Letters to the Editor

>University priorities

In the Friday Daily, there was an editorial, "Prioritizing transportation," stating that the proposed Central Corridor light-rail line would benefit the University more than a University football stadium that has been proposed on the site of the Huron Boulevard Parking Complex. Although I agree with the author that the University and its students will benefit from the Central Corridor project, we do not need to give up a new stadium to get the project done.

In the editorial, the author states that the University has a seat on the planning committee for the Central Corridor. While the University is a major stakeholder affected by the project, this does not mean that the University can afford to put financial backing toward the project. State, federal, county and city resources can be used for this purpose, however it takes political capital to commit to the project.

I do agree with the author that the University should use its political power to stand with local transit advocates and state legislators to support the project. In the March 22 Pioneer Press, there was an article stating that the Federal Transit Administration approved the cost-effectiveness analysis of the Central Corridor. The next steps in the process will be the public commentary of the draft environmental impact statement. I suggest University students attend and state their opinions.

Light-rail transportation on the Central Corridor will benefit University students and employees, but so will a new football stadium. The stadium will add to the quality of life on campus, encourage the trend of students living on campus and bring a stable source of funding to University athletics.

At most universities, revenue from football pays for the cost of the football program and all the nonrevenue sports programs. A new stadium will help us fund these athletic programs. The stadium and the Central Corridor project are actually complementary. Events at the stadium will encourage use of corridor transit, and the availability of transit to the stadium will reduce the congestion associated with stadium events. We can and should have both a stadium and light rail.

Andrew Wambach

University urban studies undergraduate

Stop the factory farms

Thank you for printing Peter Singer's Wednesday guest column, "Factory farming: A moral issue," regarding the horrendous ways animals are mistreated on factory farms.

Unfortunately, most state cruelty laws exempt these operations from prosecution for committing the most egregious form of abuse. In addition, because of their lobbying efforts, factory farms have been able to convince the government year after year to fill their coffers with taxpayer money.

Hopefully, people will feel as outraged as I do and make a serious effort to cut their consumption of animal products, as well as writing to their state and federal representatives to request that they refrain from endorsing the cruelty that exists on farms by instituting laws that make it illegal.

Federal representatives should be petitioned to end subsidies paid to factory farms.

Jacqueline Raven

University student

A cup of morality

Most college students agree with me when I say I would not be able to make it through the day without my coffee in the morning. I need it at all costs; if I do not have time to brew my own in the morning, I'll drop $1.80 and buy it from Java City. As I wait in line to pay, I wonder how many people in that line are thinking about the origin of their coffee, the process it went through to get to our campus coffee shop and the injustice it has created. Most likely none of them are.

Minnesota Public Interest Research Group is working on a campaign to convert Java City's coffee to 100 percent Fair Trade. Fair Trade products ensure the absence of forced labor and child labor abuses, it guarantees that farmers get paid a livable wage, have safe and humane working conditions and practice environmentally friendly farming. A product stamped with the certified Fair Trade label guarantees that the product has been tracked all the way from the farm to the market, and verifies industry and farmer compliance with the high Fair Trade standards. When you buy Fair Trade you are enabling millions of people around the world to stay on their land, put food on the table, keep their kids in school and build communities. You can truly savor the justice in every sip.

Please support Minnesota Public Interest Research Group in this fight for Fair Trade coffee on campus. All students, student organizations, student government and student activist groups are encouraged to work with MPIRG or be part of our coalition by signing our resolution to assure that Java City complies with the demands of the student body to be socially and environmentally responsible by serving only Fair Trade coffee.

Emily Walz

Minnesota Public Interest Research Group member