LETTERS: ROTC is improving its diversity

To the Editor: It seems that Schoenberg has some serious misconceptions about who both the Armed Services and ROTC are. In reality, the Armed Services are not an overtly discriminatory organization. In fact, if Schoenberg cares to investigate, he will find that America's modern military is quite simply the largest, most successfully diverse organization in the country, replete with soldiers and cadets from all over, representing every racial and ethnic group to a greater degree than most every other organization. In the truest sense, the military is a mirror image of America. I am not surprised that Schoenberg is angered at the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, but given the circumstances, this policy is the best one available to the Armed Services. In essence, it minimizes the importance of sexual orientation for soldiers by not calling attention to it. In order for the military to do its job, it is necessary for things like sexual preference to often be cast aside, not because they're not important, but because they shouldn't matter for the Armed Services to do their job of defending America. The miltary does have problems with diversity, as the recent Aberdeen and Tailhook scandals can attest to, but so does America, and unlike much of America, the military is making great strides towards harmony within the forces. In a 1994 interview with General Fred Franks -- then commander of the U.S. Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) -- Franks alluded to the post-Vietnam reunification between the Army and America's people -- a process that began during the racial strife of the mid-1970s and continues today with the integration of women into combat roles (for the first time ever, women are now being allowed into combat arms branches like Aviation and Air Defense Artillery without any gender-based limitations). In the future, it may be possible for open homosexuals to participate in America's military, but until then, the military will continue to operate at the same high level of evolution and adaptaion that it has operated at for decades. Andrew M. Exum U.S. Army Cadet College '00 Poor use of a photo To the Editor: The cover photo depicted in the February 13 issue of the DP left me feeling uneasy. The caption mentions Chester Beckett, a former employee of Blimpie's at Uni-Mart as a robbery suspect. It goes on to say that Beckett is not in the photo. Some young, African American man was photographed behind the counter, apparently, just doing his job. I fear that some of your readers, may associate that young man's face with the name Chester Beckett, and not read further to find your disclaimer. Also, the article references Beckett's brother who is a Philadelphia police officer. He, I'm sure, is not meant to be confused with the Spectaguard depicted in the photo. What purpose was served by using this photo? Despite the disclaimer, the suspect is linked to the photo by your caption. On the contrary, the people appearing prominently in the photo are not named. This is, at best, misleading. At worst, it becomes another example of how young African American men are negatively depicted in the media by association, or mis-association. In future?don't go there, please. Karen Coley Associate Director, Development and Alumni Relations Lyren is a good player To the Editor: As a member of the Penn football team, I had plenty of opportunities to read negative, unprofessional journalism written about myself and my teammates. None of that uneducated writing throughout this past fall, however, came close to infuriating me as much as Tuesday's commentary by Miles Cohen entitled, "Lyren simply failed to step up" (DP, 2/18/97). Throughout the column, Cohen made it a point to bash Lyren's effort as captain, a blatant confirmation that our dear Cohen has never been a member of a team, and if he was, he definitely was one of the guys that brought the team down. For future benefit, Cohen should know that the captain doesn't necessarily have to be the best player on the team. He should be, as Lyren is, a hard worker, tenacious competitor and team player. I've been following Penn's basketball team and have always seen Lyren play hard and never sulk about his diminishing playing time. Lyren should be commended for the character he's displayed in dealing with this season's misfortune. You try and compare him to Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney, how about comparing Miles Cohen to Mitch Albom and Dick Schaap? Cohen probably doesn't even recognize these names because they actually know a thing or two about sports journalism. Why does Cohen keep using the word "futility" to describe Penn's athletes and teams? If he wants an example of futility, he should try reading his own articles. I hope Lyren does come back for a fifth year, and Cohen stays home for his fourth! Stephen Teodecki Wharton '97