Violence shouldn't be used to fix problems

To the Editors:

Last week, a candlelight vigil was held for the assassinated Dr. Slepian of New York. This letter relates to that event and the larger issue which it represents.

The approbation of abortion and those who perform such procedures is not a universal opinion, even at Oberlin. I am opposed, for both moral and Constitutional reasons, to the "right" to abortion. Nevertheless, I am also opposed to and morally outraged by the use of violence or threats thereof as a means of achieving the cessation of abortions. I find my position to be entirely consistent, something which I am not sure could be said for the position which prevails on this campus (i.e., the support of abortion coupled with the moral outrage at those who kill to oppose it). This letter is an attempt to safeguard against a viewpoint which would equate all those who oppose abortion with those who bomb clinics and kill doctors. I am tempted to take the time to further defend and explain my position, but I do not think that space permits me, nor, unfortunately, am I particularly optimistic about the willingness of the liberal establishment here to listen to opposing points of view.

To conclude and reiterate, I am opposed to abortion, but for the very same reasons I am utterly opposed to the terrorist methods which have recently been applied yet again. I cannot sufficiently stress how completely reprehensible I find the use of violence to "solve" problems, in this case or any other.

-Joshua Smith, College senior

Sophomore first-years fall through cracks; things need to change

To the Editors:

I am a first-year student who came to Oberlin with sophomore standing. When I arrived here in the fall and found out that finally, someone might reward all my efforts in high school, especially when I realized that reward came in the form of a $30,000 tuition bill that my parents wouldn't have to be paying I was thrilled, and it never occurred to me that this would cause more problems than it solved.

When I registered for first semester, my situation was complicated only slightly by my standing. However, this past week's registration did not prove quite so fruitful.

My registration time was 1:30 on Thursday, better by an hour or two than the best freshman registration times. I logged on to find that I could get a seat in only 1 of the 5 classes that I wanted. At this point I am 2 for 5. And also at the bottom of waiting lists, because all the upper level classes were filled by the time I tried to register for them.

I placed out of a number of 100-level courses, thinking that this was a good thing, because that meant I could take upper level courses. I was wrong. Oberlin College, in my brief experience, has done nothing to make the situation of being a first-year sophomore palatable, beyond granting the status in the first place. I have become a liminal character - a freshman when they decided that I ought to live in Barrows, a freshman when it comes to registering for classes, but magically a sophomore when I try to get into introductory courses that I am interested in or required to take and can't because I am not eligible for the seats reserved for first-year students.

As of now, I will be a second semester sophomore in the spring enrolled in no classes that will count toward my major. And though I am not cynical enough to think that this would be made deliberately difficult because of that pesky matter of the 30,000 extra dollars the College would get if I had to stick around for another year to take the classes I would need for my major, I am beginning to wonder if that might have something to do with it.

At this point, I don't have the time and my family doesn't have the money to not take this seriously. I will transfer at the semester if I have to. This is ridiculous, and - dare I say it? - unfair. There is no reason why I should be able to register for less than half of the classes I want to, not to mention the classes that I need to. Something needs to change - too many people are paying too much money to be completely overlooked in this way.

Lest I be accused of looking for special treatment, I will add that I recognize that a number of people were as unlucky as I in their course selections. And that is just as wrong as this is. Something needs to change.

--Rebecca Adelman, College first-year

Demsky on Demsky: his response to his own propaganda

To the Editors:

I feel I must assert my freedom to comment on an important public issue that Ian Demsky has thrust into the vortex of public comment. Before I start, however, I should state that to understand what Demsky's particularly useless form of jingoism has encompassed as a movement and as a system of rule, we have to look at its historical context and development as a form of snivelling politics that first arose in early twentieth-century Europe in response to rapid social upheaval, the devastation of World War I, and the Bolshevik Revolution. If I weren't so forgiving, I'd have to say that the truth of this is by no means limited to the field of general culture, but applies to politics as well. What do you think of this: Gum is not the solution to our Demsky problem? I reject his demands.

How can you trust warped psychopaths who actively conceal their true intentions? It is deeply unfortunate that the comparison between Demsky and manipulative ne'er-do-wells is remarkable, since Demsky's virtue and brains are inversely proportionate to his vices and the size of his mouth. He will adopt or abandon any principle to obtain power. This means, in particular, that just because you can do something does not mean it's okay to do it.

Think of Demsky's shenanigans as being the sum of two components: an ungrateful component that consists of Demsky's desire to scorn and abjure reason and a bookish component that consists of everything else. We are concerned primarily with the former. I'm no expert, but it seems to me that Demsky has a penchant for counterinsurgency and clandestine operations. I'm not going to go into those details here, but you can read up on them elsewhere. Is it possible for those who defend arrogant totalitarianism to make their defense look more patronizing than it currently is?

Again, he chooses to ignore the fact that the downward spiral of society and the concomitant growing threat of Comstockism are the natural results of his mendacious communications. I, not being one of the many stupid presumptuous Nazi-lovers of this world, can only set the stage so that my next letter will begin from a new and much higher level of influence if Demsky's army of selfish demonic-types is decimated down to those whose inborn lack of character permits them to betray anything and everything for the well-known "longer lasting flavor." I honestly cannot emphasize enough how much I resent Demsky's opinions. And that, in my view, is our real problem.

--Ian Demsky, College junior

Soccer coach Barker bids farewell to Oberlin College Athletics

To the Editors:

As you know, I have resigned from my position as Head Men's Soccer Coach at Oberlin College. I did not come to this decision easily, and I will miss working here. However, I feel it is best for my family that I go hack to teaching and coaching at the high school level. The hours are more regular, allowing for a more stable family life, and my family is more important than my career. My family has been wonderful and understanding, while I lived apart from them this fall, enabling this situation to work. While I do not have a job lined up in the DC area just yet, it is truly "home" for my family, and therefore I'm optimistic that I'll find a wonderful job there.

I also feel that I can have more of an impact on the high school student's development as a "person," and not just as an "athlete." I don't want to be remembered just for teaching someone how to play a sport better, or for a win-loss record. Rather, I want to be known as an educator that teaches Students how to be better people: classy, sportsmanship oriented winners, with high moral standards.

Now is the perfect time to resign, allowing a timely return to my family, while giving the college ample time to find the best replacement for the teams' future. I did not resign this past summer, because the pool of quality coaching candidates is very low at that time, and I could not shirk my responsibility to the program and the players. With the help of my family, President Dye, Dean Koppes, the entire OC Athletic Department, Cecily Beane, Mrs. Christopher, Ms. Wilhelm, Athletic Director Muska, Coach Manolovich, Coach New, and especially Coach Albert Borroni and his wife Terry, I was able to manage of all of my responsibilities. I am eternally grateful to them all.

But I am not "quitting." That is a negative attitude, and people who really know me, know that I am not a quitter. I am not leaving Oberlin because the men's soccer team has a losing record. The team has gotten better since I started coaching here, and will continue to improve. We won 5 games this season, the total number of wins for the last 2 years combined, which shows improvement. But I agree that we can he much better. But it will take a concerted team effort, with a lot of positive togetherness, to repel any negative or "me first," mentalities. This MUST happen in order for the team to achieve the success of which it is capable.

The students at Oberlin are fantastic people, and I've enjoyed working with them. I hope I have improved their lives somewhat, but with the limited amount of time I have with them (due to the nature of the job), it is hard to believe that I had much of an impact on their lives, and that saddens me.

My best wishes to all of the people at Oberlin College. especially to all the athletes, coaches, and teams. I pray that a positive winning tradition is instilled here, and prevails for years to conic. And of course my most heartfelt wishes go out to the men's soccer and tennis teams. May your aim be true, your teamwork stellar, your camaraderie unparalleled, your wins glorious, your losses educational, and your memories meaningful and inspirational.

Thanks for the opportunity - I will always remember Oberlin.

-Chris Barker, Men's Soccer Coach