memos) we presently find ourselves in, and now the chickens are coming home to roost. How many more American soldiers will have to die in vain for a lie? 

Ryan Edward McKamie
sophomore, history

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.