UNION IMPEACHMENT WAS UNTIMELY
In response to your article "Student Union Senate votes to impeach Union secretary, censure Union president" (Breaking News, Dec. 6):
As a lawyer, I have some sympathy for those who are in student government and believe in following the Constitution, but on Saturday night? Nixon created a constitutional Saturday night crisis when he fired the Attorney General some months before he was impeached. Too bad the Brandeis Student Union senators didn't have other plans for the weekend.
-Gary D. Lander '67RUSSIAN PROGRAM REMAINS STRONG
Regarding your article "Russian Language and Literature faculty propose new Russian Studies program" (Breaking News, Dec. 4):
This proposal rings true. I was a Russian Language and Literature major after four years of study in high school. With the department's blessing, during the first semester of my senior year at Brandeis I created a student teaching assignment at a local independent high school. I simultaneously explored multi-media design and production; the Russian professor who coordinated the language lab helped with my first soundtrack. That is to say that even 40 years ago there were those of us eager to enrich our Russian language study in multi-disciplinary ways. Professors Szulkin and Hanson were very, very supportive.
-Jonathan Barkan '71

USE OF TWITTER BENEFITS EDUCATION
Regarding your article "Keep 'tweeting' out of the classroom setting" (Forum, Dec. 1):
While I very much appreciate your well-crafted message that makes a good case for not using Twitter in the classroom, I must disagree with the objective of maintaining the status quo of traditional academic settings. In the long run, using Twitter in the classroom may lead to great steps forward for education. The use of Twitter in the classroom as education research and development may lead to big payoffs down the road as professional educators begin to harness the power of existing, nearly ubiquitous technology in new ways. Research and development in the private sector is the lifeblood of innovation and improvement. The use of Twitter in the classroom may represents the lifeblood of innovation and improvement in classrooms across the country.
-Mark Schambach
The writer is publisher and educational director of daviecountystem.com, a Web site tracking education reform efforts in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

REVISE FIRST YEARS' ELECTION SYSTEM
In response to your article "Midyear senator position proposed" (News, Dec. 1):
Here is my solution to the "problem" without creating a new seat or giving a small population over-representation: How about the senator for the first-year class who gets the second most votes is only elected for one semester? At the beginning of the spring semester, a new election for the second first-year senator is held and then all first years can vote and run for the seat, midyears included.
-Daniel Baronofsky '09


CALIFORNIA PROTESTS HAVE MEANING
Regarding your article "Protest with a forethoughtful agenda," (Forum, Dec. 1):
Cooper claims that the situation is just as bad for the administration but then cites pay cuts to faculty and workers. First, he is equating all adults-or nonstudents-at the University with the administration, and then he assumes that students are protesting all the nonstudents. On the contrary, the students are not protesting the faculty or the University workers; they are protesting the administration and the regents. In fact, many faculty members and University workers are standing in solidarity with the students.
The protest is an attempt to highlight how time after time again when faced with financial crisis, California has chosen to slash the budget of education and has shifted the burden onto students who simply cannot pay-thus denying their access to higher education.
-Lev Hirschhorn '11