I was tremendously pleased to see Tim Cho’s column (“The Key to Women Lies in Relationships,” Daily Nexus, May 21) printed in Friday’s Nexus. In an environment where women are usually seen merely as sex objects – a view promoted weekly by Kate Rice – or where radical feminists try to pit women against men in a childish and never-ending “battle of the sexes,” Cho’s view was a breath of fresh air and a much-needed dose of sanity.

Amanda Maffett’s reply on Monday (“Not All Women Should Be Seen As Damsels in Distress,” Daily Nexus, May 24) reminded me once again just how sorely needed Cho’s perspective was. Her claim that no woman needs to be told she is beautiful is belied by the number of women suffering from anorexia or choosing to undergo breast-enhancement surgery, as well as the behavior of women on a typical Friday night in Isla Vista who are so desperate to be loved and accepted by a man that they will do virtually anything. I agree that compliments should not be restricted to physical appearance; however, I don’t believe that Cho was referring merely to physical beauty, and to assume that beauty is merely a physical quality is to make the same error that Maffett claims to be repudiating.

She did address a number of his statements and offered some fair criticisms, but ultimately chose to resort to personal attacks on him, referring to him as “a brain-dead individual” and accusing him of being “sexist” and “incapable of understanding women.” As an acquaintance of Tim Cho, I can say that he is not only a man of character and of courage, but he is one of the few people I have met on this entire campus who would willingly lay down his life for someone else. In fact, sometime in the next few years he will most likely put his life on the line to preserve the freedoms of people such as Amanda Maffett.

But apparently it wasn’t enough for Miss Maffett to personally degrade Tim Cho. She also found it necessary to personally insult his girlfriend. Maffett writes, “the only woman he should look for is a brain-dead, man-worshiping woman.” I happen to be acquainted with his girlfriend as well. Not only is she a very intelligent woman, but she is a member of the 2003 National Champion women’s soccer team at Westmont College. Not exactly a “damsel in distress.”

Scott Roney is a graduate student in chemical engineering.