Editor,

As faculty members, we hope that our students start to demonstrate higher thinking skills when they get to college. We hope they learn to evaluate information independently, including statistical data, and the sources of such information. We hope they start to abandon simplistic reasoning, and develop complex rationale. Sadly, the editorial about women’s rights from Rajvir Kaur failed miserably at this higher level analysis.
First, to use Cynthia Kaufmann as an independent evaluator of Republican/Conservative thought is like using Casey Anthony as an expert on parenting skills. Ms Kaufmann clearly has views that are significantly to the left of the political spectrum, and therefore it is not appropriate to have her comment as an “independent evaluator” on a party or a philosophy with which she so strongly disagrees.
Second, the statement of Todd Akin was roundly and vigorously condemned by Republicans, as it was by Democrats. To imply that it represented the views of Republicans in general, even obliquely, is dishonest.
Third, to suggest that the election of Mitt Romney would somehow signal the end of Roe v. Wade is equally dishonest. Governor Romney is probably the most moderate of Republican presidential nominees in the last 35 years. Even elected Presidents like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, who were far more “pro-life” than Gov. Romney, did not end up creating a court that overturned Roe. Stare Decisis has set in, and the likelihood that any elected president will overturn it, let alone Governor Romney, is again lacking in evidence.
Fourth, if you are going to quote statistical data, you should at least make a minimal effort to understand the proper statistics behind them. Every person, be it a college student writing for a college paper or a national journalist, that quotes the 77 cents to every dollar a man makes statistic as evidence of gender discrimination simply is completely ignorant about proper economic statistical analysis. Many factors go into the average wage difference, from education, field of endeavor, years of experience, hours worked, and the like. There have been numerous reputable studies evaluating all these factors (and numerous disreputable ones as well), and almost all the studies show that when compensated for all the factors, gender accounts for about 3 cents on the dollar of difference, and depending on other chosen factors, that 3 cents could be in the woman’s favor. As an aggregate, the 3 cent difference is not statistically different from zero. There are instances of gender discrimination, and we have laws that address that issue, but anyone who tries to use the 77 cent statistic as evidence of the need for new laws lacks any true understanding of either economics or statistics.
This may be a life changing election for many women, as for many men. Can we afford to sacrifice the future of younger generations as we continue to pile up massive debt that sometime in the future will have to be repaid, all while destroying both economic growth and our entrepreneurial spirit. Women and men must eschew incompetence for accomplishment, and we must not use 6th grade reasoning as an excuse for demogoguery.

-Scott Peterson
Math Instructor, De Anza College