I'm writing in regards to the article entitled "A Dream For Some, A Nightmare For Others" by Julie Newsome.   I would like to start out by saying that the illustration on the website is offensive and racist.

As a former police officer who arrested more people for marijuana than I care to remember, I'd like to commend Tieg Slattery for a thoughtful and well-argued piece in favor of marijuana legalization.

I want to thank Bryn Woznicki for sharing her story of considering a vegan diet ("30 Days of Veganism: The Halfway Update," 11 March). More and more students are considering leaving meat, eggs, and dairy products off their plates to protect their health and the environment as well as to oppose cruelty to animals.

Many thanks to the CORSAIR, particularly reporter Jack Stulic and photographer Samuel Darring, for the fundamentally excellent coverage of last Tuesday's program featuring THEY POURED FIRE ON US... co-authors Alephonsion Deng and Judy Bernstein.

You say that the staff of the Corsair finds the passage of Proposition 8 "mortifying, truly a regression of our society's moral standards and integrity."What?

Your staff editorial on Schwarzenegger's speech was so asinine it's difficult to know where to begin. For starters, it isn't "un-American" or "foolish" to protest the Governor's commencement speech. With just a bit of reading about American history, you'd know that this country was founded by protestors and that King George III thought they were foolish, too.

What do the SMC students and staff talk about this week.

Re "Tuition Increase Bring Students To the Board of Trustees," April 6: I am really disappointed in what Randal Lawson, executive vice president of SMC, said about international student, Chung Ho Lee's death.

As a Republican, I resent your characterization of George "Bush and his band" as "bigots, homophobes, religious fanatics, racists and conservative zealots" (Staff Editorial, 2/23/05). I am a member of his "band," and none of these descriptors fit me or any other Republican I know.