Letters to the editor

Use your vote to oppose tuition hikes

Dear students,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the cuts to higher education proposed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and its impact on tuition. Here is what you can do to convince the governor and the Republican-controlled House that cuts to higher education and huge increases in tuition are not an acceptable solution to the budget crisis.

If you are a Minnesota resident, register to vote in your hometown. Bring a copy of your voter registration card to a meeting with your state representative in their office in St. Paul or in your hometown. Introduce yourself as a card-carrying, registered voter. Show the representative your card or give him a copy of it. Say you are going to vote in the 2004 election and your vote will depend on cuts to higher education and huge tuition increases. Ask the representative to state his position and say you will be voting based on his vote on your tuition.

150,000 students have a loud voice. It is time to use it.

State Rep. Gene Pelowski

ranking Democrat on the Higher Education Committee

In today's global economy, proficiency in a foreign language gives students a leg up in preparation for the future job market. CLA's proficiency-based standard was instituted at the University in 1986 with the backing of students. That requirement brought with it open discussion across departments about meaningful language education, improvement in the quality of instruction, reductions in class size and an end to a seat-time system.

It connected the University with other settings for foreign language education (K-12, postsecondary institutions and graduate or professional schools), making Minnesota a model for articulation in foreign language education in the United States.

The much-discussed Graduation Proficiency Test actually makes foreign language proficiency one of the most flexible requirements for University students because it takes into account the different paths to learning that students choose.

If you are prepared to take the GPT early, you can. In 2002, 320 "College in the Schools" high school students successfully took the GPT. An additional 90 incoming first-year students passed the GPT prior to taking any language course at the University, most with very high scores.

As more students take advantage of study abroad options, proficiency is a better standard than a set of required courses on campus. Since the GPTs are keyed to the nationally recognized American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages standards, the results can be interpreted by other educational institutions and future employers. When you go abroad, the program you select can place you appropriately.

Over 90 percent of students pass the GPT on their first attempt. If you need to retake a section of the GPT, you can do so after a short period of study and not worry about your performance affecting your grade point average. More information on early access options and facts about the GPT are available online at http:// Langtest.umn.edu/

At the University, the Committee on Second Language Education is discussing ways to maintain the instructional quality, improve GPT access and streamline the paths students take in completing their foreign language. Students interested in contributing to the current discussion should contact professor Charlotte Melin, chairwoman.

Charlotte Melin

department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch

I find it amusing that Nick Busse, after "pondering the rotten state of political dialogue in this country," in his Tuesday column, "Antiwar movement lacks unity, coherence," felt compelled to contribute an insult-filled diatribe consisting primarily of appallingly slanted generalizations.

I found the inaccuracies in the piece so reprehensible they cannot be left unchallenged. Any study of the French resistance in World War II suggests a significant number of people refused to "play dead." Brave men and women, hailing from many areas, multiple classes of society and with wide-ranging political views united against the German occupation. Would this, for Busse, constitute a case of "idealists ... not unified" but simply finding a "pretense for unity" or did he neglect this portion of the historical record simply because it would derail his assault by vague generalization?

At any rate, Busse ignores past actions of the United States. While berating the French for supplying Iraq with "half its high-tech weaponry," he neglects to mention U.S. support for Saddam Hussein during Iraq's war with Iran.

Busse's hint that Germany cannot legitimately question U.S. imperialism has serious ramifications. If the negative aspects of a nation's past render its citizens forever incapable of offering criticism to other nations, the United States must be considered powerless to condemn racial injustice anywhere in the world because slavery and segregation are part of our history.

The suggestion that "utterly banal chants" are more comical than effective could be construed as constructive criticism, even with its mean-spirited tone. The use of stereotyped characterizations of protesters and nations to attempt to prove a point, however, will never be a worthwhile addition to political dialogue.

Andy Wright

graduate student

history