Voting FactorsTo the Editor:

Your article in the March 18, 2004 Chronicle on registering students to vote referred to the 2004 election as “an election that Bush won by only 500,000 votes.” This is a bit misleading. Bush indeed won the election and the difference was roughly 500,000 votes, but Bush actually had 500,000 votes fewer than Gore. No, I’m not hallucinating; you can verify this at the government’s web site (www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/prespop.htm).

The president is not decided by the popular vote, but by the Electoral College, in which Bush beat Gore by a vote of 271 to 266. I agree that it’s important for students to vote, but they should be aware that they are not voting directly for the president, but for the electors in their state. Gore beat Bush by about 1.6 million votes in New York, so the election in which students were voting was not as close as they might have thought. Those who find this unfair may want to lobby that the constitution be changed so the president is elected by popular vote, just as all other elections in this country are determined. But they should be aware that this is not likely to change in the immediate future. Arguments for and against the Electoral College are an interesting topic in Political Science one.

Sincerely, Raymond N. Greenwell Professor of Mathematics

Tolerance Goes Two WaysTo the Editor:     The recent talk as of late about gay marriage and civil unions has once again brought up the need to be tolerant of people’s sexual persuasion. When people say Sexual Tolerance, they mean accepting the gay community’s life choice and point of view. With many people not objecting vehemently about gay marriage, this is certainly not an unpopular view. It is one sided, however. What about the rights and views of people with conservative sexual preferences or persuasions?  Does that tolerance extend to the man who stands up and says, “Homosexuality is unacceptable!”?  I think not!  He is condemned as a bigot; he is not extended the same tolerance as a man who stands up and says, “Homosexuality is acceptable!”  This is a vicious double standard many gay rights activists don’t even realize they are enabling. My advice to the gay community: if you want to preach tolerance and acceptance for your sexual preference, you must also tolerate and accept the conservative party, and their objections to homosexuality.

Sincerely,J.D. Whearton