Eating disorders not clear
Did I miss something in Monday's article on eating disorders ("Eating Disorders Increase at ASU")? The headline loudly proclaimed that eating disorders were on the rise, but the only hard data submitted was that "around 58% of female students and 52% of male students said they were either trying to "lose or gain weight."
Does the mere desire to gain or shed pounds signify a disorder to the Student Health Center? Did Student Health inquire into the motives and mental states of the individuals who were surveyed?
And where did "increase" come from? There was no comparison of "then" versus "now." This isn't meant to discount the dangers that eating disorders pose to students' health, but a little clarity (coupled with data) would help to frame the issue.
-Chris Lanter
SENIOR BIOLOGY
Publishing DUI names
In discussing The East Valley Tribune's pilot project of printing the names of all convicted DUIs ("Advertising DUIs poses ethical dilemma," The State Press Oct. 14), Chris Fanning neglected to mention several key points.
Most notably, perhaps, is the fact that the Tribune currently does fund all of the DUI printing as a public service. And according to the very same Tribune article from which Fanning liberally cited, the paper plans to continue publishing the convictions regardless of the outcome of the "Robin's law" proposal. The article further states that it is a "coalition of law enforcement and traffic safety advocates" who will put Robin's law before the Arizona Legislature in January - not the Tribune, as one might infer from Fanning's opinion piece.
And while I understand and even identify with Fanning's concern that Robin's law, which would require DUIs to subsidize the cost of their public humiliation, might lend itself to the Tribune-government relationship or conflict of interest of which many journalists are wary, this is not an issue. Robin's law proposes that DUIs only be responsible for paying the cost of publishing their names. This, by definition, does not create a commercial advantage or conflict of interest for the Tribune, but rather would ensure that the paper remain able to publish the lists in their entirety without significant financial losses. Additionally, it appears these individual subsidies would be provided to the Tribune by means of an additional surcharge to DUI fines; that is, the government really isn't involved in these payments at all.
Fanning was correct in stating that there are alternatives to the new Tribune policy and that it would be nice if the paper could continue to fund all DUI convictions as a public service.
-Morgan Westman
SENIOR JOURNALISM AND
MASS COMMUNICATION
Suits may be first step to stop student harassment
As a student who endured my share of harassment and violence from other kids, I understood all too well what my son also experienced while attending public schools. I agree completely with Rosie Cisneros ("Anti-gay harassment must be handled without lawsuits") that teachers and school administrators have not been effective in stopping what, in reality, are crimes of terror in our schools.
It doesn't matter what inspired so much abuse toward me or my son, but clearly we are not alone. And it's not always just students who are guilty of abuse. After years of burnout, teachers and administrators can become abusive tyrants with no accountability, which is the heart of the issue. When abusers can act with impunity, they will, regardless of age or position.
While Cisneros is right that "students and faculty who are armed with knowledge about how to deal with prejudice will help spread tolerance and work toward a solution," such education will not be enough unless there are real consequences for those who attack the vulnerable among us or who allow those attacks to happen on their watch. If that means we must start with lawsuits to inspire school districts to implement meaningful proactive prevention strategies, then so be it.
-David Wright
RESEARCH PROFESSIONAL
CENTER FOR SOLID STATE SCIENCE
