Your Turn: Letters to the Editor

Hypocritical professors

I am writing in response to an article you ran in the April 13 edition of The CT entitled “Professors upset with unprofessional student e-mails.” If professors are so upset with their students and e-mail, do we as students not have the right to be upset with our professors’ e-mails, or shall I say lack thereof? Professors, in my opinion, are supposed to respond in a timely manner, as we as students are supposed to do. What if you send a professor an e-mail about class subject matter and they do not respond to you? Do we then, as students, not have the right to say that our professors are being unprofessional to us as well?

Even if an e-mail is appropriately written, sometimes professors just do not respond. And if they do, sometimes it is too late do to anything about it do if it’s about something being due the next class meeting. True, there are times when professor’s e-mail boxes may be full, but I do not feel as though you should have to go to a professor to ask him or her if they received your e-mail, and if they did, why did they not respond. Ladies and gentlemen, professionalism – as we like to call it – is a two way street. It runs both ways!

– Kathleen M. Almeda

A score for dorm visitation

It is with great relief and pride that the Student Government Association announces the conclusion of the dormiory visitation survey. The sample of the survey was students living in dorms with limited visitation hours; the goal of the survey, likewise, was to gauge whether or not these students believed that unlimited visitation hours were in order. In the end, 94 percent of the respondents voted in support of unlimited visitation hours. This means that they do not want time restrictions on visitation length and hours; however, it is clear that dorm sign-in should not be decreased or dissolved in any fashion. Such security monitoring should still be maintained.

As a result of the survey, the SGA expects VCU administration to honor our request and its promise to yield to a student survey that denotes a convincing desire for unlimited visitation hours. The survey resulted in not just a simple majority of students (in limited visitation dormitories), nor did it merely result in a two-thirds majority, but resulted in a 94 percent affirmative response (i.e. for the enactment of unlimited dorm visitation hours). The administration should not have any concerns about whether or not the students really want dorm visitation; likewise, the administration should fulfill its promise to adjust the visitation hours accordingly.

As always, feel free to contact the SGA with any concerns or ideas. We are here to serve the student body in any way possible and we value feedback and suggestions greatly.

– Robert J. Smith, III
Special Assistant for Communications
Student Government Association

Problems with immigration?

Many of the topics discussed in the op/ed article on immigration seem to be offhand assumptions. Medical care of illegal immigrants was lightly introduced. However, what was forgotten was that our urban hospitals are severely under-funded because of the growth of suburban medical centers. This is a subtle yet oddly direct form of discrimination against minority and poverty-stricken communities that makes health care a privilege of the wealthy – regardless of citizenship.

You may also be pleased to know that there are approximately 6.4 million unregistered functioning vehicles in the United States. While it is true illegal immigrants would not register with the Department of Motor Vehicles, a considerable amount of these vehicles are semi-trucks, construction and heavy machinery vehicles, repossessed vehicles, vehicles not having yet undergone title transfer and American citizens who have not renewed their registration. Also, consider how difficult it would be for someone earning below minimum wage to afford a functioning vehicle. I can barely make rent, and I work for the state.

It is unfortunate that one thinks the children of illegal immigrants should be penalized for their status and therefore denied education. As their parents went through such great lengths and risks to raise their children in the U.S., it is unlikely they will be leaving anytime soon. It is in our (the U.S.’s) best interest to ensure these children develop into educated, literate adults. And if the children were born in the U.S., they are indeed U.S. citizens and have a right to free public education, regardless of their parents’ status.

As for unemployment, the bulk of our skill-free jobs in textiles and manufacturing have been delegated to efficient machines or moved overseas long before outsourcing became a hot topic. You did mention the case of the landscaping business owner who hired illegal immigrants and I applaud you for bringing light to this situation. Why do we blame the immigrants when it is our own American business owners who provide them jobs illegally, providing incentive for the illegal immigrants to continue to enter the U.S.? As for trying to pursue higher education, I can certainly understand the concern there. I’m sure your classes hold a great similarity to my classes in that they are full of Mexican illegal immigrants who not only limit my financial aid eligibility but also make it very hard for me to schedule my classes. There are so many Mexican illegal immigrants who also schedule themselves for medical terminology and human physiology. Dang. Let us first consider that without a Social Security number it is nearly impossible to register in a college or university. Many illegal immigrants who do attend college and/or receive in-state tuition or other financial aid are extraordinary students with whom college admissions counselors have worked very hard to allow attendance to the institution because of their academic merit.

A very disturbing sentence toward the end of the article reads: “And getting an education could be made even more difficult for students that have lived in this country their entire lives.” I find this insinuating a citizenship superiority. What of the student who entered the U.S. legally or on a student visa or at age 3? Are you more deserving of admission because you have lived here your entire life? I was unaware that the purpose of a university was to educate native-born American citizens and not simply to educate. Lastly, you say that granting 11 million immigrants citizenship is insane and that you find it objectionable that these immigrants use our public services without any taxable obligations. Yet if they were to be granted citizenship and warranted a compulsory financial obligation through taxes to the government in order to use these public services, that would also be completely insane. So it is hard for me to resist the notion that there may be other issues at work here.

– Tamara Perez

You are who you want to be

In response to “‘Broad’ response” in the April 17 issue of The CT, I would like to show the author more options from which she can choose. Really, I’d like to acknowledge all of the readers who contributed to the editorial section expressing their disgust with Alex Jones’ article or Alex Jones the man. I don’t even remember what his article was about, but since we’re still talking about it I’d like to take the opportunity to give thanks to those who have categorized women.

We have broken every social constraint ever placed upon us, and it is time to reflect in this, our age of unity. Yes, we are beautiful creatures. Yes, people have suffered under our control. Yes, we’ve been raped, impregnated, divorced, pixilated, violently happy, sold and told by our elders how lucky we are to be “today’s women.” It is not unfortunate that “some women play into this because they believe it is their role in life.” No. If we believe, it is so. This is not some “patriarchal view” that you explain. That is a weak thought for human kind. Wrong things have been done and said, but it is your choice to be what you believe.

Let us just say there has been no injustice in the world. There has only been protection or exploitation. Sexes contribute to the world in very different and beautiful ways. In fact, Alex Jones once came to my house to visit my hungry female roommate. I didn’t know the guy but my roommate asked if I’d like to go to dinner with them. She exploited Alex Jones and he swiped both of us into Shafer Court with a mere flick of his wrist. I thanked him and will always consider him a fine gentleman who is just as guilty of being confused about the opposite sex as I am.

But I ask: Do females not embody the most extreme form of creativity on earth? Let the men vote, let them scavenge for gold. In fact, let them eat cake. I will even bake it. I hope that as “today’s women,” we will overlook whatever social ills we believe once held us back and focus on giving and receiving the love we wish to experience in this world.

– Hayley A. Curilla