Letters to the Editor

Letter blaming SG proves nothing, fallacious

Re: Letters to the Editor, “Tickets show SG, Greeks as corrupt,” by Lindsey Norris, Sept. 19.

I am in a Greek organization. Because of that I am corrupt, favored more by SG than anyone else, and I must constantly “hound people to join my fraternity,” right?

Now that the delusory premature judgments are put to the side, let’s get to the point. On wednesday, Lindsey Norris wrote a letter that ranted over the recent UCF ticket-sale controversy. She made some very bold accusations and alleged “proofs,” including but not limited to her rhetorical question: “Could there be fraternity members in Student Government giving information to the organizations way before anyone else knows?” which she answered with a resounding “Absolutely.”

Lindsey also made stark fallacies of judgment, stating, “There are many Greek members in SG, which proves that SG favors Greeks over any other student organization.” That ridiculous claim proves nothing. The only thing it proves is that Greek-affiliated students care about USF and chose to be involved in campus affairs.

Lindsey did not stop there. She said, “Charlie (Aguirre) has probably known for months” about the ticket sales. She also added, “Not only is (knowing ticket information early) unfairly giving a group of students an advantage in getting tickets first, but that’s also a big punch in the face for everyone who is not a Greek.”

She had the gall to continue on and say, “Just as the Greek organization as a whole is corrupt, I’ve always believed SG to be corrupt as well, and this is proof.” She based her hasty accusations on her false conspiracy theories in a vain attempt to discredit the entire Greek system and even SG.

It is amazing how some people chose to judge others – even entire organizations for that matter – with ridiculous misconceptions.

Andrew Adach is a sophomore majoring in business


SG can’t fix past, ticket issue should be dropped

I can’t believe that a week later, people are still complaining about UCF/USF football game tickets. Hello to all of you angry USF students who waited in line for four hours or more and skipped all your classes for a game ticket – I have a newsflash for you: The tickets were sold over a week ago. The game is over – USF won.

Clearly, some of you missed out on the chance to go to the game for $5 and had to pay an extra $25 to be seated in the section next to the cheap seats. For that, I am sorry, and I feel your pain of standing in line only to leave empty-handed.

While I personally think what the Greeks did might not have been fair to the hundreds of students who waited in line for nothing, they were smart and organized and for that they deserve credit. They did something every student in that line could have done: They had a representative drag himself out of bed early in the morning to go stand in line for a few hours until he was able to get 400 tickets.

Every person who is complaining could have done the same exact thing, and the truth is that some students didn’t because they might have underestimated how fast the tickets were going to sell. That would make their lack of a $5 ticket partially their own fault. So please move on.

SG can’t turn back the clock, and students can’t reasonably expect them to. The only thing that can be done is apologize and hope that next time SG might come up with a better plan for selling mass quantities of tickets to popular away football games.

Jessica Vilorio is a senior majoring in government and international affairs.


Cartoon response cheap shot as well

Re: Letters to the Editor, “Cartoon inaccurate, cheap shot at president” by Brian Milhoan, Sept. 19.

Speaking as an individual who is illogical and can’t be reasoned with, I have serious issue with the letter printed in Thursday’s edition of the Oracle.

First of all, I take Brian Milhoan’s comments as a personal cheap shot. In an era of global issues such as terrorism, it is of great importance that the United States acts as a concentrated and united democratic body.

When Republicans adopt a political strategy of divisiveness and the likes of Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reilly are cultural icons, Americans are acting as their own executioners by driving wedges between their countrymen and stagnating progress.

In the spirit of open forum and democracy, let me try to explain how such a cartoon isn’t really “inaccurate.” The United States has been operating this war in a sloppy and poorly planned manner, “exit strategy” notwithstanding. In business, it’s suicidal to simply tell your clients, “It will be done when it’s done.” What makes this war any different?

Moreover, this conflict has lasted longer and cost more American lives since it was declared “over.” This shows an unclear plan on the administration’s behalf. Further, the goals seem to have shifted from achieving Iraqi freedom and victory to political damage control, which expands the polarization at home and the ineffectiveness in Iraq. The generals need more time, troops and resources, yet their government is continuing to leave them ill-equipped and its constituents uninformed. This leaves many Americans concerned about not just when the war will end, but what the actual goals are.

The United States is a nation weary of war, and many citizens feel misled and manipulated. The administration’s foreign aspirations have increasingly departed from the American consensus, and America has every right to make jokes and be angry about it. If the president plans to enter Iran, he better bring a lot more than an “exit strategy.” To not do so would be both illogical and unreasonable.

Lance McCormick is a sophomore majoring in mass communications.