After reading about the sexual and physical harassment and assaults that allegedly occurred in the taxi last week against the couple by four black males, I was ashamed to hear it might be UGA students. Later that week, The Red & Black informed us that the four accused men may be football players.
As the past has shown us, Coach Mark Richt has been “granted” special privileges to handle DUIs, underage drinking and other illegal activities “internally.”
At what point does the legal system not have the authority to punish those who commit crimes, football players or not?
Even worse, if these four men represent our school by sporting our school’s colors and letters on Saturdays in the fall in front of millions on television, shouldn’t they be held to higher standards than “normal” students?
Why can I be kicked out of UGA for these same offenses while these “men of integrity” sit out X-amount of games?
Coach Richt, if your boys did physically and sexually assault this couple in the taxi, I beg you to step aside and let the legal system put them where they belong — behind bars, and not on the bench.
You’ll suspend or bench a player in the last game of the season for a flag, but you’ll do almost nothing when these boys decide to assault others and commit illegal activities.
To the few players that are labeling the team and school as a whole, and to Coach Richt — if this doesn’t change, I will be one fan and student that will be ashamed to sport the colors of this amazing school.
Finally, Coach Richt, when considering punishment for these boys for this event, consider your wife or daughter in this victim’s shoes, and then convince the Bulldog Nation that you are the man of respect and integrity we believe you are.
I’ve never been so ashamed of our team or our colors.

Stacie Austin
Senior, Conyers
Biology

Cartoon portraying Secord not funny

Yes, it is that time of year again — SGA elections. As the SGA treasurer, I’ve been through the circus that is elections.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, as I believe both parties have a lot of great ideas that will benefit this campus, and whoever wins is sure to do a great job.
However, Friday’s editorial cartoon was completely inappropriate and failed to convey any argument at all. It seemingly existed purely to make fun of an individual with the “political” message being a mere afterthought.
I understand that the opinions section is made for free expression, but it should not exist to personally attack someone in the way that was done on Friday.
What makes this cartoon even more offensive to me is that Mr. Bill Richards most likely doesn’t even know Mr. Cameron Secord, making the exchange all the more inappropriate.
I would hope that in the future the editors of The Red & Black take a bit more time evaluating the effectiveness of a cartoon to make sure its “political” message is clearly conveyed.

Joe Chaudoin
Senior, Peachtree City
Management

Salads not proper vegetarian meals

In the April 2 article “Many reasons to go veggie,” registered dietician Katherine Ingerson’s equation of a salad bar with healthy vegetarian eating reveals a deep lack of understanding on the part of UGA Food Services about what constitutes a high-quality vegetarian meal.
A heavy reliance on nutritionally-lacking foods, such as lettuce, is the wrong way to eat vegetarian and can lead to nutrient deficiencies.
Ms. Ingerson also claimed to be unaware of any evidence of trends towards vegetarianism, yet ARAMARK, the country’s largest provider of campus dining services, noted in a 2004 survey that one in four college students said that finding vegan meals on campus was important to them.
The UGA student organization Speak Out for Species is actively encouraging Food Services to provide healthier and substantial vegetarian options — dishes that everyone, whether or not they are a vegetarian, can enjoy, such as chana masala, tropical black bean and sweet potato casserole, and a Mexican-style seitan dish.
If you want to see better vegetarian options in the dining halls, please fill out a Food Services comment card or contact Speak Out for Species at sos@uga.edu.

Michelle Hunsicker
Sophomore, Anthropology
Warner Robins

Now perfect time to become vegan

As a UGA aluma and a vegan, thank you for Aspen Smith’s article about the benefits of a plant-based diet (“Many reasons to go veggie,” April 2).  Aspen is right-on in her assertion that there are plenty of reasons to go veg. More and more evidence supports that eating animals is bad for the earth, the animals and our health, making now the perfect time to go vegan! More than 10 billion birds, pigs and cows are raised and killed for food every year in the U.S.
Many of these animals suffer painful mutilations like debeaking and castration without any painkillers. Raising animals for food is a leading cause of both resource depletion and pollution.
Additionally, a plant-based diet has been shown to reduce our risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and some cancers.
Luckily, each of us can help build a kinder, cleaner and healthier world by simply choosing animal-friendly foods. Learn more at TryVeg.com.

Francesca Falente
Alumna, Marietta
English