Power Problem at CU
Chittagong University is a unique place filled with natural beauty. There are almost 50 cottages alongside the main hall. These cottages are under rural power and the halls are under the PDB. These days, load shedding has become frequent in this area -- especially the evenings, when the power goes three or four times. It is even worse during the summer. Because of all this, thousands of students are finding that their studies are being hampered. Recurring loadshedding is making life unbearable and very difficult. I would like to ask the concerned authority to take the necessary steps to stop the incessant load shedding and make our lives easier.
Md. Tofazzal Hossain
204, Sal-Sabil Cottage, CU

Cover Story
Thanks for the timely publication on an important issue of Noise Pollution (SWM, April 2). I felt, however, that you have missed an important contributor towards noise pollution -- jet planes of the Bangladesh Air Force. After a day's hard work, we deserve some rest when we come home, but to our dismay, we find that the BAF jets exercise over the city sky for three or four hours every evening emitting tremendous noise, which is really harmful for old people as well as heart patients. Can't the BAF do the exercise outside Dhaka, maybe somewhere south of Aricha or Madhupur Forest? I have never heard any other Air Force in the world exercising over the capital city.
Sharif uzzaman Choudhury
Uttara, Dhaka

Brilliant Cover
Thank you SWM for the absolutely brilliant cover in the latest edition on April 9-- it was an article worth reading. I also think that this time the jokes were also better than ever. Whoever drew the cartoon of Lutfuzzaman Babar surely did a great job. I hope SWMwill be as good in the future.
Raihan Hadi
Presidency University.

Democracy in Bangladesh
The term democracy means freedom of the people--the right to live securely and speak freely--but it seems like our country is no longer operating under the systems of democracy. The political condition of our country is going to the dogs. Every day the local newspapers are crammed with news of corruption, frequent hartals for groundless reasons, mysterious murders of reputed businessmen, brutal attacks on our country's top intellectuals, stagnation in our economic development, continuous parliamentary boycotts and counter-productive activities. Both political parties are busy beating their rivals and establishing their credentials as to how much they have contributed to the development of our country, none of which is relevant to the present. Despite the increasing protests from the public, our political parties pay no heed to the voice of local people. They are simply playing the role of dictators, in the name of democracy.
Naome Syed
Mohammadpur

Save our Culture
Entertainment is a pivotal and important part of our every day lives and also integral in our culture. These days, however, it seems that our own entertainment is being substituted by foreign films and music, and that pretty soon, our own culture will be lost while foreign culture becomes more popular. We are being so influenced by the outside world that even our filmmakers have started producing films full of obscenity and vulgarity instead of focusing on the more positive aspects of our society. It is important for the people in our country to remember where they are coming from and learn to be proud of our culture and heritage without being influenced too much by foreign cultures.
Md. Shamim
Chittagong

SWM is My New Friend
I am a new reader of SWM. When I read SWM for the first time I was very interested in the various columns and articles. My favourites are Dhaka Diary, Write to Mita and Chintito's column. I also enjoyed the jokes published on the April 2nd issue very much. I also sent in a write-up to Mita asking for help and she gave me very good advice so I am very thankful to her.
Asad Ullah
Myemensingh

The Education System
In Bangladesh there are a limited number of public universities. And so candidates have to face a challenging admission test to be admitted. Those who are not admitted into these universities have the choice of attending a private university. The problem with this is that they are very expensive, especially because these universities take this as an opportunity to make money. They do not give preference to merit but instead they focus on financial capability. They use the argument that they need money to build their campus and faculties, but this is not a justifiable cause. Another problem is that teachers of public universities also teach in private universities as well, resulting in them sometimes neglecting their responsibilities. This is very bad news for the education system.
The quality of education in private universities is deteriorating and cannot live up to international standards of education. They also do not moderate their syllabus, which is why many of our students face problems when they go abroad. In public universities there is a different set of problems altogether, such as the rise of student politics, which results in hampering studies and sometimes leads to violence. Most of the students of these universities come from middle class families and their families depend on them.
The government should work on making the education system easier for students by announcing a standard tuition fee and propose modern syllabi for private universities and by giving the students a healthy and politics-free environment in public universities.
Md. Jakiyamani Abir
Mymensingh Medical College

My Brother DB is a Prostitute -- Response
The theme of Mr. Shawkat Hussain in this piece is to focus on the wretchedness and deterioration of collective thought as well as the nation. The title, I feel is very relevant to the article. One can cast aspersions about the content of the piece from its title because prostitution is related to the concept of deterioration in any society. In a response written about the article, M. Zaman criticises Hussain for having chosen this title, labelling it "eye-catching and cheap." In his final paragraph Zaman confesses that he is not an expert of English, therefore criticising something that he may not be definite about understanding. My question to him is being in a position in which he is not definite, how can he criticise the title of this piece?
Ashik Reza
Dhaka University