LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Ignorance Breeding racism

To the Editor: My problem here is that this column was written by someone totally unqualified to have a real, objective, and substantive opinion on the speeches and writings of Louis Farrakhan. While your analysis of the similarity between what Mr. Baker wrote and what Minister Farrakhan has said in the past may be valid, the fact that you personally have never read nor heard Minister Farrakhan's statements in context makes that analysis suspect. A suggestion to any white person who can be open-minded: the next time Farrakhan comes to town, make the effort to actually listen to what the man has to say, without considering the negative images that the media constantly portrays of him. That is the only way that anyone will get a sense of what the "real" Farrakhan stands for. As a matter of fact, the furor surrounding this issue reminds me of a similar incident here last year, when Jeremy Hildreth decided that he wanted to write an article which said, in essence, that Haiti and its peoples have no right to exist. It is very hypocritical for white people here at Penn to take issue with the situation at Columbia when they were unwilling to take issue with the article on Haiti in The Red and Blue. If all people, whether they are black or white, are going to speak out against racism and hate, they must do it no matter what the identity of the person is. Only ignorance will allow racism and hatred within the white community or black community to go unaddressed by its members. William Walton College '96 Missing Opportunities To the Editor: While the reporter did a thorough job researching the incident in the 1976 that led to students being replaced by professionals at WXPN, the coverage failed to look into what this means for students at Penn today ( "Old controversy still haunts radio station," DP, 10/24/95). Originally used as a training ground for students before they were allowed on the air at WXPN, WQHS has now become the only opportunity for students to be involved in any aspect of radio aside from work-study jobs and internships at WXPN. WQHS has a terribly weak AM transmission that is barely audible in the Quad and Hill House, and although it comes through great on Resnet, Resnet only reaches a fraction of the campus and is a TV station, which most people won't turn on when they want to listen to the radio. Although WQHS is well-run and respected within the college music industry, it suffers from a lack of listenership so extreme that often no one will call even when we are giving away concert tickets and CDs. WXPN has evolved into a tremendously successful station with a large audience, while students have been left with a station that offers little reward aside from learning how to operate a radio mixing board. While Mark Fuerst had a point in saying "It is certainly not the universal principle for universities to have radio stations so students can work on them," it is certainly the reason that Penn should have one. Every other Ivy League school has a large station (check out Princeton's WPRB 103.3 FM -- 30,000 watts reaches us here in Philly), and in fact most community colleges have better signals that WQHS. The fact that we have one of the best as well as wealthiest communications schools in the country certainly exacerbates the glaring lack of support the school has given student radio. While it is true that students were removed from WXPN for obscenity, why should the entire student body continually be punished for the actions of students who went here 20 years ago? We are currently investigating possible signal upgrades, but without any support from the administration. WQHS is a perfect example of students getting less than they deserve from a university of this academic caliber and price. Ben Morgan WQHS Program Director How About Some Substance? To the Editor, I am utterly mystified by Rob Faunce's editorial titled "Sam's Death" (DP 10/27/95). I don't know if people like Faunce are just gravitating on another level/dimension, because I cannot and completely refuse to see the point of his half page rhetorical crap. Students of the Penn community do not care to read about his dog's death, nor on the effects that such a devastating event had on the development of his deprived childhood. There is so much greater misery in the world, believe me, than the psychologically disturbing passing-away of a loved pet. Why couldn't he expound on something more substantial, or appealing, for that matter, such as the death of his rationality and common sense. I am ashamed to be an English major too when my peers take the time to write high-quality nonsense like Faunce's work. Thank God I am pursuing a double major in economics also, so that I can disassociate myself from incredibly mundane people like Faunce. Eddy Park College '97 Front and Center To the Editor: Hurrah for the DP! Aside from Barbara (at Hill Dining), I know of few people who truly deserve the center of the front page. Scott Reikofski is one of these few ("Reikofski: 'Advocate for the Greek system'," DP, 10/31/95). I am the student president of a newly recognized athletic group, The Quaker Boxing Class. While the group has been on campus for over 20 years and is one of the most successful non-intercollegiate athletic groups on campus, it has been a long and difficult fight for recognition, full of buck-passing (with me as the "buck") and running in circles. Scott was one of, if not the only, circle-breakers and buck-stoppers. I had the pleasure of dealing with a man who, unlike many others in the administration, always went the extra mile, passing people on to me instead of me on to them. So three cheers for Scott Reikofski! With him at the helm of OFSA, I see great promise and great improvement in an already strong but oft-conflicted system. Matthew Robinson President, Quaker Boxing Class College '96