Letters To The Editor

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

Rioters, alcoholics in the minority

In response to Doug Clark’s enlightening column of May 7 regarding “Brew ,” I would like to clarify that the vast majority of students at Washington State University, myself included, are here for an education and not to party or raise hell. Throughout Clark’s column, he depicted WSU as one giant kegger where drinking is the only thing students take seriously.

I have no explanation of or defense for the actions of the WSU students who recently injured officers and damaged the school’s reputation. I sincerely apologize to all of the officers who were injured and to the business owners who suffered damages.

I firmly believe that the phrase, “once a Coug, always a Coug” still holds true, and I will continue to stand up for WSU. I genuinely hope that all of the rioters are expelled because they do not exemplify Cougar pride. They do not belong here, nor does anyone else who comes to WSU to party.

So, Clark, if you wish to chastise the rioters, go right ahead. Just be sure that you clarify that, according to a press release, only between 100 and 200 individuals participated in the actual rioting. That figure accounts for less than 2 percent of WSU students. Does that make the other 98 percent of us raging alcoholics as well? Amanda E. Porter Pullman

Moron contingent soon to depart

I am a non-drinking WSU student. I take serious issue with Doug Clark’s May 7 column about the riots.

He is absolutely right that the rioting was stupid, destructive and entirely purposeless.

However, he seems to assume that everyone at this university was involved, and that we are all permanently drunk, whining, fornicating fools. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Most of us are normal, well-adjusted young men and women trying to get an education. Sure, there are keggers here. Kind of like at every other college or university in the country.

Ninety-eight percent of us are disgusted with the riot and its perpetrators, and would like to see them swiftly and sternly punished. Perhaps Clark should have read the editorials and letters to the editor concerning the riot in the Evergreen last week, where this disgust was clearly displayed.

Although I am only a freshman, I feel I have gotten a great education here so far, and I intend to return next fall. Don’t judge WSU by a few morons. If the administration gets its way, they won’t be here long anyway. Brian J. Nickel Pullman

Smith making fraternities scapegoats

The riot that hit Washington State University was a very bad thing. I don’t think anyone would dispute that. But what WSU President Sam Smith is doing (“WSU puts six frats on notice,” May 8) is morally indefensible.

Targeting groups for the rogue actions of a few members just isn’t right, period. Campus residents were involved, too - does he intend to close the dorms? A Pullman resident was arrested - does he intend to move the college?

In our society, though, making fun of and scapegoating the fraternities is accepted with a smile and a nod. Smith could distinguish himself a hell of a lot better by not buying into the stereotypical thinking and instead treating the fraternities with some measure of dignity. Ryan C. Grant Cheney

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Higher-level learning valuable, needed

Thank you, Rebecca Nappi, for your editorial of May 7. After reading articles in the May 3 Sunday edition about senior English literature courses being dumbed-down in District 81, and provincially paranoid and myopic reactions to “offensive” visual art in our downtown office buildings (Doug Clark’s column), it is refreshing to know that at least one Spokesman-Review editorial writer is willing to promote thought for thought’s sake, instead of the utilitarian, “I’ll learn only what I need to learn” philosophy so pervasive in our consumer-oriented culture.

Through the study of great art, music and literature, students not only develop an appreciation for the finer things in life, they are also exposed to a history of thoughts and ideas that provide insight into how great minds think, and are encouraged to struggle with issues of morality, ethics and the effective expression of ideas. How relevant are morality, ethics and the effective expression of ideas to our present political and social climate?

One final point: A student who comprehends and appreciates the works of Homer, Shakespeare, Mozart and Michelangelo will not only be able to compose a resume with minimal instruction, he/she may actually have some accomplishments to include in it. Robert J. Spittal Spokane

Writer’s eloquence serves good cause

A hearty hip, hip, hooray for Rebecca Nappi’s editorial response, “Don’t hustle past Homer’s “Odyssey” (Opinion, May 7).

As a fine arts member of a high school faculty, it is refreshing to occasionally find an eloquent advocate who not only recognizes the value of the arts in education but has the ability to express it in non-esoteric terms understandable to the average student. Please continue the defense of the arts at every occasion that presents itself. We need all the help we can get for “of what value is it for a man to make a living if he knows not how to live?” Bill Schink Kettle Falls, Wash.

Education demanding, worth effort

Thank you, Rebecca Nappi, for your response to Keelan dealing with the importance of high school English classes and literature (Opinion, May 7).

Being a high school student, I realize that so often we get caught up in the world of homework and deadlines that we forget the value of what we are taught and exposed to. Students are constantly learning valuable information that prepares us for the real world. From the first day of kindergarten, when we learn how to share, all the way up to sophomore honors history, where we learn about Luther’s doctrine of “salvation through faith alone,” students are opened up to real-world issues and beliefs.

On days when I have 200 pages of homework and only one and a half hours in which to do it, I find myself wishing I could step into the world of employment and leave homework and teachers behind me. Due to the valuable information and lessons I take home, I found the endurance to persist in the world of education so that I can step into the real world on the right foot. Sara K. Peck Spokane

FIREARMS

Licensing doesn’t make the bad behave

Deborah Lawrence Hale wrote (Letters, May 4) that gun owners should be required to pass a federal test to receive a license for legal gun possession, just like car owners must pass a driving test. She thinks this would result in increased gun safety.

This philosophy wasn’t well thought out.

A license is required to drive on any public road. The license fees help maintain those roads. The government has the right to say who will drive on the roads, so it has the right to license car owners. You don’t, however, need a license to drive on your own property. Gun owners often use their guns on their own land, where the government has no place.

Hale proposes that citizens pass a test in order to own a gun, just as drivers must be tested for their driver’s license. The effects of licensing gun owners would be the same as licensing car owners. Irresponsible drivers still receive licenses. When they get involved in accidents or drive drunk, they rarely lose their licenses. Even if they do, irresponsible people keep driving, endangering the lives of others. The only way the government could try to stop this would be to confiscate violators’ cars. However, since irresponsible people care nothing of law or consequences, they could steal a car.

Similarly, felons are forbidden to possess guns, but if they want one, they simply steal it.

The only people who would be affected by a licensing law for guns are already responsible gun owners. They don’t need additional laws to keep them in line. Joel Knutson Cheney

Guns not just implements for violence

In David T. Buxton’s April 29 letter, he states, “Greever overlooks the fact that cars serve a useful purpose, guns don’t. … People use guns to shoot other people, to injure, maim or kill them.”

Buxton ignores the fact that millions of Americans use firearms in a safe and responsible manner for hunting, target shooting, trap and skeet, plinking and self-defense.

It is amazing how much misinformation is disseminated by those who favor gun control and by the media. Edward A. Ramotowski Spokane

Car-gun argument faulty

I think Deborah Lawrence Hale missed a few points in her car-gun analogy (Letters, May 4).

To merely own a car or drive on your property, you do not need license plates or a driver’s license. If you wish to carry a gun in public places, you must have a permit from the police, which is not as easy to obtain as a driver’s license. To hunt, you must take a hunter safety course if you were born after 1972.

World War II veterans, of which I am one, did not go through all the rigmarole that she proposes to handle a gun and we did all right. Robert J. Sheehan Colville, Wash.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Industry’s loss is our forests’ gain

“Prospects grim for timber industry” (May 3) was an extremely industry-biased article. Allow me to rewrite the article from the perspective of the general public.

The boom times are over for the timber industry. After 20 years of dramatic overcutting in the federal lands, the industry is now facing dramatic reductions in logging. Industry executives invited their kept senator, Slade Gorton, to their Northwest Forestry Association annual meeting to discuss how to keep the corporate welfare pouring in.

The industry faces several obstacles to the continued gravy train. As Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told them, an increasing number of Northwest residents demand environmentally sound logging practices. The U.S. Forest Service has finally recognized that it cannot even maintain the roads that it has already built for the timber industry, let alone build new ones. The damage from existing roads (landslides and erosion) is greater than the Forest Service can handle. Accordingly, the Forest Service has announced a temporary moratorium on construction of new roads. This really has the corporate welfare queens whining.

Many species cannot survive the destruction of the forests. Salmon, spotted owls and other creatures are now listed under the Endangered Species Act. To protect these species, the government is required to take some action to restrict logging and prevent damage to streams. Since the ecosystem knows no boundaries, the timber beasts are facing regulations on non-federal lands, as well.

The article needs a new headline. How about: “Prospects improving for forests.” Terrence V. Sawyer Spokane

Dams position omitted points

Opinion editor John Webster, if you are going to write an editorial about the merits of decommissioning the four lower Snake River dams in order to save the salmon, for heaven’s sake write a balanced one. Write the facts as they pertain to those four dams. Don’t just write a slanted piece, omitting key facts concerning this issue.

Case in point. Irrigators currently withdrawing water from behind these four dams will continue to be able to do so, won’t they? You know that. The subject four dams generate a small percentage of the total hydroelectric energy produced by the BPA. You know that. These four dams are not even designed to perform flood control. You know that.

You express such concern for the fate of our region. Where is your great humanitarian feelings for the countless commercial fishermen who have lost their businesses because we are guaranteeing the extinction of the wild Snake River salmon? We are killing an entire industry, destroying the world’s greatest anadromous spawning system, but you shed not a tear.

By what right do any of us have to eradicate the habitat for 8 million fish, cause countless economic losses for so many and spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a tragic sham of barging smolt downstream, just to benefit a narrow margin of the Inland Empire? It took nerve to build those dams. It’s going to take guts to correct this horrendous mistake. John E. Bentley Post Falls

OTHER TOPICS

Vickers ‘a visionary’ at LCSC

As past-president of the Idaho State Board of Education and a long-time resident of Lewiston, I am concerned and dismayed regarding Eastern Washington University’s presidential search and the media coverage surrounding the candidacy of Dr. Lee Vickers. In particular, I write to correct an error in the story published in the student newspaper (later printed as fact in The Spokesman-Review) in which the reporter stated that Vickers had received a vote of “no confidence” at Lewis-Clark State College, which is untrue.

It’s a sad day for EWU when a few faculty and students armed with partial truths and innuendo mount a campaign against EWU presidential candidate Vickers. Is it any wonder Vickers withdrew his name from further consideration considering the environment at EWU as demonstrated by such a vicious article?

Dr. Vickers was a visionary at Lewis-Clark State College. With his perception of what LCSC could become and his remarkable ability to motivate faculty, students and community, LCSC gained national attention for innovation and quality.

I’m certain the changes Vickers has initiated at Francis Marion University, where he is president, are in the best interest of the students. Clearly, the board of trustees must see what an outstanding educator and leader he is as they renewed his three-year contract. I understand community leaders in Florence have pledged financial support as incentive to retain Vickers.

When Vickers was at LCSC he was respected for his professional achievements and known for his personal integrity. The Vickers were change agents in the Lewis-Clark valley. The lives of all who live here are enriched by their legacy. Colleen Mahoney Lewiston

Wine lover should start with grapes

Re: Judith Maibie coming to the realization that she was unable to purchase wine with her food stamps (Your Turn, May 6).

The food stamp program is not designed for people to wine and dine themselves with gourmet meals. It is a service paid for by the taxpayers allowing those in need to have nourishing food for themselves and their families. I personally do not consider alcohol an essential or nourishing food source.

Perhaps Maibie could purchase some grapes with her food stamps and create her own wine. Barbara M. Strang Spokane

Our artistic values as good as any

Re: Inane readerboard in Spokane Transit Authority Plaza.

Art reflects culture, a regional possession. Our culture is as valid, due as much respect, as that of the Aleutians, Athenians or Amsterdames.

It is simplistic - so was Grandma Moses. It is concrete - so was Greek sculpture. It is unpretentious - so was Toulouse-Lautrec. It is not sophisticated. So what?

To criticize the artistic values of a collective subset, no matter how primitive, is an attack on the very individuals making up that subset. A big red wagon explores scale; a line of running figures celebrates art-soul co-mingling. Every nuance may remain unstated, but to thrust the oddities (see “readerboard”) of a jaded subset into a more idyllic one and then denigrate those of the latter for lack of appreciation is to be fully rude and pot-calling condescending.

If an artist from out of her own culture wishes to challenge the complacent thinking of her fellows, she does best making it culturally comprehensible, and presenting it in a contextually meaningful forum. If it’s not accepted, cry tears. But to import an unintelligible expression from out of a cracked culture and place it in a contradictory, conflicting venue, and then expect people to embrace it is a woefully thin grasp of social dynamics.

Who is the ignoramus? The viewer who “doesn’t get it” or the one who created the confusion?

The world is full of sophisticate wannabes. Their attempt to impugn the ascetic artistic sensibilities of the hearty but simple folk of tributary communes such as ours while slobbering over out-of-context esoterics only serves to heighten the spectacle of their own shortcomings. Jeff Ahrendt Spokane