Letters to the Editor
Campus Times
March 14, 1997
Dear Editor,
We are writing in response to Robert
Aguirre's letter [Feb. 28] regarding Jamie Bigornia's civil rights case.
In the first place, David Riffle chose to make his assault a "gay
issue" by asking Bigornia if he was a "fag." Upon Jamie's
reply, Riffle attacked him. That makes this more than a "regular bar
fight." Jamie was assaulted because he is gay. That was a violation
of his civil rights.
Secondly, in response to Mr. Aguirre's jibe that court time was wasted
on people who aren't "real criminals," did he fail to note that
Riffle was convicted of a crime in a court of law-constituting him a "real
criminal?" Because the evidence against Eric Britton was not sufficient
to meet the strenuous burden of proof required by our criminal court system,
he was not convicted. Riffle, however, was found guilty according to these
same strenuous guidelines.
Finally, Mr. Aguirre, I would like you to ask yourself why on earth
a 5'2", 120-pound gay man would pick a fight or pick up on two underage
drunken baseball players? Jamie's attack was unwarranted in every sense
and it is overwhelmingly upsetting to hear views to the contrary. Although,
Mr. Aguirre, you have lost confidence in the judicial system, we are heartened
to see that justice has been served.
Members of the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Student Union
Dear Editor,
I have a few growing concerns lately for the order of priorities that
the University of La Verne has set up for itself. After reading Laura Czingula's
opinion column, "Gym
floor unacceptable" on March 7, thoughts that had been waiting
to be talked about finally surfaced. As a member of the Student Athlete
Advisory Council and second year member of the men's volleyball team, I
have a first-hand idea of what Laura is speaking of. Not only is the floor
in the Student Center gymnasium dangerous because of the peeling plastic
that used to be attached to it, but I have been informed by several coaches
and our athletic director, Jim Paschal, that when the floor was originally
installed, it was installed directly on top of a concrete slab. The type
of floor used in our gym is a rubber surface that requires a series of padding
and shock absorption materials that aid in injury prevention. However, upon
building the Student Center, this aspect was overlooked and has led to numerous
knee, back and ankle problems for the majority of the men's volleyball team
and numerous athletes on the women's volleyball team, as well as men's and
women's basketball.
Upon further inquiry, I continued to find that the Campus Times has
written several articles on our University's plans to allocate funds throughout
the school. The most recent setback was the surfacing of the new two percent
budget cuts. This cut is due to lower numbers in enrollment and will effect
several, if not all, of the programs at La Verne. I read another article
today entitled "University
expanding into La Verne" [by Jennifer Parsons, March 7]. This article
discusses the proposal of land expansion for the University and the movement
of several athletic fields and facilities. If our enrollment is down, our
budget has been cut and we can't afford to improve the construction of buildings,
than how can we possibly look to expand our campus when we can't fill the
one we have? This grows to be a more frustrating topic to all of those who
participate in indoor athletics and coaches as well; I hope that the University
will look into this matter with a considerable amount of importance as our
athletes are continually being injured.
Chris Peterson
Sophomore