ASF Presidency
Dear Editor,
As the departing president of the Associated Students Forum, I would like to thank you for this week’s article in your opinion section (“High time for change,” Dec. 3). I would have thought after 3.5 years of thousands of hours of my time, energy, dedication, and services to my fellow students, I would have been afforded a better article compare to the one written for this week’s paper. If I had known that I was the reason ASF was not fulfilling its job (by your standards), I would have never wish to have been involved with student government. I am sorry to all of the students, and the individuals who printed this article, that they have had to wait 3.5 years to finally get changes that you have outlined. I am truly disappointed in myself; here I thought I was actually doing good things but in turn I guess I was grossly wrong.
So as the departing president, I hope all your requests are met. I hope that ASF can excel to its full potential now that it no longer has me to hold them back.
Travis Berry
Senior
Changing the Campus Times
Dear Editor,
I think it’s time for the Campus Times to make a major change.
In response to last week’s unsigned editorial on how Travis Berry is stepping down as ASF president, creating an “excellent opportunity to make some changes,” I see the Campus Times as being a part of this change.
Many of the students need to be in agreement that communication between ASF and the students is relatively lackluster. The solution mentioned in the editorial is to post flyers, update a Web site, or spam email. I don’t believe that any of these solutions are very valid. I do know that the ASF as well as other organizations on campus are very active about posting up “lamp post clutter” as it is called by many all around campus. And to be quite frank, I don’t read it. I know exactly where many flyers are posted, and even what color they are, but I certainly don’t read them. If I’m walking around on campus, I am heading to or from a class, or to or from a meeting. I don’t have the time or desire to read all the paraphernalia around campus.
Additionally, although I do read my email multiple times per day, I don’t want to see anything from ULV except important information about registration or graduation in my inbox. When I lived on campus, there were multiple voice mails on a daily message from “The ULV community” telling me about all the activities on campus, and frankly, I deleted every single one of them without listening to them because they were bothersome. I would do the very same with email.
And finally, I definitely won’t be going to a Web site to see what’s happening on campus. For almost the same reasons that I don’t read flyers around campus, I don’t want to visit yet another website to tell me what’s going on. If I’m on the internet, it’s because I have a purpose to be, and don’t need to be checking other miscellaneous sites for my own enrichment.
So what solution do I propose to this situation? The Campus Times switching to a Wednesday release date.
Having the Campus Times released on a Friday made sense when a majority of students had Wednesdays off for staff meetings and classes on Friday were a regularity. Since that policy changed my sophomore year, I have yet to have a single Friday class. As I look at the class schedule for next semester, I see roughly 5 percent of the classes being offered on Friday. With only 10 percent or so of the ULV students living on campus, that means that less than 15 percent of the student population actually has a reason to be on campus on Friday. This means that much of the information published in the Campus Times isn’t read until Monday, or possibly even Tuesday by students.
I didn’t hear about the Winter Formal until my last class on Thursday. I didn’t hear about the volleyball playoff game which happened in the Supertents until the Tuesday after it was played. Both of these items were mentioned in the Campus Times, but by the time I found out about them, it was far too late for me to attend them. By releasing the paper on a Wednesday, it gives 100 percent of students the opportunity to pick it up before the weekend. All students have class either Wednesday or Thursday, if not both days. Announcements for weekend events are thus made mid-week, giving plenty of time to plan for them. Sports results from the previous weekend are also given in a much more timely manner, which may actually create more interest in them.
Making this type of change is most likely to happen in a spring semester, since the majority of the staff will be returning from fall semester and already knows the ropes of the newspaper. It would mean making a dramatic change in deadlines and the entire printing process would be flipped on it’s head, but it can be done. Many other schools publish a paper daily, while our weekly paper is released on a day when the large majority of the population won’t see it for at least three days.
I think it’s time for the Campus Times to evolve.
Jacob Leveton
Senior
Post-Election Reaction
Dear Editor,
Since so much manure has “struck the ventilator,” let me attempt a hasty response to the Reginald Denny, Greek chorus of leftist ululating inspired by a letter I wrote (“Letters to the Editor,” Dec. 3).
Easy things first: Matt, about those exclamation points, toughen up son, fear of punctuation can be career limiting!!
Steve, thanks for your clarifications, extended political analysis, and especially the complete sentences with subjects and predicates. You do still confuse me a bit with the “default mode of violence and militarism” like, as “default” typically indicates a failure to do something. Violence and militarism does something (like defeat fascism), so, I’m still a bit lost. More “poetic license,” I guess, as Randy Miller explains.
Hector, you’re so transparent. Every time someone like you proclaims, in huffy Victorian style, that they normally don’t dignify a letter with a response, they do! Anyway, that my “childish, hysterical and mean-spirited letter” doesn’t kill debate, but encourages it, is suggested by the dramatic responses by letter and e-mail to my comments. I’ve received nearly 30 e-mails (28 extensively praising my comments, by the way), about 10 notes and letters, and five nice phone calls; one from a gracious member of our English department, which really scared me, because they really do know how to write.
Here are a few excerpts:
“I just wanted to thank you for your Nov. 19 letter to the editor and to let you know that there are so many others out there who agree 100 percent with your sentiments. You said what needed to be said and did so brilliantly. Bravo!”
“Thank you! I have a friend attending ULV who is a straight-A student, and an (blank for protection) major. She has discovered that anything better than a B means she has to keep quiet, and this is coming from a place of learning?”
“Thanks so much for stating a lot of our views so eloquently! I always keep my mouth shut in these discussions with most of my colleagues. The vote honestly shows how the majority feels.”
“…I want you to know that this alumnus, and many other people out there, underline your point: These people refuse to engage in any sort of introspection. Instead, they engage in personal attacks… It can be enough to make you want to pull your hair out… and run screaming from the room… please maintain my anonymity… you can understand my fears of ‘being outed.’”
It is clear that more than a few intelligent people out there are fed up with the leftist cant and rhetoric that masquerades as curriculum in many classes, and professors need to be “sensitive” to that fact. Possibly a “sensitivity sticker” can be added to the scout sashes of understanding we will all be encouraged to display on our door frames!
Finally, Randy, if you ever want to be “junct” and not just “adjunct,” you will not excuse poor communication with the tired, old “poetic license.” English teachers had this excuse, as they should. Nor should you speculate (it is journalism now) that I am a “suddenly awakened grammar literalist,” as you assume. I am a pretty tired, old Social Studies teacher who got his pedantic and uncreative grammar instruction from a tyrannical nun at St. Mathias Jr. High in Chicago, over 46 years ago. I’m so out-of-it, I first confused Strunk and White with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. In short Randy, expecting some clarity of communication is not the equivalent of imposing Prussian rule.
There’s no way to fully respond to this much nonsense, so I’m done. Oh yes, would all you tired redundant leftists please stop dragging out Joe McCarthy as your crucifix to ward off opposing views! (Sorry again, Matt… I do love those exclamations!)
Robert Burns
Professor of Education
Basketball Fans
Dear Editor,
This past Monday night I was fortunate enough to attend a ULV women’s basketball game against La Sierra (“ULV hammers La Sierra, 79-58,” Dec. 3). At this contest I witnessed Julie Kline approach and warn a fan sitting near me who, in her view, was cheering inappropriately. Granted he was loud, I perceived nothing inappropriate about it. Following the warning, several La Sierra friends and family applauded. I’m sorry, I thought if anything our coaches are supposed to give La Verne fans something to cheer about. First of all, have we really reached such a point of P.C. and to an extent, censorship, that a coach feels the need to walk across the court during a timeout to essentially belittle and embarrass a fan cheering for this very coach’s team? I understand that the NCAA has rules about sportsmanship and I don’t believe anything the fan said violated these rules. Secondly, I don’t know if readers are aware, but there are few athletic teams here that students can take pride in. Fans like this should be appreciated for their school spirit and dedication to athletics. Their efforts should be inspiration for onlookers to cheer on our athletes. Surely Coach Kline has more important things to do than make a big deal about some innocent heckling like say coaching. This is what happens when we feel the need to assign every other coach with some sort of athletic director position. Try going to a USC game in any sport and you’ll see what real heckling is. Pride in one’s athletes should be embraced. We got o these games because it’s fun to cheer on our friends in hopes of coming out victorious. Is our school really that anal conservative that we condemn students for their efforts to cheer on their peers? Perhaps. Kudos to the basketball team for their second half rally. Beware though: if your success continues too much you might not have a team next year. Oh wait, wrong sport!
Liko Tubbs
Senior
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.
