LETTERS: Tuesday, January 25, 2000

For service learning For service learningTo the Editor: As a rising sophomore at Penn in 1997, I knew that I wanted my college activities to include a serious commitment to community service, and I became a resident of the Community Service Living-Learning Program, then housed in the Castle. From organizing coffee houses for charity to sponsoring the annual tutoring program to trick-or-treating, the CSLLP was an experience which allowed me to live and learn with an incredible diversity of dedicated and fascinating people, some of whom have continually inspired my interest in community service leadership at Penn. There were, however, some serious flaws to the Castle program. Community service is an enormous and wide-ranging subject as exhibited by Penn's own myriad of service-related organizations, from 50-plus student-led volunteer groups to Civic House, the Center for Community Partnerships and the current CSLLP in Harnwell College House. Without a specific mission and focus, it was often difficult to motivate and collaborate between Castle members. The Academically Based Community Service program which Daniel Shu has proposed has numerous potential benefits for the Penn community, by both creating a focus-driven residential program centered around ABCS courses and by exhibiting the University's continued dedication to service. Should such a living-learning program be established on Locust Walk, perhaps some future Penn student will be afforded a service experience which is truly ideal rather than "nearly." Megan Davidson College '00 To the Editor: I am writing in response to Siona Listokin's column ("A local decision turns into a national shame," DP, 1/20/00) concerning the debate over the Confederate flag flying above the South Carolina statehouse. The opinion held by a large part of the country is that the Confederate flag should not be a part of state flags. Though the Confederate flag is a symbol of Southern pride and heritage -- and I believe that it should be the state's choice -- there is no real need for the battle flag of a breakaway region to be featured on the flag of a member of the United States. However, I would like to express my strong disagreement with her attitude and approach to the entire situation. She expresses a particularly biased opinion of the South that I have found to be common of Penn students, and indeed quite similar to views that led to the Civil War itself. The Civil War was not fought, as it is so commonly believed, over the issue of slavery. Slavery was indeed a crucial focal point, but the key issues of the time were states' rights, diverging economies and rapidly declining Southern power. These are what truly led the secession from the Union. The first seeds of secession were planted by federal attempts to infringe upon states' rights and as the South was increasingly underrepresented in the federal government. The South, starting with South Carolina, seceded because it could not control its destiny in that political atmosphere. Ironically, these same issues brought the Confederate flag back to the South Carolina statehouse in 1962, around the time in which the South was growing increasingly unpopular. States' rights were again challenged as U.S. Marshals, the National Guard and federal troops forced integration in state high schools and colleges. We have seen what happens when biased, pig-headed and one-sided opinions take over in situations such as this.Yet, Ms. Listokin suggests that Southern states that continue to fly the Confederate flag "should be barred from voting in the U.S. Congress," adding the duplicitous insult "Secede that." It is exactly this opinion that has continuously caused these problems, and has left the South with a lingering resentment of such ignorance. John Manning Engineering '03 To the Editor: I am responding to the letter by Chris Beals entitled "Resource center a poor use of space" (DP, 1/19/00), and to others who claim that an Asian-American resource center will promote separatism on campus. Part of the problem lies in the ignorance of thinking of Asian Americans as some sort of monolithic group. The fact is that there is more cultural, linguistic and religious diversity within the group termed "Asian American" than there is in white America and Europe combined. In fact, most of these sub-groups -- including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino and South Asian Americans -- are as distinct from each other as they are from European Americans. It is highly illogical to claim that the Asian-American resource center will promote separatism when in fact it will do exactly the opposite; it will bring together several very different groups under a common cause. Asian Americans are just beginning to develop an identity based on the common struggles we have faced in America. Many of our groups have been at odds with each other before coming to America; indeed, much of my own family would balk at the concept of "South Asian," which unifies bitter enemies such as India and Pakistan. The Asian-American resource center would accomplish plenty in just bringing us together, not to mention the additional benefits to people who are not of Asian descent. My personal hope is that one day we will be able to establish an Asian-American college house at Penn, modeled after the W.E.B. DuBois College House, to provide a residential environment to explore the Asian presence and struggle in America. This would be a valuable step toward defining our identity and educating the University community about Asian-American issues. Vinay Harlapani Education '03