Letters to the Editor

Dissension in Clark Park

To the Editor:

The president of Friends of Clark Park wrote a letter to the editor regarding an article about the park that appeared in this newspaper on Friday ("Park plan a team effort," The Daily Pennsylavanian, 1/15/02), and I would like to respond.

While she refers to Friends of Clark Park as the organization spearheading this master plan, it is really just a small number of people, who happen to make up the leadership of the group, that is pushing for the plan. In spite of their enthusiasm, there is a consensus among the membership of Friends of Clark Park and in the community that the plan needs some revisions before moving ahead.

At the last meeting, the membership voted whether to rescind the board's adoption of the plan at its next meeting. The leadership, however, has attempted to go around its own membership by continuing to move this flawed plan towards completion before the members have spoken. This sort of action is closer to "railroading" than it is to "spearheading."

Even the "closed" meeting that was reported in the article is an example of the difficulties with the plan and the need for revision before proceeding further. I was there for most of the meeting and saw no one voice support for the plan. Of those who did speak out, the only difference between them was the degree of their disagreement and the specifics of their disagreement.

It is important that this plan be revised before going any further. It already has created a great deal of unnecessary friction in the community and, as it stands now, will continue to do so. Hopefully, a compromise can be reached.

Matthew Wolfe

College '78

The writer is a member of Friends of Clark Park. Hiding behind statistics To the Editor:

Mark Twain said, "there are three types of lies. Lies, damn lies and statistics." This statement applies all too well to Bob Warring's recent column ("Hoop Dreams, Broken Lives," DP, 1/15/01). Evidence used to support his argument of a scarred African-American psyche due to discrimination and relative economic disadvantage are statistics showing wage discrepancies between whites and blacks.

It is one thing to be disappointed with these statistics, but it is another thing entirely to credit their existence to racism and job discrimination. According to this line of reasoning, whites would be the recipients of discrimination by Jews, West African immigrants and Asians, who all have higher than average wages, holding factors like education constant.

I am sure few will doubt that discrimination is a potential explanation for these wage differences, but there are hundreds of other explanations as well. As a part of an academic community, I am disappointed that reasoned discussion has given way in this instance to nothing less than vapid propaganda. For those who already agree with Mr. Warring, this column reinforces their worldview. For those who do not, it does nothing, but show a conclusion made with no argument to support it.

Michael Lorelli

College '02

Report without bias

To the Editor:

Thank you for your fair and accurate reporting of Michael Morrill's acceptance of the Green Party of Pennsylvania's nomination for governor ("Pa. Green Party names Michael Morrill as first gubernatorial candidate," DP, 1/15/02). Currently, many of Pennsylvania's newspapers shy away from covering third-party politics, and it is refreshing to see that the DP is bold enough to buck that trend.

Right now, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association is refusing to invite Morrill to participate in a gubernatorial debate they are sponsoring at their upcoming annual meeting on government affairs. This is largely regarded as the best opportunity for a candidate to make his presence known to the media at the beginning of the campaign year.

The PNPA has told Morrill that he will not be invited because the Green Party does not have at least 35 percent of the registered voters in the state. Of course, such a requirement automatically excludes any third party candidates from ever participating -- after all 35 percent times three is 105 percent.

The PNPA ought to allow Michael Morrill into the debate. It is high time that the media report the news rather than manufacture it to suit their purposes.

Hillary Aisenstein

Penn Program for Public Service

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