Education grads: learn manners, too
To the angry students in the Graduate School of Education and
Information Studies at UCLA:
If Barbara Streisand is qualified to speak at the John F.
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard on any day, Laura Bush is
certainly qualified to speak at yours on graduation day
(“Students
protest Bush speaking at commencement,” News, Feb.
20).
“Credentials” don’t make an educator; the
successful education of actual people does. People with more
“credentials” deal primarily in theory.
Do you wish to pontificate or make a difference in your field?
Get over your egos and get some good manners.
Margo Berg Silver Spring, MD
Doctoral students need to be more tolerant
In response to the comments made by Tara Watford and Estela
Zarate in the Feb. 20 News story, ”
Students protest Bush speaking at commencement“ (News,
Feb. 20):
Since you oppose Laura Bush’s speaking, I imagine that you
would describe yourselves as being liberal, pro-choice women. But
you do not wish to allow any choice except your own choice of
a speaker ““ a liberal speaker. You won’t allow any real
dialogue except that which deals with your own rhetoric and
personal biases.Â
What are you so deathly afraid will happen if you are forced to
listen to another opinion? If you have never really listened
to another point of view, how can you say you are for
choice? You are not for choice. You want to selfishly
demand only your own choice. Why don’t you listen to another
point of view for once? You might learn something new.Â
I am ashamed there are doctoral students with such little
tolerance of others’ opinions.
Debra S. Coyner, M.D.
Columnist should go to Canada or Europe
If Doug Lief is so damn disappointed with President Bush, why
doesn’t he move to Canada or Europe, where taxes exceed any
logical limit, and people can pronounce “nuclear”
correctly at the expense of the correct pronunciation of
“about” (“Bush’s
address proves irony lives on,” Viewpoint, Feb. 20)?
I guess Lief thinks the citizens of the United States are all
Anglo-Saxon West Coast dwellers who speak perfect English. My
parents speak “Engrish” (the “L” is
unpronounceable to Korean immigrants), and some of my professors,
well they can’t really speak English very well at all. Who
cares if he says “nuke-yular” so long as he knows what
to do with it?
Lief also states Bush plans to “break the long-standing
stereotype that Republicans are fiscally responsible and Democrats
want to spend all your tax money.” Little does he
realize, without Republicans checking the Democrats on spending
issues, our taxes would be astronomical; and without Democrats
checking Republicans on social issues, we’d all be living
under the rule of conservative religious zealots.
We live in such a great system that only important legislation
gets passed. Imagine a government that was either all Democrat or
all Republican! Both worlds would be hell, and I’d
probably move to Canada! The only role government should have
is providing services necessary in protecting our civil liberties,
and to defend us against factors who threaten those liberties. So
far it is doing a good job.
James Kim Second-year Business economics