Letters

Student senate position

I am running for PSU student senator for several reasons. When I transferred to PSU from PCC (where I had been heavily involved with student government) last summer, I decided to learn more about PSU and its culture before deciding that I was qualified to be a leader here. Over that time, I’ve watched the student body (and its leadership) struggle with the same ineffectiveness, lack of institutional commitment to students and absence of long-term forward thinking that I’ve witnessed at other institutions.

I made the decision to run because there has never been a more perfect opportunity to affect real change, strengthen the student community and to access the power that we have (but do not use) as there will be next year. I decided to run as part of the Bridge the Gap slate because I see a school that has yet to live up to its reputation and potential.

PSU bills itself as a diverse and accessible school yet has only 600 (of 24-25,000 total) African-American students. Students with physical impairments deal with accessibility issues that were identified almost two decades ago. In order to access on-campus affordable housing, students have to sacrifice their standing and enroll for eight credits or less.

The students of PSU have the creativity, drive and ability to make this school into one that lives up to its reputation and one that represents the future that we want to see. I want to be a part of making that happen.

Debra Porta

Vote Aniciete/Hernandez

So once again, we have the “Progressive” slate and the “Inclusive” slate. Bridge the Gap seems to be continuing Courtney Morse and Patrick/Johnny-type ideals; spending money the school doesn’t have on issues that, while important, may not be agreed upon by the entirety of the student body. While Bridge the Gap seems to be running with the same plan that Courtney Morse’s and Rudy Soto’s administrations used, Empowerment is bucking the trend.

Instead of focusing on what they can do for students as Bridge the Gap does, Empowerment is more concerned about what they can do with students. They want the student body to feel a part of PSU and to feel empowered to contribute to making this school a better place. That focus seems to be what makes the difference, and certainly what makes the difference for me.

I’m voting Empowerment, because I don’t like to see history repeat itself and because I think it is time that we have a student government that really connects with the student body.

Gloria Diaz

Water you saying?

Several of Dr. Poulsen’s comments regarding bottled water are false, and show her ignorance regarding how bottled water is actually regulated [“Water you drinking,” April 16]. For instance, if any one production or packaging element of a bottle of water travels between states in its participation in creating that bottle of water, then the bottle of water itself is considered to have been subjected to interstate commerce, and therefore falls under the FDA’s bottled water regulations. It matters not if that bottle of water was packaged and sold in the same state. Also, while it may be true that some tap water may be tested more frequently than some bottle water, in an ounce-to-ounce comparison, bottled water is tested far more frequently than tap water.

Daniel Iboi

Mind your own genitals

Jesse Thiessen you simply rock! Your command of the issues and your obvious compassion for the subject of your article [“Transphobia runs deep,” April 15], gives me pause to say there may yet be a slim glimmer of hope for the news media.

As for the rest of you (most especially including you, Oprah!), who the hell do you people think you are who ask the most offensive, most intrusive and most asinine questions imaginable of we trans-folk? I’m sick and damn tried of your prurient interest in my genitals! Pay attention to your own damn genitals–mine are not up for discussion at any time, in any forum! Got it!

Rene Thomas