Letters
Letters to the editorWho cares about the pros?
Editor:Why is the Don Antonio's Sports Box section of the sports page always
overflowing with statistics on professional sports leagues, with so little
attention paid to college sports standings and rankings?
The NFL, for example, only plays on weekends and Mondays, and thus, we
see the same statistics every day - boring. And while many people get more
and more disenchanted by the excesses of professional sports, our college
sports go neglected.
When was the last time I saw the national rankings of women's
volleyball? Those change every week and are essential, given the high
quality team at UCLA.
When was the last time playoff brackets were shown for the tournaments
for which men's and women's soccer qualified? Maybe the Sports Box is
simply a paid advertisement by that eatery whose name it bears; however,
excluding college sports standings is inexcusable for The Bruin, and
professional statistics are simply BORING.
Patrick Burns
Graduate student
GeographyDie hard fans get the shaft
Editor:This is in response to Kimberly Babb's letter ("Stand up, sit down ...,"
Nov. 20) regarding the poor spirited student section in the last two home
exhibition basketball games. Perhaps what she didn't realize is that UCLA
has successfully eliminated the "real" student section.
If she looked closely, she would have noticed that where there was once
a spirited student section (mid-court bleachers), there are now alumni who
apparently paid big bucks to have reserved seats there. If she looked even
closer, she would have noticed that the student section has been pushed
over to where the band used to be, and the band is in the upper blue
mid-court seats.
Now, don't get me wrong, it is not Babb's fault the student section is
not as spirited as last year, but more likely UCLA or the Central Ticket
Office, or whoever is responsible for the whole ticket distribution and
seating this year. Not only has the student section been moved in lieu of
wealthy alumni, but all the die-hard fans I know were unable to get season
tickets this year.
Why, you ask? Because tickets were distributed on a lottery system that
didn't take into account the four years prior, where the diehard fans went
to each and every game and slept out, even though UCLA's basketball team
wasn't No. 1. All the system took into account was one's ability to pay for
both football and basketball season tickets, and of course, a touch of luck
that one's card would be picked.
Babb writes a short test to see if one belongs in the student section. A
better test would be as follows:
1) Do you remember when you could approach the CTO window and simply ask
for season tickets and have a choice between full season and half season
(Plan A and Plan B)?
2) Do you remember when there were no line, no lottery and no alumni
sitting in the student seats?
3) Do you remember sleeping out the night before the game with not only
a midterm the next day, but shivering to death because it was so cold and
rainy that you thought Noah and his animals would come floating by?
If you can't answer yes to these three questions, then I have some
friends who would be willing to take some tickets off your hands.
Finally, even though Babb has just become an alumna ('95), she shouldn't
be appalled by the students, but by her fellow alumni who have successfully
stolen seats from students just because they have more money.Eric Chien
Fifth year
Microbiology/molecular genetics
Electrical engineering
Editing error
Editor:In response to Wednesday, Nov. 22's column, "Stirring the alphabet
soup," I, Jenny Hsieh, as the author, would like to make some
clarifications as to errors I saw in the final printed version.
The words "It is wonderful to see distinct niches being provided for
every conceivable type of Chinese person out there (otherwise, everyone
could join any `Chinese' clubs even if they were not Chinese)." were
printed in place of what I had originally intended. It should have read:
"It is wonderful to see distinct niches being provided for every
conceivable type of persons, Chinese or otherwise, out there. (Everyone
could join any `Chinese' club even if they were not Chinese)." I believe in
open access to student programs. I would be offended, too, if someone
excluded me from their ethnic organization because I didn't have their skin
color.
The second part I wanted to clarify has to do with the words "everyone,
that is, except `eggs' - Caucasians who fit in the Asian scene ... pardon
the expression, I know I am being hypocritical by labeling." I found it
questionable that I label when I advocate an end to labeling. Therefore, I
changed that paragraph on my final submission to read "with the exception
of those who are not of Chinese ancestry, then, of course, they would bear
the unfortunate label of being an `egg' ... white on the outside, and
yellow on the inside." Yet, due to an editing error, the final version of
my words were not printed.
I take the misrepresentation of my ideas very seriously, especially on a
topic as sensitive and as controversial as this one. This is my attempt to
clarify on my behalf that the words that were printed were not necessarily
reflective of my ideas.Jenny Hsieh
Daily Bruin
Columnist
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