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Where's the Real Security Story?
Wrong Pronoun Mis-labels Shansi Rep
Review Layout Omits Article
Animal Testing Excludes Some


Where's the Real Security Story?

To the Editors:

There is one thing on which we can agree. The implied insecurity in the Oberlin College Security department, especially at a time that the College is facing litigation on Security related issues, is very serious business. Too serious, I think, to be left to disgruntled Security officers and journalists.

The allegation by Security officers that they were made to feel insecure in the Security office is troubling, but mainly because those officers seem to believe that a little insecurity is incompatible with such an occupation. On the contrary, some level of personal insecurity is the price that Security officers pay for being in their chosen line of work, as the popular media from Dick Tracy to Hunter to Kojak to Hill Street Blues remind us. Persons who are uncomfortable with that level of insecurity should ask to be re-assigned to a more secure place.

But what was the incident that occasioned this furious flurry of complaint? An irate student at odds with the chief of Security disappearing into the distance when the police squad car arrived? Some incident!

And who were the complainants? Staff members who wished to remain anonymous? A maintenance employee whose brother works on the Security staff? "Union members" anonymously invoked by the president of the union on the grounds that they are upset "by the way grievances are handled by James and the College"? How does this incident become a grievance? For which union members is this president speaking? To whom is she related? Does this include the colleague later described in the article as making unsubstantiated charges against the Oberlin Security?

Good journalists must have a nose not only for the story staring them in the face but also for the story behind the story.

For example, why is there a long established record of carping, complaining and confusion making in the Security office? Why is the College putting up with this state of affairs? What is the familial or other personal relationships between those who are complaining and those on whose behalf they are consistently complaining? When and how will the rnan and woman hours expended in dealing with trivial complaints by disgruntled individuals be converted into time spent on the more serious business of making the campus a much safer place for all of us? There are many stories there.

--James Millette, Professor of African-American Studies

Wrong Pronoun Mis-labels Shansi Rep

To the Editors:

A recent Review article, "Shansi Leads International Action," includes quotes from a letter I wrote last year about convenience stores in Japan. I would like to direct the attention of your readers to the photographs of the Shansi reps which are posted next to those comfortable brown chairs on the first floor of Mudd Library. There, they can verify the fact that I am a she, not a he (which is how I was identified in the article). Also at this little niche of the library, your good readers may personally study the original Shansi rep letters that your reporter used for almost all of her "quotes."

If anyone would care to contact me *directly* for information about life in Japan, I would be pleased to hear from you at ftoosi@yahoo.com.

--Fereshteh Hamidi-Toosi, OC '98, 2nd year Shansi rep. in Japan

Review Layout Omits Article

To the Editors:

Last week's Arts section in the Review held an article credited to me, Alison Marshall, about the March 9th Colors of Rhythm performance that I had no part in writing. The review that I actually wrote was accidentally omitted from the publication by a layout error and a review based on the dress rehearsal remained in its place. Those who experienced both the dress rehearsal and the actual show know that a review based on the Colors of Rhythm dress rehearsal has little bearing on the outcome of the actual show and there were therefore some crucial things left out of the article. Because my name was associated with this article, I would like to take a moment to amend these errors.

Unfortunately the published review gave little or no mention to several of the performances within the show, so firstly I would like to congratulate all my fellow dancers to a job well done and emphasize that every performer in Colors of Rhythm deserves attention for their effort and dedication. Secondly, this dedication is highlighted by the organizers of the show, who received no recognition within the article. Yuko Tao did a spectacular job in organizing both the publicity and the student art slide show for Colors of Rhythm. Simona Supekar acted as the universal coordinator of the show and Colors of Rhythm could never have succeeded without her unending commitment. It should also be mentioned that Colors of Rhythm is solely student run and funded entirely by private grants.

The work put into this show by both the organizers and performers is crucial to its overall emphasis in promoting Ethnic Studies at Oberlin. Colors of Rhythm is the only show of its kind at Oberlin and the enormous student turnout that packed Finney on the 9th makes a statement that cannot easily be ignored. Oberlin is defined by its student body and it is time for the administration to take note of their need for a broader curriculum in Ethnic Studies.

--Alison G. Marshall, College sophomore

Animal Testing Excludes Some

To the Editors:

On Monday the 20th at 10 p.m. in Wilder TBA, Oberlin Animal Rights will be holding an open meeting to discuss the need for an official College policy regarding alternatives to dissection and vivisection (testing on live animals). The present absence of such a policy at Oberlin threatens to exclude any students who hold moral, religious or ethical objections, either to vivisection or dissection, from participating fully or comfortably in some science classes. As an institution that claims to promote diversity, we feel that Oberlin has a responsibility to foster an accordingly supportive academic environment for all its student. In calling for the creation of this policy we appeal not only to those who object to dissection or vivisection, but to anyone who believes that an equal education must allow for equal consideration of different belief systems.

If you feel that there is a need for a paradigm shift towards a fairer Oberlin education - one in which a range of viewpoints are taken into account and protected by official college mechanisms - then the creation of this policy is an essential step. Join us on Monday to voice your opinion.

--Cate Comny, Oberlin Animal Rights, oar@oberlin.edu

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Copyright © 2000, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 128, Number 16, March 3, 2000

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