Differently oriented
Let’s end the stigma against the ex-gay community [“Coming out of the medicine cabinet,” 9/29/06]. Scott says he is "disgusted" by the ex-gay movement. Ex-gays are former homosexuals who made the courageous decision of self-determination in their lives. It may not be your choice, but please respect other peoples’ choices for their lives. We are all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation.
Regina Griggs
Washington DC
www.pfox.org
Hooray for geeks!
A great deal of this geekdom, I suspect, is a natural reaction to the sameness that mass culture and its tastemakers try to impose [“Revenge of the nerds,” 9/26/06]. The tools of the internet on which so many geeks cut their geek teeth allow a certain turning of the tables for those of us who’d prefer to discover and share our own idiosyncratic favorites. Books like Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail and Stephen Windwalker’s books on online book-dealing shine a light on how geeks can level the playing field and appropriate the culture for their own purposes.
Steve Holt
Author and Indie Book Publisher, Harvard Perspectives Press
Cambridge, MA
What are we paying for, anyway?
Thank you for saying what we’ve all been thinking [“Bernstine cashes in – so what about the rest of us?” 9/26/06]. Not only do I feel like I’m not getting the same education that I could at a more reputable school, but I’m very concerned about my chances for getting into the grad school I would like to attend, even though my GPA is above par. Then of course there is the question, "Will I be as prepared as students from more respected institutions?" And damn that $120,000 spent on an ugly logo for PSU. Is this a real university or the University of Phoenix?
I am a senior here at PSU. This is my fourth year of dumping money into this university, and what do I get in return? Nothing. I’m worried about having a place to live because I can’t even get into student housing. It is unbelievably full. Why not give seniors their due and give them the seniority they’ve earned. We should have priority over freshmen when it comes to campus housing. I understand that PSU wants to recruit as many new students as possible, but these are students who have not contributed four years of tuition + all other expenses to the university. Besides don’t freshmen have a dropout rate of around 30% or more? Come on University Housing, give us seniors a place to live, it’s a way of life at every other university in the nation. Seniors get seniority, and priority housing.
Alicia
Student
Portland, Oregon