Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 30, 1995 TAG: 9506300036
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For the past year, I have been employed by Roanoke city schools as a school nurse assigned to the Fleming-Ruffner campus. I'm out and about on campus frequently, and what I see is in sharp contrast to what I believe your readers' perception of our school must be.
I see a neat, orderly campus with no graffiti in sight. I see bright young people with dreams and lofty goals. Students who open doors for me and answer me with ``yes, ma'am'' and ``no, ma'am.'' I see a caring, hard-working faculty dedicated to students' success.
Do we have problems? Certainly. But it has been my experience that problems have been dealt with in a fair and swift manner by our administrative staff, and the problems are no more or no less than any school of more than 1,500 students.
More than 65 percent of the '95 graduating class are college-bound - some to such prestigious schools as Harvard and Georgetown universities. Others will go to technical schools or enter the military or work force.
Many of our children face enormous odds that I cannot even imagine, such as abject poverty and homelessness. To achieve such success speaks well of William Fleming's students and faculty. Someone must be doing something right! The Roanoke Valley should be very proud of William Fleming. I know I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
ALLIE BYRD
School nurse
William Fleming-Ruffner Magnet Center
ROANOKE
Robot whales won't be harmed
TO ALLAY the fears of Stephanie Christley (June 27 letter to the editor, ``Filmmakers are exploiting animals''), please rest assured that you need not fear for the well-being of the orcas in ``Free Willie II.''
Due to the controversy surrounding the use of Keiko (the whale in the original ``Free Willie''), except for a few shots in the wild, all the orcas in ``Free Willie II'' are robots. They may not be as expressive as Keiko, but at least they won't suffer.
JERRY CONNER
BLUEFIELD, W.VA.
Religion succeeds more than it fails
REGARDING Joe Lipton's June 27 letter to the editor ``Warner is wrong on school-prayer issue'':
I will admit to many ``evils'' that organized religion has been responsible for in past history. Many wars, battles and deaths have come through religious conquests. Even today, the hotbed of fighting in nations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea finds its roots within religious dispute. However, these atrocities shouldn't overshadow the many examples where religion has been the catalyst for great advances within our world. Should we take the time to reflect upon these (such as the Pilgrims braving unknown dangers to cross the ocean so that they might escape the tightening grip of a state church), we would exceed the room available within this newspaper. These accomplishments of religious faith show that religion is necessary and vital to this country.
I know many people are concerned that allowing prayer in schools could be detrimental to other nonreligious students. In Lipton's words, the amendment Sen. Warner supports upholds using prayer ``to coerce and order children, without parental permission, to partake in an unconstitutional act of religious prayer.''
That statement is wrong! To order someone to pray or repent is unconstitutional and unbiblical. However, allowing someone the opportunity to talk to God freely is not. Have we forgotten the barbarous act of the Holocaust when people were punished, emaciated and gassed for their belief in prayer and God? I would trust that the Constitution wouldn't advocate such oppression either.
It's because of this that a balance must be struck between those people, the students who remain religious and those who choose not to. We as citizens of a free nation should allow others to practice and partake of their religion without scoffing and screaming at them to stop. It's by doing this that we show maturity as a nation.
We can choose to resort to wars, weapons and posturing as so many other countries have. Or we can choose to respect each other, and see that the edicts given in the Constitution and Bill of Rights are carried out so that every person is allowed to live and practice their religion as they so choose.
RANDY HOLLEY
MONETA
by CNB