LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Teillon's in the Wrong Theater

To the Editor: This is why Miramax Films and Walt Disney deserve praise, not derision, for releasing Priest and other motion pictures, even while they may fly in the face of audience members' notions of "traditional values." No institution can completely ignore commercial reason for the sake of art, but Miramax is unique in that it manages to keep one foot in both arenas. And what Teillon seems not to mind is that ideas are often suppressed because they are unpopular. This occurs regularly in the film industry, where executives routinely select the ubiquitous "safe" script over the more original, experimental, or even profound scripts they read, due to box office competition. Teillon may not agree with the ideas espoused in Priest, but his suggestion of a national boycott of Miramax and Walt Disney is even more repressive than the Roman Catholic Church as depicted in the movie. Clearly he does not see the irony in his, a newspaper columnist's, rating the First Amendment as secondarily important to the stability of so-called "traditional values." Priest, if not a landmark achievement in film, at least addresses an issue that has increasingly come into question. Teillon would do well to recognize the value in regarding established rules and standards with suspicion, rather than simply accepting them. We live today in one of the most free, enlightened theaters in the world: America. It shows everything: films you love, films you hate, films you can't even comprehend. The Lion King is showing. So is Pulp Fiction. And Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" is showing at the gallery down the street. Teillon's call for censorship doesn't belong in this theater. I don't know what theater it does belong in. But wherever it is, I'm sure Priest isn't playing there. Robert Pearlstein College '95 Wrong Attitude To the Editor: Here is a letter in response to "Penn Man Masturbates" (34th Street 4/27/95). Pretty funny Mike. First of all, society does condemn female masturbation?or maybe, condemn isn't the right word?maybe most of society has never even heard the word clitoris. It's pretty lame to try to turn the seriousness of the masturbation article into a big joke. And by doing that you're being indicative of the general incredulous attitude toward female masturbation that permeates this society. Think about it: Someone writes an article about female masturbation and you respond by spending your time and energy to satirize it. Why? Because you think the whole issue is somewhat ridiculous? The message of the Generation XX article is clear: The fact that female masturbation is such a hush-hush topic in this society is because we are inundated with the idea that the vagina is dirty, etc. As the article mentioned, the "feminine hygiene" industry is proof enough of that. I agree with you that women should be more outspoken about masturbation, but the reason why we're not is because it is intimidating and unacceptable to be mentioned in mainstream society. And now for my last point: You really gave yourself away by saying "I, like many men I know, am in fact turned on by the prospect of a woman masturbating." Good job, kiddo. So what you're saying is that for you, the whole issue of female masturbation leads back to the pleasure of men, and not women? Good one. Now I see why you're so in favor of the whole idea. But I think you might be missing the point. Nijmie Dzurinko College '97 Faculty-in-Residence Success To the Editor: I have been the Assistant Dean for Residence in Butcher-Speakman-Class of '28 for the last five years. I write in response to the recent article in The Daily Pennsylvanian which quoted a resident of our building as saying that he didn't know anything about the Faculty in Residence Program or even the identity of his Senior Faculty Resident. For the record I want to highlight just some of the things our Senior Faculty Resident, Ivar Berg, and his wife Calli have done to interact with our residents this year. Over the summer they and I wrote to each of our residents and their parents. During New Student Orientation we held meetings to which all the residents of our house were brought by their Resident Advisers, and the Bergs hosted a two-day open house for students and their families in their apartment during move-in. Over the course of this year the Bergs sponsored topical discussions on a variety of subjects with guest speakers including Dean Robert Rescorla and Marvin Wolfgang. The Bergs assumed their position over the summer, too late to schedule a Freshman Seminar in the House, but Dr. Berg took on a group of ten first-year advisees from the House and was a discussion leader for a group from the House in the Penn Reading Project. In addition he voluntarily moved his upperclass seminars to the House and made it possible for many of our residents to enroll in his larger courses. On a social level, the Bergs co-hosted a reception during Parents' Weekend, and throughout the year they hosted weekly study breaks in their apartment. One of these was held for the floor on which the student you quoted lived less than two weeks prior to the date of your article -- the fourth such event provided by the Bergs for that floor alone this year! As if all of that weren't enough, the Bergs have provided counsel, understanding, academic inspiration, food and amazing acts of personal kindness to untold numbers of individual residents. All of the formal programs received wide publicity throughout the House, including the personal encouragement of residents, RA's and me to attend. It has been my experience with the Bergs, as it was with their predecessor Matthew Santirocco, that no one needed to give them direction or clarify their roles. They wholeheartedly took on all of the above activities, provided good-sense advice to the student staff and to me and gave of themselves to students at every opportunity. It sometimes seems that despite the efforts of all of us to inform students of what is going on around them, there will always be some who miss everything short of a personal plea delivered while their hands are being held. I think it would be a shame if this unfortunate phenomenon prevented the campus from fully appreciating the wonderful work that has been done by Dr. and Mrs. Berg and their colleagues over the years. Jane Rogers Assistant Dean for Residence, Butcher-Speakman-Class of '28 Smith Speaks the Truth To the Editor: I feel compelled to write regarding Jamil Smith's column ("Interpreting the Color of Jesus," DP 4/25/95). I very much agree with what Jamil writes. For too long the truth has been hidden -- whether by design or ignorance. All one needs to do is read the Bible. The truth is there, and if you know anything about geography, it isn't hard to see that Jesus was, in fact, a man of color. I know lots of people will not want to hear this, but a fact is a fact. I will further suggest that readers try finding a book written by a gentleman named William Gilbert Emanuel entitled "People of Color in the Bible." This book shows without a doubt that many of the people from the Bible were black. There is so much information that he has written several volumes on the subject, however, he has had much trouble trying to get this information out to the public. It was quite by accident that I heard about his book, back in 1993. Mr. Emanuel does not give his own opinions about this subject, but gives the information according to the Bible itself. I personally know several black people who keep the Sabbath, and celebrate Passover, and generally follow Hebrew teachings, including my husband and his family. They certainly do not believe that Jesus is blond with blue eyes. They do believe in a higher power, though -- no matter what color he/she is. In closing, I'd like to state that as an African-American, I am very concerned about the inconsistencies and outright lies about our people that I constantly hear. I teach my own children every day that they have a right to be here and to be heard. If we start early with our kids, maybe we can get the story straight once and for all. Ava Evans Medical student The True Meaning of Holi To the Editor: I happened to glance at the writeup "South Asia Society celebrates spring with Holi." The reporting reads "the show's program described as the 'Mardi Gras' of Indian culture." Sir, Holi is not a Mardi Gras of Indian culture by any standard of imagination. Holi is a festival of color commemorating a very sacred event connected with devotee Prahlad's struggles going back to a million years ago according to Hindu calendar which calibrates the history of mankind going back 4 billion years. Holi has no similarity either with Bacchanalian character or five day festival prior to the period of lent. Hindu spring has really nothing in common with Western spring. For you the spring signals the resurgence of life, where as for the Hindu spring marks fullness of ripened crop. Holi has nothing to do with Bombay cinematographic depiction of Holi either in Mugle Azam, or Mother India, or Silsila or many others; nor it is celebrated with "Amma Dekh" and "Humma" songs. Holi has its own structure. It is perhaps being changed in Urban Centers, as it perhaps took place in Europe when holy days became holidays. The view of Holi that perhaps was performed on stage by youths from Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta or Madras etc. for sure attracts crowds, bustle and reputation in a University which seemingly doesn't want to be monitoring the fact that this kind of performing and misinformation not only brings discredit to those who claim themselves to be Hindus, but also insults many who feel that all their sacred festivals are now being redefined and rescripted by the rich sons and daughters of India. I really do not know what connection the South Asia Society has with South Asian Studies Dept., but they could find an input from Dr. Surendra and Vijaya Gambhir, the natives of India useful. And I am sure the writer could do a better job as well if he had consulted them. I am sure he wants to be an honest and responsible journalist. I am sure, no Christian, Jewish or Muslim holiday could be that mockingly altered in its character or reported with such banality. Swatantra Kumar Pidara School of Dental Medicine staff member Illustration Correction To the Editor: I was immensely pleased and gratified by the article which appeared on March 28, 1995 in the DP about the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. It was accurate, positive and highly informative about our programs, projects and areas of research. There is, however, one criticism I have of the article, or, rather the illustration which accompanied it. In the illustration the student is holding an envelope addressed to "OSCE, D.V.M." (Doctoris Veterinariae Medicinae). None of our graduates holds a DVM degree! The veterinary medical degree granted by this school (and only this school) is V.M.D. (Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris). This is our legacy which comes directly from our founding by the School of Medicine in the late l9th Century. Cindy Gommel Veterinary School Assistant Director of Admissions Wrong Credit To the Editor: In reference to your story on page one of the DP (4/12/95) about the new security booths, you gave credit for the "graphics" (implying the booth drawing) to a staff member. The drawing of the booth was developed and produced by the Department of Facilities Planning. Also, the structure is called a BOOTH not a KIOSK, a kiosk is usually a message board. Credit and accuracy is important. Robert Lundgren Project Planner