Jordan River Forum

Classroom environments have two sides\nThank goodness Jennie Smith (Jordan River Forum, Jan. 21 ) grabbed the bull by the horns and responded quickly and appropriately to the unnecessary rant against IU teachers by The Notorious J.O,E. (Some Teachers are Failing, Jan. 17). Rather than share legitimate concerns about the quality of teaching at IU, Mr. Ptak childishly whined about the very issues that frustrate many teachers about IU students.\nYes, many teachers at IU and at other universities see teaching as a drudgery, as a job that pulls them away from research or book writing. However, many of us see teaching as the true calling of an academic and as an opportunity to share our love of a subject with others. We see every day in the classroom with our students as a day to watch you learn to appreciate new ways of thinking about the world or to approach a problem from different perspectives. Teaching energizes us and makes the difficulties of graduate school or the pursuit of tenure bearable.\nI could take the same road as Mr. Ptak and shred the "typical" IU student to bits -- putting spring break travel plans or party plans before classes; not doing homework at all and then blaming the teacher when he/she gets a bad grade; skipping class and then failing a test and then, of course,blaming the teacher when he/she gets a bad grade; and my favorites, yammering on while I talk and then staring at me silently when I ask you to engage in a classroom discussion.\nI won't go down Mr. Ptak's road any further. I think we can all agree that classroom environments have two sides and that students most certainly share some responsibility for making a class fun, exciting and meaningful. Teaching is not an easy job and good teaching is constantly challenging.\nThink about trying to stand in front of 20 to 200 students and inspiring them to learn, especially when they think you're taking cushy four-month-long vacations (summers off -- that's so funny I think I broke a rib laughing so hard) or are devising ways to make the class unbearably difficult. Believe it or not, many of us care and want you to learn for the sake of learning and are ecstatic when you earn A's. So, Mr. Ptak, instead of whining about bad teachers, fill out your teaching evaluations, write letters to deans and department heads or just share your concerns with your teachers. You just might be pleasantly surprised.\nJamie DeWitt\nAssociate Instructor\nAasen put words in author's mouth\nI have just read Mr. Aasen's article (Author Turns I-69 Into Piece of Fiction, Jan. 21) and would like to state that I have not "accepted the inevitable," largely because I do not believe a new terrain I-69 highway to be inevitable. Quite the opposite. Mr. Aasen is quoting from the foreword to my novel, I-69 Does Not Stop, where I argue that the debate should be about whether the highway is built at all, and not over which route will be chosen. I state that, "I have accepted the premise that the highway will be built, because I am afraid my voice will become marginalized to the point of being completely mute should I dare to step into that lunatic fringe where we consider new, less wasteful, methods of transportation." Therefore, I have limited my voice in the debate to whether the I-69 extension should take the sensible I-70/US 41 route, or the new terrain route. Far from removing my resolve, the Governor's choice of a new terrain route has strengthened that resolve: There must not be a new terrain I-69. It is all the more important in this moment when the governor has shown his complete arrogance and indifference to the voices of Hoosiers that we stand together and make real the democracy that he mocks. I thank Mr. Aasen for his article, but feel that he has missed the point of the novel, and, certainly, the feelings of the author. I feel that an acceptance of Mr. O'Bannon's chosen route would be a betrayal of our democracy. It is not what people want; it is not what common sense demands, and it is a gross mis-use of our strained economic means. Thank you.\nSean Connely\nBloomington Resident\nWomen should have power over their bodies\nThe 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade celebrates 30 years in a culture of choice. It is an anniversary of personal awareness and political recognition -- not just for women, but for everyone who sees the\nvalue of recognizing a fundamental concern directly affecting half the population.\nRoe v. Wade has come to symbolize, for me, recognition of women as equal shareholders of power. There is little society can regulate that affects wholly one group and very little it can do to support an entire minority. Reproductive choice empowers a power minority. This is a society that values a woman's ability to govern her body. Few women in many cultures have laws that recognize them as existing outside of their roles serving others, and even fewer who have laws that put faith and power in their opinions. To me, Roe v. Wade embodies the idea that I and my opinion are valued.\nFor this anniversary, I celebrate my right to have an abortion because it is a right to think and decide about my own body, and it is proof that I am not legally subordinate to others' opinions. I see Roe v. Wade for its broader implications. For me it is proof of my choice and my value. I am proud to be able to say that I am pro-choice and I vote.\nNatasha Ruser\nSenior\nSupporting team is a team sport\nWe are writing in response to the article "Test of a True IU Basketball Fan" (Jordan River Forum, Jan. 21). We are appalled to know that Mr. McFall thinks that answering his six questions makes you a true IU Basketball fan. IU Basketball means something different to everyone. To Mr. McFall, it is obviously about knowing useful facts and to some it is how many three-pointers Hornsby made in that last home game. But to us, it is how much heart the boys, or as Mr. McFall referred to them "the ball hogs," put into the game.\nLet's be honest here, you can't expect almost 18,000 people to concentrate 100 percent on the game. But, the fact of the matter is, that every time Coverdale waves his arms, everyone in Assembly Hall stands up to support their Hoosiers.\nMaybe next time Mr. McFall should spend less time criticizing his fellow Hoosiers and more time enjoying the game and supporting our team ... the whole team. Go Hoosiers!\nLiz Barajas and Billie West\nFreshman and Sophomore, respectively\nBasketball quizzing for the self-righteous\nIt was with great interest that I read Casey McFall's letter to the editor in which he or she suggested a mandatory quiz for all people before they enter IU basketball games. I must say that this is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard, and yes, I have listened to the incongruous ramblings of John Kerry and Richard Gephardt. It belongs in the pantheon of ideas that include Crystal Pepsi, slap bracelets, the movie "Over the Top," which was able to couple a man's love for his son with the wonderful world of arm wrestling, and "The Golden Palace," the short lived spin-off of NBC's "The Golden Girls." This suggestion makes the dress Laura Flynn Boyle wore to this year's Golden Globes look like an elegant gown befitting Catherine Zeta-Jones or Princess Diana.\nI do have a couple of questions for Casey: Will the quiz be graded on a curve and what grading scale would be used? I answered "no" to having Marshall Strickland and Bracey Wright sit (question 6), only because I think scoring, which they both tend to do, helps you win games. Will that philosophy hurt me in the end? If I go to the concession stand and ask the person I am sitting with if he or she wants something, would that violate question 5 which restricts the Bill of Rights and limits talking to basketball only?\nI am sure Casey means well, as did the inventor of the Ford Edsel, the writers of "The Country Bears," "Kangaroo Jack" and the "Air Bud" series of films, and the executive who okayed the Chevy Chase Show. However, the "holier than thou" attitude that comes through is usually reserved for such self-righteous "dignitaries" as Jerry Falwell and Phil Donahue. If Casey does not like what he or she hears then he or she should stay home and watch the games on TV, alone. Also, for the record, I need to lose weight and I am thinking about changing the decorating scheme of my bathroom.\nJake Oakman\n2002 graduate, Bloomington Resident\n'Victim Bracelets' a sign of sovereignty\nIn his letter "Bracelets don't include all victims," (Jordan River Forum, Jan. 21), Joseph Woods writes, "I don't feel it is fair to classify the Palestinians as terrorists." First of all, Jews In Greek Life (JIGL) never claimed that all Palestinians are terrorists, and the IDS article that covered the bracelet sale did not mention or imply that absurd idea. All Palestinians are not terrorists, but those who strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up in crowded shopping malls with the intent to murder Israeli civilians are terrorists. Those who join terrorist organizations such as Hamas, which condones the murders of Israeli as well as American civilians, are certainly terrorists. \nWoods goes on to say, "Both sides are fighting against each other in an ongoing battle that unfortunately has caused both Israel and Palestine to commit horrible crimes against humankind." This is a reprehensible attempt to draw a moral equivalency between Palestinian acts of terrorism and Israeli military responses to them. \nIsrael, like America, is also engaged in a war on terrorism, except Israel has been fighting terrorism since its independence in 1948. JIGL sold bracelets to remember Israeli civilians who died at the hands of terrorists. To say homicide bombers who target Israeli civilians -- young and old, male and female -- are not terrorists only blurs the line between murderer and victim. \nWhitney Bond\nSophomore, JIGL Co-Chair\nIs there diversity on the day after?\nAs I sat through a flurry of events on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I wondered, as I do most times whenever IU has diversity events, what about the day after? With the lawsuit against the University of Michigan's use of affirmative action in their admissions policy, race relations are once again coming to the forefront as news stories. To the average Joe who visiting this campus and seeing all the MLK Day celebrations and reading the IDS with its flurry of race articles this week, it might seem as if IU is really fostering a diverse campus. Even though I have only been at this campus for three semesters, I can say that IU does not do a good job of fostering diversity. While there is no question IU spends a lot of time and resources on Culturefest and MLK Day. The real question that I think that needs to be answered is what about the day after these days?\nRahsaan Bartet\nSophomore\nHappy to fight for my country\nAs I turn on "Nightline" and hear Ted Koppel describing anti-war demonstrations and activists, one word comes to mind: stupidity. As talk of an approaching conflict with Iraq lingers, demonstrators are preparing a protest against what our President believes is a national threat. The heck with the CIA and NSA secret intelligence on the catastrophic weapons Saddam Hussein has, we'd rather stay in our own little corner of the universe. What these so-called "activists" do not realize however is that yes, the world is a little bigger than their discussions at the neighborhood barbecue. I wonder if it has occurred to these people that the media doesn't know everything about Iraq's weapons program or even the simple notion that a tyrant such as Saddam Hussein is a pathological and proven liar. \nAs protesters held painted "Axis of Evil" signs with pictures of our nation's leaders on it, I was disgusted and even embarrassed to be associated with these people as a fellow American. Do they not remember what happened twenty-eight months ago on Sept. 11, when terrorists, terrorists Iraq now harbors, killed thousands of our loved ones? Do they not remember! I don't think Robert Rhame, a retired businessman and veteran remembers when he described our economy as a more important issue. Our economy! What about the bubonic plague wiping out the west coast!\nNobody likes war, but if our Commander in Chief orders our fellow Americans to fight for liberty and justice, I will be at the airport waving my flag in support. Furthermore, if I am called upon, I will happily board that plane and fight for my country not because I believe it is the right thing to do, but because it is what my President says is the right thing to do, and because of the soldiers who died believing in the same beautiful American ideals. Everybody living in United States of America realizes that this is the greatest country in the world. What some fail to comprehend however, is how we came to be this way.\nJonathan Steinholfer\nJunior\nIs firing a coach more important than life and death?\nWith the current White House rhetoric concerning Iraq already driving a spike between friendly nations, I find the lack of engagement of the underlying issues by the public at large, but specifically my peers, appalling. I could understand that nobody wants to get involved. That's well and good enough. Why, however, do my fellow students take to the streets, causing over $10,000 damage to campus and other property over a basketball coach's firing only to show little to no open concern over issues of life or death for human beings on the other side of the globe? Though the current regime in Washington does appall me, I'm twice as frightened by a public that seems both uninterested in any active participation in America's future and too easily led to inhuman actions. I fear that the public landscape, devoid of thought not relating to Nelly or IU athletics, may lead to an America defined by out of control politicians rather than any will of a supposedly free people.\nMicah Haskell-Hoehl\nJunior\nMore to the Sig Ep story\nI wanted to add some additional observations to the Sig Ep deal.\nWhat upset me personally the most, was Mr. Hanrahan led us to believe he was sent by the National chapter, and at no time did he tell us he was a part owner. The fraternity was in very poor condition at the beginning of the year, and they will try to blame the students in order to keep their deposits. Pretty cheap.\nAt the parents meeting, Mr. Hanrahan said over a million dollars had been put into this fraternity, just five years ago. Somehow, I doubt it. I think, Mr. Hanrahan was trying to get past Sig Ep Alumni to restore the residence, and this probably wasn't the first time. I wonder, if, five years ago, any of the funds really went to this residence, or, if Mr Hanrahan raised his "corporate income."\nI believe there's more to this story, and some Sig Ep Alumni may also be interested. It's too bad. The boys that stayed had painted the halls, brought in their own furniture and recruited to have 90 boys in the house. As a parent, I didn't like the conditions, but that's my son's choice. I did however, like the other students in the frat and thought that was more an important choice he had made.\nWe deserve our damage deposit. My son cut grass for the money and is putting himself through school. He deserves a refund, and I won't stop till he gets it. I think this man's dealings need to be investigated. \nDon Klemen\nCarmel, IN\nErin White stands for life\nI want Erin White to know how much I appreciate her article on abortion. Justice demands the acknowledgement of the value and potential of each life. Abortion is a horrible blight on the goodness and justice of America. No one has the right to destroy an innocent baby, even if it's in her womb. It is a betrayal of a mother's most sacred trust. Unfortunately this so-called right to choose has resulted in many women being pressured by husbands or boyfriends to commit this very act. In the midst of a society that cloaks killing in the language of "choice," purports to know whose lives are worthy and whose aren't and portrays motherhood as a curse instead of a crown, it often takes much courage to do the right thing and choose life.\nJohn P. Glenn\nGraduate Student\nJoe Grace's work a welcoming piece\nJoe, just a quiet word of thanks for your very creative and entertaining column in the IDS (Love Me Because I Write, Jan. 24, ). I really enjoyed it! About half way through I also noted that, in addition to being very clever, it was also very inclusive. I don't know if this was intentional, but it occurred to me that even GLBT students could read it and feel included. Your use of pronouns was inclusive throughout, as I recall, making it possible for any student to enjoy and relate to your writing.\nThat may not have been your intention and it may not be all that big a deal for you, but I think it just added to the power of a very well-written piece of journalism. Keep up the good work!\nDoug Bauder\nCoordinator, GLBT Student Services