Letters

PSU alum responds

This is a response to Brian O’Connell’s letter to the editor in the Vanguard dated Oct. 2, 2007. It has taken me months to calm down and to make an effort to understand why Mr. O’Connell would write such a rude, mean-spirited, racially charged letter in the Vanguard directed toward Dr. Douglas N. Samuels, which was insulting to me.

Dr. Samuels’ arrival to PSU in 2001, as Vice Provost for Student Affairs (the second largest department on the campus), was a breath of fresh air. His scope of responsibility included the direct and indirect supervision of more than 350 full-time employees, and over 500 student employees. His open management approach resulted in greater accountability by staff. Mr. O’Connell offers no objective insights on the management style Dr. Samuels applied at PSU.

How many African American senior-level administrators has PSU embraced in the last 10 years? Oregon is one of the whitest states in the United States, and it is insulting that Mr. O’Connell does not understand that racism played a role in the ousting of Dr. Samuels and not his management.

What has Mr. O’Connell done to promote racial diversity in his 50 years of being a so-called “intelligent human being” overall, and especially at PSU? It is clear that his experience as an operations manager and 10 years of experience in labor-management relations at a state agency has not aided in his growth to being a more open-minded and race-sensitive human being. I do hope that the U.S. federal courts will recognize the wrong done by PSU to Dr. Samuels, much like the federal courts did in the Brown v. Board of Education case. The courts in Oregon should award Dr. Samuels damages and his Vice Provost position back at PSU. This is not about the money, Mr. O’Connell, but about civil rights.

Andre JacksonPSU alumnus

Inappropriate sex

It’s absurd to pretend that the 17-year-old who had sex with Finger is a “victim.” [“Past PSU coach sentenced to nine months,” Jan. 9.] The crime is malum prohibitum, not malum per se. Had the two of them been in England, where the age of consent is 16, Finger would not have been charged, and no one would have been pretending the girl was victimized. Now she “can’t trust anyone.” Give me a break. She knew he could go to jail for having sex with her and she seduced him anyway. She’s 17 for god’s sake. Women are commonly considered to mature faster than men, so she should be at least 18 or 19 in man years.

He broke the law. He pays the price.

But let’s face it. Setting the age of consent at 18 is purely arbitrary, so let’s not pretend the young lady was somehow permanently harmed by this because there was a technical violation of a malum prohibitum statute.

Anonymous

Teach the kids to shoot

All young people should have the opportunity in grade school to safely learn the proper handling and shooting of firearms. [In response to “Guns are still an issue,” Jan. 8.] I grew up around guns. My dad let me shoot a .22 rifle when I was 8 years old. I learned respect that way, and never had the curiosity to wonder what would happen if I actually were to pull the trigger; I knew. I never was ever tempted in the least to sneak into Dad’s gun locker, when he was not home, to grab the 30/30 and fire off a few rounds. Any time I wanted to, we could go to my grandparents’ farm, and do that, no problem. Perhaps the solution is dual use basketball court/gun ranges.

Anonymous