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Dear Editor,
Your two op-ed pieces in the May 3 issue were both quite to the point. I agree with Mr. Kuhn's complaint that UT President Hartzell and the UT administration were very heavy-handed in firing 60+ faculty and staff engaged in DEI activities, and that "Who are you coming for next" is a totally valid question ["
Opinion: In DEI Purge, Who’s UT Coming After Next?" ]. I also think Pres. Hartzell has been grossly overreacting in calling in APD, DPS, etc. to abuse UT students, most of whom were protesting peacefully. But, I also agree with young Mr. Kostka that attempting to force Pres. Hartzell to resign is a very bad idea ["
Opinion: Force Out Hartzell at Your Own Risk"]. He is exactly right in saying that the current UT Board of Regents are all Abbott appointees. And if Pres. Hartzell is gone, they will without question choose someone much worse to take his place (Pray God not Ms. Dan Patrick!). Abbott, Patrick, and Paxton, "our" governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, along with most or all of the Republican members of the Texas Senate, are in the pockets of two oil-rich billionaire Christian nationalists, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. Bekah McNeel has a very informative piece in the March
Texas Monthly titled "Why Is Texas the Epicenter of Christian Nationalism?" They are why Paxton was acquitted in the Senate in spite of compelling evidence of his guilt in all the charges of investment fraud, bribery, and abuse of power. And I fully expect that the Board of Regents are in their pockets too. Academic freedom? Freedom of speech and assembly? Who are you trying to kid?!?
Dear Editor,
While we appreciate Brant Bingamon finally mentioning RECAPTURE in the AISD article ["
More Details Emerge on Proposed Tax Rate Increase," News, May 3], we probably won't agree that the voters will understand that to get 25 cents in funding, the tax rate has to go up a dollar. AISD students, Austin homeowners, renters, and businesses are being held at merciless disadvantage by the 30-year reign of Republican "leadership" at the statehouse. They say they don't like socialism, but Gov. Abbott and his cronies like it fine when it comes to soaking the Austin economic engine. Look at your last year's tax bill. HALF of that $5,000 you paid to AISD went back to the Great State of Texas; my math makes that $200 A MONTH we OVERPAID, and AISD has less than other districts per student?? No, we don't understand. For a little fun reading, take a look at the
Texas Standard's latest report on RECAPTURE, and then call the Texas Legislature and ask for a financial rape kit. As far as Ralph Harris' letter asking for more Republican "leadership", thanks, but we're still paying for this one. What could you do with $200 per month?
Dear Editor,
Re: "
UT's War on Students," [News, May 3]: what awfully distorted and utterly one-sided coverage! No consideration for the legitimate needs of a university, which of course cannot have an encampment in the middle of campus; and no consideration of the tight constraints and pressures from all sides that the UT administration was under. Given that you like "diversity," you shouldn't be so awfully one-sided but try to see important issues from various relevant perspectives.