LET TERS
RAPE CULTURE
It isn’t a surprise that the two men ac-
cused of sexually assaulting a woman at
the Hi-fi Music Hall were not prosecuted,
as only 11 out of 1,000 perpetrators are
brought to trial on those charges, accord-
ing to RAINN.
Prosecutors commonly insist that they
can’t bring rape cases to trial because they
can’t prove “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
But, as Leigh Gilmore extensively docu-
ments in her book Tainted Witness: Why
We Doubt What Women Say About Their
Lives, women’s testimony is doubted and
disbelieved regardless of evidence.
To quote Gilmore: “The discourses
about rape that circulate within rape cul-
ture undermine women’s testimony. Rape
discourse casts doubt on women as cred-
ible witnesses to their own harm, and on
claims of rape in general. Through rape
discourse, women who bring forward ac-
counts of sexual violence are turned into
tainted witnesses before the law and in
courts of public opinion.”
Gilmore explains how the pernicious
influence of the “he said/she said” dynamic
combines with the feeble excuse “no one
knows what really happened” to immedi-
ately cast doubt on women and their tes-
timony. These weak justifications for dis-
believing women need be erased from the
discussion if society is ever going to put an
end to rape.
If prosecutors won’t go after rapists as
hard as they go after others, we will need
to hold them — and the rapists they excuse
— accountable.
Ryan Foote
Eugene
LOVES THE COVENANT
Unlike the author of the previous re-
view (“In Space, No One Can Hear You
Yawn,” EW, May 25), Alien: Covenant is
my second-favorite Alien film. The title it-
self, reflecting on the agreement between
God and Noah after the flood (the char-
acter David does deliver a torrent of sorts
back to the Engineers).
I loved the recurring theme of the sym-
phony, starting with the prologue after Da-
DEMOCRACY & EDUCATION
vid gets a taste of sitting on the “throne,” to
where Walter mentions how one sour note
can derail the entire symphony, and in the
end when you hear the full composition of
what David first played to bring it all full
circle.
I also loved the inclusion of the reli-
gious captain that everyone brushed past,
but towards the end the protagonist needs
his faith if they are to survive the horror.
The Weekly reviewer chose to sit
through an entire movie specifically look-
ing for things to go against his liberal sen-
sibilities to get triggered by. I wish people
could just sit through a movie with an
open mind and enjoy the ride. Especially a
movie so rich in undertone and symbolism
that’s both well crafted and acted.
Scott Stewart
Eugene
ARE THEY ACCEPTING
APPLICATIONS?
The writer who wrote the Alien: Cov-
enant review is an idiot with delusions
that his opinions matter. I guess if a mov-
ie doesn’t blatantly explain the plot and
makes you think a little, it must be bad.
Perhaps author Rick Levin is in the
wrong job because his reviews are not only
inaccurate but borderline misogynistic; see
line stating, “Katherine Waterson in the
Butch Ripley role, right down to nipples
poking through her tank top.”
Perhaps he should apply at the local 7/11.
William Hermann
Eugene
SAVE THE HULT CURTAIN
Another mistake, replacing the main
curtain at the Hult Center.
This is not a curtain; this is a piece of
art. It was selected in a national juried art
competition and funded with one-percent
for art funds.
This work, along with the other de-
stroyed or misplaced forms of art, is a com-
munity resource. It is community property
and must be maintained and cared for.
Art all over the world is restored, not
destroyed.
Our current short list of not caring:
BY L ARRY LEWIN, R ACHEL RICH AND ROSCOE CARON
A Stick into the Spokes
OPTING OUT OF TESTING
T
esting season is upon us — again. During
April, May and June, students take weeks
of Smarter Balanced Math and Language
Arts tests. This is in addition to a year’s
worth of other tests such as OAKS Sci-
ence, EasyCBM, DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Ba-
sic Early Literacy Skills), STAMP (STAndards-based
Measurement of Proficiency), EDL2 (Evaluación del
desarrollo de la lectura), etc.
Yet some choose not to. Their families sign the
Oregon Department of Education’s Opt Out form be-
cause House Bill 2655 allows every parent to make this
choice for their kids for any reason. Forms are available
online or in all school offices.
Two years ago, 10 percent of Eugene School District
4J students opted out; last year that number increased to
13 percent. (The numbers for this year are not yet tabu-
lated.) Lake Oswego’s opt-out rate was an astronomical
71 percent — with no repercussions!
The Springfield School Board last June unanimous-
ly passed a resolution urging parents to opt their kids
out, calling the tests an “ineffective measure of student
growth and accountability.”
Then-Board Chairman Jonathan Light said the
Smarter Balanced test was never created for students’
benefit.
“It was designed to compare districts and teachers,
not to help students learn,” he said. “As a board mem-
ber, I just don’t feel like it’s OK to encourage our stu-
dents to participate in something that doesn’t help them
in any way. I really feel like school boards have to stand
up for what’s right for their students.”
Amen to that.
4
June 1, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
WHAT OPTING OUT ACCOMPLISHES
When parents say no to these tests, they are jam-
ming a stick into the spokes of a system that unfairly
punishes many kids who don’t test well for a variety of
reasons, including various disabilities or English lan-
guage learning.
Nationwide, teachers say the technology demands of
tests, the wording of questions and even the tasks them-
selves are not age appropriate. Yet students who fail can
be placed in remedial classes, too often at the expense
of missing out on interesting and enriching electives.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Under No Child Left Behind, corporate reformers
and their political allies believed they knew more about
what’s best for kids than teachers, administrators, lo-
cal school district leaders and even parents. Under their
corporate model, they determined that public schools
(not the schools their own kids attend) should be run
like businesses: data-driven, top-down and one-size-
fits-all.
Corporate opportunists then turned classroom ac-
tivities into profits. Work normally performed as part
of a teacher’s salary is gradually being replaced with
computerized lessons and ever more standardized tests
at enormous costs. This model has set the stage for U.S
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her corpora-
tion-friendly devaluation of public education.
THE RESULT?
Before No Child Left Behind, kids normally took
only three or four standardized tests from kindergarten
through graduation. Now students in 4J and other dis-
tricts take up to 120 standardized tests in addition to
classroom tests and quizzes! And strangely, the Oregon
Department of Education is considering adding even
more standardized tests.
Since Oregon launched the state’s Smarter Balanced
tests three years ago, our overall standardized test
spending has exploded to over $80 million annually.
(Figure based on research through Oregon Rep. Susan
McLain, a state contract and a grant application we’ll
post online.) Yet training to improve teaching dropped
by millions! Electives like music, art, shop and PE all
but disappeared. And key student services ranging from
nurses to counselors rose a mere $125,000 annually —
only 25 cents per student per year! We must restore a
balance.
Schools are not factories. Kids are not products.
Learning is not output production. Teachers are not in-
put and output managers. Educational leaders should
not be production supervisors and enforcers.
Make your voice heard and put a stick into the
spokes. Contact your kids’ teachers, their principal and
your school board members to demand we rebalance
our spending, reduce standardized testing and restore
electives and student services. The timing is perfect; the
state budget and test contracts are under negotiation.
Opt out now!
Larry Lewin, Rachel Rich and Roscoe Caron are former middle and
high school teachers in Eugene and Springfield Districts. All are
members of CAPE, the Community Alliance for Public Education, a
coalition of parents, teachers, professors, students and community
members who challenge the many assaults on public education and
who believe that strong public education is the foundation for Ameri-
can democracy. We meet the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Mondays at 4:30 pm at
Perugino in downtown Eugene. For more information, visit CAPE’s
website at oregoncape.org.