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Web extra- more letters to the editor An 'F' for schools article Never mind any real-world evidence. Schools widely ignore abundant and clear evidence that DISEC phonics teaches kids to read, that practice-to-mastery is fundamental in math, and that a rich substantive curriculum in history, geography, science and art is vital in earliest grades to provide a foundation of knowledge for later learning. Instead, most schools blithely go on choosing methods based on their consistency with unproven but prevailing philosophical orthodoxy. Just completely ignore all the real evidence. Just stare at the swinging watch, drink the Kool-Aide, and repeat, "The schools are wonderful. The schools are not to be blamed." To see this unreasoned prattle under the Notre Dame masthead is even more disturbing. Kevin Killion Bun Run history Probably our most memorable Bun Run involved about 225 Keenanites on all forms of personal transportation (bikes, rollerblades, wagons, and running) during the cold winter when Burger King was giving away antler headsets with kids meals. 8 sets of antlers were acquired for the naked reindeer that would pull our naked Santa (and dorm president) in a red wagon to deliver Christmas joy to the campus on the night of the pancake breakfast. The most controversial Bun Run would have been the one that did not occur during the 1994 Keenan Revue, across the stage at St. Mary's. To protect the tradition of the Bun Run and the Keenan Revue we canceled this Run. Matt Makowski'94 Naked Outrage Rudy Toffenetti The summer issue of Notre Dame Magazine dislays a lienof students parading through the hall, naked. I was never a student at Notre Dame but I am 80 years old and ever since I was a young boy I have loved the school and am a loyal fan. There is nothing more beautiful than the Golden Dome shining in the sunlight and, standing on top, a figure of Our Blessed Mother looking down on all the students. It must really break her heart to see her loved ones parading around naked. Perhaps that same gang of young men in proper attire could form a line and march to the Grotto and pray for those who are suffering from the tragedy of Sept. 11. There was also a comment in the article about the administration not making too much of the incident because of fanfare.Why then publish it in the magazine for all to see? Thank you for reading this opinion and God bless you in your future endeavors. Paul C. Mower Commercial brashness Or, have you considered labelng our football uniforms like race car drivers? With individual ads and logos sewn on over all of the body parts? (Higher rates for QBs.) Ah, if my old English teachers at ND, Frank O'Malley and Al Ryan (who guided us through Newman's The Idea of a University) were only alive to witness such progress. Here is my New Notre Dame "Alma Mater" to be sung to the Traditional Tune: Notre Dame has footwear, Hugh (Duke) Rank '54 A shame Daniel J. Kelly '94 Bushwhacked Paul Czarnecki '89 Following is the text of a letter I sent to Father Malloy complaining of the choice of George W. Bush as commencement speaker. I hope you will print it as a letter in Notre Dame Magazine. Dear Fr. Malloy: I was deeply disappointed to learn that George W. Bush will be Notre Dame's commencement speaker. Neither in his public nor private life has Mr. Bush witnessed to Notre Dame's defining values: advocacy for the poor, respect for life, mercy and justice for the oppressed, integrity in public service, and hard work. Mr. Bush has never used the power of government for the protection or advancement of the poor and powerless. His tax plan is a colossal wealth redistribution from the poor to the top 1 percent, as even he was forced to admit during the third debate with Mr. Gore. In the areas of bankruptcy law, health care, food and water safety, and repetitive-motion injuries Bush has removed or blocked vital hard-won protections for low- and middle-income Americans. He opposes affirmative action for those disadvantaged by decades of state-sponsored racism but offers no alternative to redress the continuing widespread inequality of opportunity. There is no evidence that he ever publicly supported civil rights or women's rights when such a stand might have shown genuine courage and conviction, in the 60s and 70s; except for vague bromides during last year's campaign, he still refuses to face these issues. Mr. Bush caused the worst damage to our electoral system in more than a century when last fall he went to court to toss out tens of thousands of legally valid, unambiguously marked ballots in Florida. Complicit in this disenfranchisement were the governor of Florida, who is also Bush's younger brother; Florida's chief elections officer, who was also his state campaign chair; and several Supreme Court justices appointed by his father. If this sort of corruption had occurred in Latin America or Africa we would have imposed sanctions or intervened militarily. As Texas governor Mr. Bush refused to intervene in death penalty cases even in the face of disturbing evidence of official misconduct or unreliable testimony. He turned a blind eye to substantiated reports of prosecutorial malfeasance, defense incompetence, judicial corruption, and wrongful convictions: Gary Graham was executed last summer on the basis of the highly dubious testimony of a single eyewitness. Bush is also callous: days before her execution he mocked Karla Faye Tucker's pleas for a commutation to life behind bars. Such calculated ignorance of the death penalty system's failures and taunting of the condemned cannot be reconciled with Notre Dame's insistence on respect for life and mercy for the imprisoned. If nothing in Mr. Bush's public career is consistent with Notre Dame's principles, the same could be said about his private life. Unlike those who have used their advantages to help the less fortunate, Bush's personal life reveals a pattern of responsibility avoidance coupled with schemes for personal advancement by currying favor with powerful family members and friends. Despite high school grades so wretched that counselors doubted he could be admitted into a good college, Yale accepted him because his father went there. His father also pulled strings to enable him to avoid the Vietnam War in lieu of service in the Texas Air National Guard, although no one has been able to prove that he actually completed his term. He enjoyed an extended adolescence of drinking and partying that lasted until his 40s, including an arrest for vandalism at Yale and at least one later arrest for drunken driving. He abused alcohol and harder drugs, and according to a report broadcast on CNN last fall, paid for an abortion. When he finally chose a career, during his father's presidency, rather than exercise independence and enterprise he exploited his famous last name to entice investors to an oil company that soon tanked. When he sold his house upon election as Texas governor, it was revealed that his housing covenant forbade sale to any person of color; he has yet to publicly rebuke this provision. It would be far more appropriate for Notre Dame to have invited a commencement speaker who has overcome great odds, fought courageously for a principle, or dedicated his/her life to education and advancement, rather than simply to have inherited wealth and privilege. I urge all speakers at the '01 convocation to chastise Mr. Bush for his disgraceful conduct during the Florida recount; to hold him accountable for the lofty campaign rhetoric he used to cajole voters; and to challenge this year's graduates to hold themselves to higher personal standards than the ones he holds for himself. Richard Flint '84, '85M.S., '87M.A.. As an alumnus of our university, I can appreciate the unique emphasis that Notre Dame places on teaching students a sense of social morality. I cannot help but be disturbed by the mixed signals that Notre Dame sends, however, when inviting the man who, during his term as governor, allowed half of all executions performed in the United States to occur with his consent. George W. Bush presided over a record number during his governorship of Texas -- 152. He never questioned the legitimacy of executions in his state even though all across the country, innocent death row inmates were being freed because new evidence (often DNA evidence) was being found that exonerated them. He even allowed the execution of the mentally impaired and those who committed their crimes as minors. Does this send a positive message of what Notre Dame stands for? Mark Higgins '00 |
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