Though I’ve followed the recent articles about BYUSA in The Daily Universe, they have not inspired me to care yet. However, in the latest expose, I did take issue with one thing. In his responses, (Adam) Ruri displayed an attitude that a volunteer, especially one that works hard, should be recompensed, rewarded and privileged.

There was no embarrassment or apology notable in the explanation for a dry cleaning payment, only justification, which was maddening — as a side note, for my campus job, not volunteer work, I also wear a shirt and tie. In fact, in that sense it is a uniform, yet I don’t expect reimbursement for being clean. From another quote, it was evident he was horrified a retreat was conducted without fanfare, efficiently and quickly, in a classroom. It wouldn’t be hard to estimate how much tuition money was saved from this alternative.

My mind is back at my freshman year, and how terrified I was of this huge university. In high school, many of us probably felt on top of the world, but small fish in a big sea didn’t even describe my freshman year feelings. I felt moved by the 2006-07 BYUSA president’s (Chris Giovarelli) speech at new student orientation. I wandered up to his office and I can honestly say my experience here at BYU was changed.

If BYUSA is not a student government, why do we hold elections for it? I can’t recall the last time I was asked to vote for someone’s position in the Center for Service and Learning.

Andrew Nelson
Las Vegas

We should always be grateful for the freedoms given to the media to observe events, and even organizations, with a critical eye, even if that eye may not be seeing very clearly. The viewpoint, “A Call for BYUSA Disclosure” (Mar. 2) was captivating and nearly patriotic, yet fundamentally inaccurate, with a scent of entitlement.

 First, BYU is a private entity consisting of many organizations, including BYUSA. Private entities have private funds, public entities have public funds. Tuition money, once paid, becomes private property of BYU and is as public as the money in the cash registers at the Cougareat. While students are justified in wanting the best service this university can provide for their dollar, we are not entitled to have private, budgetary processes disclosed to us. If a student is in need of such disclosure, they should probably attend a public university.

I never intended to be an antagonist or an adversary to BYUSA. BYUSA is full of well-intentioned, good, talented individuals who do their best to fulfill the duties they’re given. There are many who benefit from their activities and events. Though I do think improvements can be made, no organization is perfect, and I believe BYUSA has good intentions.

I’ve been at BYU for more than three years now and was involved with BYUSA for a large portion of that time. I have heard the massive amounts of criticism that exist among reasonable, unbiased and biased individuals. While serving there, I considered the validity of many of those criticisms, and though a lot were quite ridiculous, I found some of them to be quite valid. Though I do not feel BYUSA should be completely discredited for its flaws, every organization, especially one that claims to represent the students, should be held accountable.

Many students feel naturally entitled to being ranked and evaluated according to the dictates of their conscience. Also, numerous students feel they are unjustly disadvantaged by a grading system they deem as excessively arbitrary.

If educators cannot adequately articulate a moral backing to their required curriculum, preference of certain types of knowledge and the manner by which they evaluate students, they will have insufficient legitimacy to persuade students to abide by their chosen rules and principles. Unless students understand they are being treated fairly, unfortunately, many good young people will feel little remorse in blurring the lines of academic honesty. This is a, perhaps, often overlooked cause behind cheating at BYU and around the country.

Tyler Lefevre
Jacksonville, Fla.
 

Hard times have forced the Utah legislature to make deep budget cuts across the board. Next year prisoners will be released early, schools will lay off more teachers and thousands of indigent single mothers will lose their prenatal care. In these tough times, our elected officials have banded together to focus on what really matters: telling the world they don’t like the federal government.

It’s time for them to realize we have already gotten the message.

Chances are good that even without their top political analysts, President Barack Obama and the rest of the White House Democrats can figure out that the most conservative state in the nation doesn’t agree with them. No costly “message bills” necessary.