Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 24, 1993 TAG: 9309290334
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Two things I would comment on:
To equate payment of this amount to the large earnings of an entertainer is asinine.
Buchanan is paid from taxpayers' and students' funds, and people go to see an entertainer of their own free will. Students and parents have very little to say about the high $150,000 cost for Buchanan, and about who is teaching.
We hear so much about Virginia's schools not being able to offer essential classes and training to our children. No wonder, when our elected or appointed ones allow such a waste of money as mentioned above.
Pay him less. If he doesn't like it, he has the freedom to go to another state or facility.
I dare say students would get as much from a sincere professor/instructor who is paid less than half this amount.
RAY D. MABE
GALAX
\ With intent to suppress
PHILIP WALZER'S Sept. 14 articles on professors grossly distort the situation on Virginia's campuses. Walzer lacks an overall understanding of the role and purpose of universities in society. He simplifies complex issues to the point that they are no longer recognizable.
In addition, facts and figures are freely manipulated to present a biased account. These articles are designed to misinform his readers.
Walzer's articles are characteristic of an extreme right-wing tendency that gained prominence during the '80s. Unhappy with the solutions to society's problems that have come out of universities, this anti-intellectual current has led a determined and well-financed campaign under the cover of attacking professors' "light" teaching loads and their "frivolous" research in order to suppress intellectual inquiry in our public universities.
The success of these groups can be seen in the fact that their misrepresentations are now being passed off as "news" in a regional paper.
RICHARD SHRYOCK
BLACKSBURG
\ Allen will make state safe again
HAVE YOU, a member of your family or someone you know, personally been the victim of a crime within the past 12 months? Have your life patterns (going to work, to school or to the mall, visiting friends) been affected by crime or fear of crime? Violent crime in Virginia increased by 28 percent from 1987-'91.
Mary Sue Terry has indeed been described as the ultimate insider, and she is a part of the problem. She wants to be Virginia's governor, but she spent the past seven years as attorney general, the state's highest ranking law-enforcement officer, failing to act as crime soared.
It was on her watch that liberal parole policies put 1,000 violent criminals back on the streets in Virginia, after they had served just one-sixth of their time. Average time in prison for first-time drug traffickers was cut in half. For rape, one of the most violent crimes, average time served amounted to just four years.
Contrary to Democrats' claims that Virginia is tough on violent crime, under Ms. Terry the average time served by murderers was less than half the minimum federal sentence for the same crime. With studies showing that two-thirds of all crimes are committed by repeat offenders, where was she and the Wilder/Robb Democrats when the Republicans tried to abolish parole and adopt truth-in-sentencing legislation to help keep violent criminals off our streets? And was it not Ms. Terry who ignored Republican proposals for stiffer minimum sentences for violent criminals?
As Virginians, we need not continue to live in fear of crime. We have a right and a duty to fight back against the drug dealers and violent criminals who stalk our cities and countryside.
Ms. Terry wants to impose a five-day waiting period to buy guns. But if our environments were made safer by controlling crime, would there really be a need for this waiting period?
George Allen does not support this waiting period. He believes that sportsmen and law-abiding citizens need guns. Allen believes in getting to the root of the gun-control problem.
We need to stop criminals and repeat offenders from having access to or using guns by strengthening our criminal-justice system. Allen offers solid, hard-nose and effective leadership to make our communities safe again. In November, vote for George Allen for governor.
DANETTE JETT
RADFORD
\ A gathering worth repeating
I READ with interest the Sept. 16 article in the Roanoke Times & World-News concerning William Byrd High School, "Students gather, express beliefs," by staff writer Cody Lowe.
Those students who participated are to be commended. Comments by Darren Perdue, Shikara Yeatts and Katie Hall were put well. It's just a shame only 45 came to pray. Carolyn Cecil, the f+ionlyo teacher, should be commended for her leadership.
I'm hoping next year (why not twice a year "at the pole"?) more students will take part.
DAN KOLMER
HUDDLESTON
\ Bring on the 'sin' taxes
SOMEWHERE I learned that if government wants to tax you, then give to government what belongs to government.
There is another part that goes with this teaching that I also believe in. And it's because of this part of the teaching that I can live with Clinton's condemnation of me as a smoker, a drinker and all-around sinner.
If I can help someone who is hospitalized get well with tax dollars that I pay, then I'm glad I had it to give.
You see, smokers, drinkers and gluttons are my kind of folks. I also enjoy being around tax collectors and a host of other sinners. The only people I have trouble with are actors. The Greek word for actor sounds a lot like hypocrite. I want no portion of their lot.
So bring on those new taxes, Clinton. Let's see if we can heal the sick. I think you'll find it will take more than tax revenue to do this.
But if you would read that book I saw you carrying into church recently, you'd already know that.
MARSHALL TACKETT
BUCHANAN
\ Terry's not running in N.C.
MARY SUE Terry's self-aggrandizement and assertion that the National Rifle Association targeted f+ihero with their 60-second ad is entertaining at most.
Having recently moved to Roanoke from Raleigh, N.C., I have been viewing that NRA ad for about five months. Is she running for governor in North Carolina, too?
BETTY SHIPMAN
ROANOKE
\ Don't belittle the achievements
AS A RADFORD teacher, I would like to respond to some of the caustic criticism levied against our school system by Rachel Brewer in her Sept. 15 letter to the editor entitled "In Radford, 'teaching for the tests'."
Ms. Brewer is misinformed or, at least, unknowledgeable about the Literacy Passport Test, the main topic of the Sept. 5 article in the New River Current. She complained that "standardized testing is a poor indication of a student's achievement in such areas as critical thinking, problem-solving and writing."
The test, however, evaluates precisely those three areas.
Sixth-grade students actually write a paper for this test. "Teaching for the tests" translates to learning how to write. The test has changed teacher emphasis from isolated work-book exercises to the actual process of writing.
These sixth graders have been successful in this endeavor because they now focus on composing and style. They write for a real audience. Each student follows a personal plan for improvement, and those having difficulty receive extra attention and coaching.
Encouragement is important, but even more vital is the willingness of our students to accept responsibility for their own learning.
Letters such as Ms. Brewer's do a disservice to our conscientious students by belittling their achievement. Although the Literacy Passport Test is but a small part of Radford's overall program, our students' success should be publicized and applauded.
PAT BALDWIN
RADFORD
by CNB