Letters to the Editor

EArgument for God is off the mark

In her Monday column, "Grasping the universe is a stiff challenge," Sara Simmers' defense of her incompetent, indifferent or evil God fails, like her God, to do the job. Why must a planet contain genetic birth defects, genetic and acquired diseases, and natural disasters for us to be "free"?

By Simmers' logic, people who have almost died in a tsunami are "freer" than those who haven't. People who infect themselves with every disease known to humans are "freer" than healthy people. And babies born with their brains outside their heads are "freer" than us.

Would any of us take a syringe full of malaria and inject it into someone we love? And yet that is exactly what "God" does to the people he claims to love, using a mosquito as the syringe. As my late friend Harold Kahm once said, "If we are all God's children, then God should be arrested for child abuse."

Are doctors violating "God's will" by mopping up after "his" mistakes? The reason people have to do "the Lord's work" is because "the Lord" isn't doing it. And if we're doing the work, shouldn't we take the credit?

August Berkshire

Minnesota Atheists president

IT women are valued

We feel that the Wednesday article "Fewer women than men in U's IT," misrepresented the resources available to Institute of Technology women.

Although a member of the Society of Women Engineers was interviewed, many important benefits of the Society of Women Engineers were left out. The article spoke of budget cuts undercutting student organizations, and despite this fact, the group is not only the largest but also the most active student organization at the Twin Cities campus.

The group provides a place for students to socialize, resources for job searching, study groups, scholarships and opportunities to serve the community. In addition, many of the members are involved in other IT and non-IT groups.

We also feel that the article painted a bleak picture of the lifestyle and opportunities for women in technical fields. Both within and outside of the group, women are finding themselves more appreciated within the technology world.

In fact, some major employers have indicated that the unique skill set and outlook that women can bring to the workplace is extremely valued. Yes, your chances of sitting next to a boy (or two!) are high. Nevertheless, women in IT are appreciated and respected and are a driving force within the University.

Lastly, we would like to offer the opportunity for anyone interested in the Society of Women Engineers to stop by. Our lounge is open pretty much all day, every weekday in 25A Lind Hall.

Kelly Dockendorf

and Shreyasee Kambale

Society of Women Engineers directors

Build Gophers stadium

William Shapira's anti-stadium plea touched on the importance of academics and infrastructure before a football stadium, and on that I agree with him.

He lost me, though, when he chose to ridicule the athletics programs at the University and diminish any value an on-campus stadium might have.

I, like Shapira, earned a degree from the University (1999). Unfortunately, I have never seen a football game on our campus and didn't get to enjoy those same "golden, autumn afternoons and outdoor football" that Mr. Shapira did in the '50s. I want to change that.

Intercollegiate athletics are a major part of the college experience for many students, and something has been missing from the football program for more than two decades.

Building an on-campus stadium will afford the University a real opportunity to provide a true, Big Ten experience. It will make money for the cash-strapped athletics department, whereas the Metrodome would be a cost burden if occupied by the Gophers alone.

The state is short on money, but I don't believe for a second that this would be any easier if the state was in a surplus. Stadium dollars are never easy to come by, but somehow Iowa, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State manage to pull it off.

I applaud University President Bob Bruininks for his leadership on this issue and look forward to making a stadium contribution this spring. Go Gophers!

James Vagle

University graduate