Letters to the Editor

Faza, Murphy not tardy at SG debate
Re: “Six Square Off” March 25

The Oracle incorrectly portrayed my character in a negative light.

The article stated that the Faza/Murphy ticket was 30 minutes late to the first presidential debate, ultimately delaying the debate process. It does not mention that long before the event, we spoke with the organizers of the debate, who allowed me extra time to arrive. The reason for my tardiness was that I introduced Dr. James Burns, who is a world-renown scholar in the field of leadership studies, in Wednesday night’s University Lecture Series at 7 p.m. The organizers of the presidential debate agreed that this would merit a small accommodation in starting time.

Brandon Faza is an SG presidential candidate and an SG senator.

Gas prices lowcompared to Europe
Re: Column “War in Iraq, OPEC, Bush — Who to blame for rising gas prices?” March 26

People in this country are always screaming for someone to do something about gas prices, but they always fail to realize that they are to blame for the “high” gas prices. People don’t think about the fact that Europeans pay about three to four times what Americans pay for gas.

No one wants to accept that an increase in demand of any good will result in a higher price. Why would gas be an exception? I believe that before people cry for someone to do something about a problem, they should have already done all they can about the problem they’re crying about. What this means is that if you complain about how expensive gas is, you better be on a bus, a bike, on foot or at the very least a carpool in something other than an SUV.

I’m not saying that I think everyone should be taking public transportation, but rather than trying to decrease price with an increase of tears, they ought to try to accomplish their goal by decreasing their reliance and demand on gas. Just imagine this situation: You’re at work, and your boss yells you that the company could absolutely not function without you. Now, of course, you would say, “Great, give me more money,” but your boss says, “Are you crazy? I want to pay you less money and I want you to work more.”

Now, I’m sure that most people would have little concern for their boss’ desire for them to work more for less money, yet for some reason people think that gas producers are going to decrease their prices just because of a public outcry of higher prices.

Dean MacGregor is a junior majoring in eonomics and international business.

Oportunity to educate about Haiti was lost
Re: Letter “Commendable supportrendered for Haiti” March 26

Daily news of Haiti’s implosion has drifted away from the newspaper headlines. So, what should we expect next? The past few weeks have presented an opportunity for those interested in Haiti to learn about its past, present and potential future. Unfortunately, an opportunity to enlighten USF students, staff and faculty has been lost.

With a significant number of Haitian students (by birth or descent) on campus, hosting a forum where their country and its issues could be discussed and clarified would no doubt go a long way to straightening out the perceptions of Haiti that the typical person may have (I know I have some!).

Visiting a few U.S. university Web sites with similar concentrations of Haitian students, such forums have been facilitated. Scholars or Haitian advocates have been able to share their views and concerns with those interested. Universities provide excellent forums to change perceptions with respect to differences in peoples, cultures and attitudes, to name but a few.

In the past few months, it has become evident to me that at USF, certain groups have not allowed major world happenings to go unnoticed and have held discussion forums to keep students informed. Why not Haitians — should we care?

Oliver Page is a graduate research assistant for the Center for Urban Transportation Research.