LETTERS
Adults only
Evelyn Krull questions thi*
value of multn ultural curricu
lum for adults Disdaining
required study of 'social life
and morality” in preference of
"science" at the university level,
she deems the former, "princi
ples you should have learned
ages ago.” and claims we under
estimate her capacity for inde
pendent thought
Evelyn, you study Geology 1
quit playing with rocks and dirt
"ages ago," but wrote a senior
thesis on "The Concept of
Childhood in Children's Litera
ture," that explored connec
tions, made in literature for chil
dren. between childhood and
cultures marginalized in mod
ern western society. You did not
invent.the asso< iation of multi
culturalism with childhood. Its
presence in your letter marks
the success of a socially-pro
duced strategy for keeping pow
er exclusive by teaching chil
dren that fairy tales, rabbit
stories and other literature
derived from "peasants” or
"primitives" or "folk cultures"
are for children, maybe women,
but that "we" (notice who?) out
grow them, gaining "adult, sci
entific objectivityIt's hard to
independently unlearn child
hood lessons, so m encountering
multicultural texts, readers get
stuck struggling to simply
respect the material. 1 know you
aren't playing with rot ks and
dirt Why don't you enter a
Comparative Literature class
with the same awareness'1 An
early social lesson you missed'
Bad independent thought? No
You learned, along with me and
everyone else.
'l our best point if it’s sincere,
multii ulturalism, like all i ul
ttire. is the wav we live, not just
something we contemplate But
conscientious action logit ally
follows careful thought: how
can it come from diminishing
the importance of the very idea?
Shanta Kamath
Comparative Literature
Kitzhaber
John Kitzhaber’» approach to
the crime problem is right on the
mark. He believes in keeping
dangerous felons behind bars,
but he knows that this alone is
no solution to the crime prob
r
Icm Equally imjmrlant is deal
ing with the «»i onomic mid
social causes A large percentage
of the serious crimes todnv are
committed In very young peo
p 1*». many in their teens, often
sc hool dropouts from dysfunc
tional families They are unem
ployed and lac king in the edu
cation and skills needed to get
and keep a job. If we are ever
going to make a dent in the
crime problem we must find a
way to keep kids in si hool. to
give them the skills they need to
earn a living That is why John
Kitzhaher has been talking to
school administrators about the
relationship between edui ation
and crime prevention, and why
he is emphasizing developing an
economy that will provide jobs
for young people when they get
out of school.
The causes of i rime nre com
plex. They have been develop
ing over a long period of time,
and they won't be solved
overnight Hut we need a gover
nor who is willing to make a
beginning and who believes we
should put as many resources
into preventing crime as in loi k
ing people up after they commit
it. and who understands the
relationship between i rime. Ini k
of education, unemployment,
and social problems in the
home John Kitzhnber is such a
man.
Wendy Cole
Eugene
In Bloom
An open letter to KYVVA
I read your quote in the Hrg
istfr Guard When 1 was in high
m hool, mv best friend blew his
head off. When he died, his par
cuts couldn’t deal with the fact
that he died so bitterly nngrv .it
them They found this drawing
of a sk.ti 11 and said that he must
have been a Satanic dabbler, and
that all of his friends pushed
him to his untimely demise.
Pretty dumb, don't you think?
Kven dumber, a whole hunch of
people agreed There were even
some articles about it m our
local paper.
Hut that s the post What's
said is said, and what's done is
done, but I can't watch another
suicide be treated so unjustly
Kurt's an idiot? You are even
weaker than the man who chose
the easy way out. You kicked
that man when he r an t kick you
bar k l)o you really believe that
Kurt Cobain gave n loss about
being a "legend' ' You said that
Kurt was a sellout, anti now you
say h«*s an idiot Kurt was a
songwriter, a musician. a human
(wing. Nothing more or loss, like
all of uv
Please just play the cool
mush that you could never
hop*? to write in a million years,
and stop wasting our time talk
ing for way too long about noth
ing at all Stop flaunting your
ignorance!
Leigh Latte
Eugene
Settlement
I recently received a money
settlement for damages arising
from sexual harassment by a
professor at the University 1 had
a number of experiences that arc
at odds with the University's
self promotion of their Affirma
tive Action process When 1 first
went to the Offu e of Affirmative
Action. I was strongly encour
aged not to file a formal com
plaint. Fortunately, before
i boosing the informal route. I
spoke with someone at another
department who referred me to
the Offii e of Student Advocai s
(OSA). There. I learned the full
i onsuqutmi es of eat h of mv
options, and I t hose the com.
plaint route
I learned at OSA that then
had been previous t omplaints
against my perpetrator The Uni
versity consistently dented this
liii t. just as they denied the exis
twice ul a previous formal com
plaint against a professor in Phi
losophy provided evidence of a
previous complaint Apparently,
it is more important for the I Ini -
versitv to protei t its professors
from i omplaints that it is impor
tant to protect students from
sexual harassment
Fortunately, I sought repre
sentation from an attorney who
settled nn case for signifii antly
more than the president's legal
counsel was willing to offer
before I filed suit I think it is a
shame that the University fails
to take the responsibility for the
misi unduct of its professors,
and treats as adversaries the stu
dent victimized liotfi by the pro
fessor and the University com
plaint process.
Tanya Miller
Denver. Colo.
Ain KKTISK IX OREGON DAILY EMERALD CLASSIFIEDS S<M3«
• SPRINGFIELD^
! scientific 7
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U of O ltr< y t lr% 146 I 1 i‘i
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