The Daily welcomes brief letters (250 words or fewer) from members of the UW community on current issues. Letters must include the author’s full name, contact information and UW affiliation: year and major/department for students, department for faculty and staff, or degree and year graduated for alumni. The Daily does not publish anonymous letters. Priority is given to letters that relate directly to stories printed in The Daily.

All letters meeting our criteria arriving by 5 p.m. will appear in the print Daily on a space-available basis.

The Daily reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar and clarity while striving to maintain the author’s intent. We do not print personal attacks. Letters may be sent to 132 Communications, Box 353720, faxed to 206-543-2345 or e-mailed to opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.

Environmental activists may have trouble recruiting members

(in response to “WashPIRG challenges Olympia for climate change,” by Garrett Troy, Feb. 21)

I commend WashPIRG’s efforts in Olympia to pass energy efficiency bills. Taking time out from their personal lives to support their cause is an act I highly respect.

I recall when a WashPIRG student came into my class one day trying to recruit members. Here’s an example of how it went: “Polar bears, guys! Come on! Who wouldn’t want to save them?” Then I read about the papier-mâché polar bear. I couldn’t help but groan. Now, I’m not saying polar bears don’t matter. However, I do wonder if more environmental activists wouldn’t benefit from reading a column by Tom Friedman. “You try that approach on people without jobs who live in neighborhoods where they’ve got a lot better chance of getting killed by a passing shooter than a melting glacier, you’re going to get nowhere.”

In no way am I criticizing WashPIRG’s — nor any other environmental activists’ — passion for the greener cause. I just believe, as does Friedman, that if they wish to really make people care — especially low-income folks, who, frankly, have better things to worry about than polar bears losing their habitat — then they need to really need to focus on the “So, why should I care?” crux of the issue. In his column, Friedman profiles nonprofit leader Van Jones, who works in Oakland to inform the predominantly black and low-income community about how they can specifically benefit from a greener United States. For example, Jones suggests that a greener United States could open the doorway to new solar industries, which could then lead to more jobs, which could help employ at-risk youth, which could bring the crime rate down, which could — well, you get the picture.

I respect the cause of environmental activists, but I can’t help but wonder if they’re missing this key point when it comes to inducing others to join their fight.

— Judy Vue

Junior, journalism and human rights

E-mail notifications to parents too much

Yesterday my parents received a letter from the University of Washington detailing recent crime events that have occurred on campus and surrounding areas. Seriously? I am a 27-year-old graduate student. I have not lived with my parents in about 10 years. They have little influence over what I do on a daily basis and it is absurd that the University should send them notice of rare unfortunate events that are tangentially related to my life. I understand that my parents and I are not the target audience that the University was attempting to reach. Instead, this notice was, in all likelihood, meant to target the parents of undergraduates. However, this is equally as absurd.

First, the events are rare. We are not talking about a coordinated crime wave enveloping and targeting the University and its students. Second, for all of the recent criticism decrying “helicopter parenting,” I fail to see how this action does anything but encourage such a phenomenon. Yes, e-mail notifications of recent crime events directed to students are informative and effective in increasing awareness and vigilance among the university populace, but letters home to Mommy and Daddy in Topeka do little besides embed fear and hysteria in unaffected individuals.

— Kevin Schutz

Graduate student, molecular and cellular biology

Student government responds to the city

(in response to “Increased mental health funding not the answer to campus safety,” by Jeff Tripoli, 2-28-08)

As student representatives in Olympia and on campus, we were surprised and disappointed Jeff Tripoli’s column. The push for mental health funding is, in large part, due to student advocacy in response to an identified need for increased services on campus; the UW falls well below recommended student-to-counselor ratios and there’s been a 30 percent increase in the number of students seeking services over the last year. Unfortunately, the author does not understand the student-driven nature of this initiative, and the editorial has some glaring inaccuracies we would like to correct.

Firstly, the state Legislature and Rep. Wallace do support improvements to campus safety alert systems, procedures and coordination; the article even concedes this point. We can attest to the fact that legislators are aware of the situation at the UW, and are looking for ways to improve it. This year, they passed Senate Bill 6328, which improves campus safety plans and agreements with local law enforcement. In addition to this measure, legislators also understand that in order to fully address the issue of campus safety, the state must also address prevention. Mental health is part of a holistic response to both student wellness and campus safety. We deeply appreciate the Legislature’s support for mental health and hope they will fund response systems in 2009.

Secondly, it’s important to understand the difference between local and state government responsibilities. Police presence — which most of us agree could be better — is the responsibility of the city of Seattle. No state legislator deserves criticism for city issues. The ASUW and GPSS continue to work with the city council and mayor’s office to address the issue of violence in the U-District.

We look forward to continuing our work with legislators in Olympia as the session wraps up. Students’ safety is of utmost importance to the university, state Legislature, ASUW and GPSS.

Sincerely,

— Bryce McKibben

director of government relations, ASUW

— Sarah Reyneveld

vice president, GPSS

— Tyler Dockins

president, ASUW

— Dave Brown

president, GPSS