Jordan River Forum

Love Blattert's columns due to easily disputable arguments

I like to read Cherry Blattert's columns for two reasons. First, I love to disagree totally with someone (and there is certainly nothing Cherry and I agree on) and second, her arguments are easy to counter (I would hate it if she could convince me). I especially liked her last column. Her basic argument was that weapons control was inefficient because crime in London had risen since they enforced new weapon control legislation. This is just a tad too simple. There is probably some kind of link between these facts, but who is she to say that the crime spree is due to these laws? What does she know about Europe? Not a lot obviously, otherwise she could have noted that there was a big raise in crimes in France too, although the weapon legislation hasn't changed in the last 50 years! The thing is you can't just take two facts and pretend that one is the consequence of the other without proving anything. If I told you that the number of blue cars being sold has risen by 10 percent, and that at the same time, speeding tickets have gone up by five percent, would you see a correlation? Would it make more sense if I told you that in the same time interval the average engine power has doubled? And could it also be linked with the male/female ratio of drivers? Or with stricter laws? What I'm getting at is that trying to explain crime rates with one simple factor is just senseless. For example, these guys committing crimes are teenagers, right? That means they were born under Thatcher's reign in the 80's. They went to run-down moneyless schools offering very little opportunities. Their parents had to work harder and longer, sometimes at night or on weekends. So these children were raised by absent parents and schools that could not teach them respect or morality. Couldn't that also be a part of the explanation? Come on Cherry, I'm sure you can do much better! I'm impatient to read what you have to say about abortion, prayer at school, lowering taxes ...
Christopher Michel Graduate Student
IU too classy to allow such blind-sighted hatred

I read with great disgust and disappointment Sarah Meinecke's article, (Sept. 26, "Oh how I hate Ohio State"). My son is a third year student at Indiana. While he was accepted at several schools, one trip to Bloomington was all he, my wife and I needed to see of IU. We were sold. He's had a terrific college experience and my wife and I couldn't be happier with IU. We constantly brag to friends and neighbors about the total quality of the program at Indiana, its people, the University, how well it's run, how nice the students are, etc. This despite we are both graduates of Ohio State and I personally am a fanatic of OSU sports. We have essentially come to believe that Indiana is the best kept secret in the country. That said, I found Meinecke's article so out of keeping with our image and experiences with Indiana that it was appalling and should be red-faced embarrassing to IU officials. I think a well intended, spirited, biased article supporting team and school to be just fine. Loyalty and support is a great thing. The problem is, I am hard-pressed to find any of it in her hate-spewing, bitter and poorly developed article. I also find it very difficult to believe the IDS would support (let alone publish) such a tasteless and insensitive article. As an OSU fanatic, I would find it easy to believe this article was written by a brainless, toothless toad that supported the University of Michigan, as all Ohio State supporters know them to be a separate life form. But Indiana has so much more class, it's incredible. I consider this to be totally out of keeping with our image and experiences relative to Indiana. I am very disappointed the article even ran, as are numerous OSU and IU fans and alums who have seen it. When my son read the article yesterday morning, several of the Indiana born and bred brothers in his fraternity came to him to apologize. If the article were re-labeled as "A Michigan fan in IU clothing frothing about OSU," I would take it in stride. But to see this from IU directly leaves me shaking my head. You have way too much class to support this kind of idea by publishing the article.
Patrick Steger Columbus, Ohio
Irresponsible to wish harm on athletic opponents

I am writing this in response to Ms. Meinecke's "Sports Commentary" (Sept. 26, "Oh how I hate Ohio State"). After reading Meinecke's article regarding her feeling for the Buckeyes, I was left with the impression that she knows almost nothing about them other than her mom hates them because she went to Michigan. Surely some of her comments reflect her lack of research on the topic. First, the name of the Stadium is Ohio Stadium, not Buckeye Stadium. Second, she implies that OSU fans supported John Cooper because of his winning record. The vast majority of fans wanted him gone years before it actually happened. Finally, she felt it necessary to think all OSU players are stupid because of the classes Andy Katenmoyer took four summers ago. Katenmoyer, who was never ineligible, is not representative of the current team. This past year, our incoming freshman class was full of kids with impressive GPAs. Our current starting quarterback has a 3.9 in molecular genetics. All this aside, the thing that upset me the most about the article was her comment on Maurice Clarrett's injury. Her implying that the IU defensive players should remember his right knee is injured is in very poor taste and is incredibly irresponsible journalism. A true football fan never roots for injuries, especially when it's a player that can be so fun to watch. I've never been as impressed with a player as I was with Randle El in recent years. I rooted for OSU to beat him, but I would never have wished an injury on him because he was such a joy to see perform. I'm sure the Indiana coaches would agree that this is not the way to win a football game. In closing, let me just say that I understand the hatred she carries for the OSU team. I could write a similar rant about that dreaded team up north (though I would not waste my time on a similar article about IU since we are 29-2 against them in my lifetime). All I'm saying is that an editorial by a senior majoring in journalism should be a little less bitter. Since she let us know what she was pulling for on Saturday (an IU victory and a crumbling horseshoe) let me inform her that I was pulling for an OSU victory where both teams play well so the Big Ten is well represented to the rest of the country. And most importantly, I hope no one gets injured in the process. Good luck IU and Go Bucks!
Matt Bethel OSU graduate
Step back and look at the bigger picture

Two white men walking through the IU Main Library wearing Afro wigs and painted black faces would normally shock me, but it didn't. In fact, I believe the incident was blown out of proportion. Why, you ask? Because when I saw the two white guys walking in the library, I knew what their intents were. They were part of an Intensive Freshman Seminar (IFS) course that explored how African Americans are depicted in the media. I took this class as I was entering my freshman year here at IU, and this summer, I worked as the intern for the class. These students were not trying to make some type of racially insensitive joke; what they were trying to do was portray negative stereotypes of African-Americans in film and were specifically focusing on the "Blaxploitation" period of the 1970s. Their project consisted of playing out four "Blaxploitation" period movies and showing how badly these movies showed African-Americans. To make it more realistic, they wore wigs and put on black costume paint. They were merely walking from the bathroom to the classroom we were using after applying the make-up and wigs. I can understand how people would be offended by seeing this. Being an African American male, I'm sure if I was walking through the library and saw these two men, I would be offended too. But, because I knew all the facts and the context of what they were doing, I wasn't. Many times in life we only see one side of the story. I believe we should step back and look at the bigger picture.
Rahsaan D. Bartet Sophomore
Wasteful war, use resources logically

Although neither President Bush or Vice President Cheney have served a single day in military service, they continually speak about the necessity of going to war. Cheney received five deferments during the Vietnam War. That's probably a record for anyone in this country. Yet, they say that war with Iraq must be. There's no way around it. Then why in heaven's name, someone please tell me, are we in the U.N.? If we will not take our call to arms to them first, what have we been doing all these years belonging to that organization? Bush and Cheney don't have to worry about losing their lives, being maimed or blinded or becoming a paraplegic. They can send young men off to do the fighting, the dying and the suffering. There's only one thing war is. War is waste. It's a waste of human life and waste of financial resources, but most of all, it is a waste of the combined efforts of humanity which could be better used in so many more ways.
B. G. Noe Hemet, Calif.