Arranged marriage clarified for Americans

I appreciated Hanady Kader’s column about arranged marriage (“Let’s get married — and arranged” May 16). She tore down all the stereotypes on the issue and explained how it works in modern times. I am glad that there is such a diverse staff at The Daily. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in big American media outlets. I think it is important to include people from diverse backgrounds in the American media so that Americans get more educated about other cultures and also to dispel the stereotypes they have about people who are different from them.

Mohamed El-Zohairy

Senior, computer engineering

Riza suffers from bad press surrounding Wolfowitz

It’s true that Shaha Riza and Paul Wolfowitz share a romantic relationship. However, she had worked at the World Bank for eight years before Wolfowitz became president. From what I gather, she is a well-respected fighter for women’s rights across the world, and she even made a recent visit to Iraq to promote women’s involvement in the new government there. It seems strange that Riza was forced to leave the World Bank when Wolfowitz came aboard, even though her existing duties would not have required her to report to him.

After all this, Riza is understandably angry. That’s why she got a raise after moving to the State Department — it was compensation for a ridiculous and outrageous decision.

I’m sure it doesn’t help that the press continually refer to her as “Wolfowitz’s girlfriend,” either. Although “girlfriend” may be a technically accurate term, the context is all wrong, and it paints a false scenario of corruption and “undeserved” privileges. This all makes for a good story or rant column, but it belittles Riza and misrepresents the truth.

Pascal Clark

Graduate student, electrical engineering

Caffeine addiction = drug addiction

Coffees. Sodas. Beers. Energy drinks. All are bonded by one word: caffeine, the one that many of us only see as being beneficial toward our body when it comes to keeping us awake.

I agree with Sara Wilson’s May 15 column “Caffeine culture consumes us.” Since we’ve been young, we’ve been told to keep away from drugs because they are “bad” and illegal. But many of us are unaware of the negative effects caffeine also has. Keeping us awake — that’s all we’ve been seeing.

Overuse of caffeine can cause side effects such as dizziness, dry mouth, loss of appetite, nausea, stomachaches, drowsiness and even blurred vision. Studies show that caffeine may even cause our inability to focus as well. Two disorders recognized by the American Psychiatric Association are caffeine-induced sleep disorder and caffeine-induced anxiety disorder. The worst thing that can happen? Cardiac arrest and death.

It’s fine to drink caffeinated beverages every once in a while, but not on a daily basis as if it’s part of your daily routine. That’s no different than a drug addiction that’s hard to stop.

Keep your caffeine consuming well balanced: don’t let caffeine consume you. Yes, caffeine’s everywhere. No one has to completely avoid it; just do enough so that the next thing that happens to you isn’t you dying from [an] overuse of caffeine or, to many of our collegemates’ horror, losing your focus on your studies.

Katie Chung

Freshman, astronomy and computer engineering and engineering

UW animal lab violations deserve serious consequences

Anthony Shelley’s recent articles on lab violations at the UW were interesting, but they seemed to drift into questions of semantics and away from what was happening to animals. Maybe the probation committee doesn’t care about the violations or what that letter said, but many of us who care about the pain and suffering of animals do.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture report listed violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Monkeys were forced to endure operations that weren’t approved, and one of these animals died. Some animals were used in experiments without permission. Other animals didn’t receive any painkillers after surgery. Is there really any question that laws or rules were broken? Students are held accountable to the law and to a code of conduct. Is the UW saying that certain professors and committees aren’t held accountable?

If a professor took money from a UW teaching fund and spent it on market research for a local company or a political candidate, there would be no question that he or she had broken the University’s rules. If state funds were used, that professor might also have broken the law. Some people might think that the professor did something unethical. Why is it that people are so anxious to dismiss the consequences of breaking the rules about animals used in laboratory experiments? Dollar bills can’t feel pain, but there is no question that animals can.

Amanda Schemkes

Senior, English