Jewish community must support all
I have always stood up for Israel and the Jewish people. After graduating high school I returned to Israel to serve my country and joined the Israeli Air Force. As a student at UCLA, I was part of Bruins for Israel and constantly defended the country against bias and malicious propaganda on campus.
That is why I it took it to heart when I heard that the Orthodox Union endorsed and supported Proposition 8 just to eliminate my fundamental rights to marry a man I might fall in love with one day. The sad truth is that the Orthodox Union endorsed Proposition 8 and cooperated with many people who do not exactly believe in their rights as Jews. These include Evangelicals and Jews for Jesus ““ two Christian groups who, in my opinion, want to convert every Jew, Muslim and members of other world religions. Usually the Orthodox Jewish community doesn’t get involved in politics, and I am surprised that suddenly the Orthodox Union cooperated with all those people, whom they have nothing in common with, just to eliminate another fellow Jewish man’s rights.
The truth is that even though I fought hard to defeat Proposition 8, I am glad that it passed. If it would have failed, a gay man like me would have had his rights limited only to California and a few other states. Now that people have voted to eliminate our rights, we are stronger as a community, more united, and we will fight not only for complete equal rights in California but all over the United States.
I am asking my Jewish brothers and sisters, gay or straight, to help me in this issue to gain back my civil rights. I especially hope Bruins for Israel, whom I gave my soul to, will fight for my right as a Jew and as a gay man. I also invite Orthodox Jews who disagree with Proposition 8 and the Orthodox Union’s decision to endorse it and eliminate other Jews’ rights. This is a civil rights issue and I expect and hope that the Jewish community will support me.
Ziv Kaufman
UCLA, Class of 2002
Greek members do achieve great success
I’m writing this in response to Nikki Jagerman’s Nov. 6 column (“Horror stories misrepresent dorm life”) from my computer at my desk in the UCLA Campus Tours office, where I am one of three coordinators for the program ““ two of whom are members of the Greek system. Just down the hall in Kerckhoff is the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Relations, home to the six Greek Councils on campus, all comprised of amazing individuals in positions of leadership on campus. It just so happens that I am the president of one of them. Understandably, Jagerman’s recent column didn’t exactly thrill me.
Her point seems to be that she disagrees with stereotyping, at least inasmuch as such stereotypes are (mis)applied to her. She then proceeds to apply a horribly misrepresentative stereotype to 13 percent of the campus. For example, take her statement, “in my experience, the stereotype of every sorority girl acting like Elle Woods is a reality.” If she remembers the movie correctly, Elle Woods is not a bad person to emulate. She ended up with a 179 on the LSAT, putting her in the 99.9th percentile, and she graduated as valedictorian from one of the most prestigious law schools in the country. This isn’t just a Hollywood fairy tale ““ Greek members account for 40 of 47 Supreme Court justices, 85 percent of Fortune 500 Company executives and all but two presidents since the founding of the first Greek social organizations in 1825. Secondly, Jagerman admits that the sample size for this observation is small, comprised of only her two neighbors. In defense of her two neighbors (and all other Greek members across the country), let’s examine the actual realities of Greek life and alcohol on a college campus.
People drink. Some drink in excess. Some choose to drink moderately. Others choose to abstain entirely. She’ll find people in all these categories everywhere on campus. She’ll also find people in all these categories in Greek organizations. In this regard, the fact that we’re in Greek organizations doesn’t set us apart.
Where it does set us apart, however, is in achievement. As undergraduates, Greek members charitably donate over $7 million, and donate over 850,000 community service hours annually. Additionally, Greek members succeed academically. For all Greek councils on campus, the average GPA is several tenths of a percentage point higher than the average all women’s, all men’s and all school GPAs. Furthermore, national studies have shown many tangible, real-world benefits to Greek membership, including a better college experience, better college retention rates and more community involvement after graduation. If vomit is truly the glue holding the Greek system together, how does she account for these incredible benefits?
Her article was offensive to me, a person who has dedicated countless hours to providing more and better opportunities for Greek memebers on campus, and to other member of Greek organizations, who are all doing so much with their college careers. I’m not saying everyone has to join a Greek organization to enjoy college. I know this is not the case. However, regardless of what people decide to do with their extracurricular time, they should keep an open mind about the people in different organizations ““ I guarantee they will be pleasantly surprised.
Kate Wagner
Fourth-year, political science and communication studies
President, UCLA Panhellenic Council
Member, Chi Omega sorority