"Jap" is derogatory, racist; has no place in radio broadcast

To the Editors:

Two weeks ago, I had some time to kill before bed so I tuned into WOBC. The disc jockeys were discussing "satirical" news, similar to the type one finds on "Saturday Night Live" and in the newspaper, The Onion. One story that interested them concerned a man who was arrested for severing the penises off human corpses and grinding them into a powder for sale as an aphrodisiac to Japanese men. "Leave it to the Japs, [to do something like that]," remarked one disc jockey.

What does that mean,"Leave it to the Japs?" Was the disc jockey trying to say that Japanese men are so desperately in need of an aphrodisiac that they will go to any lengths to achieve this "improvement" in their sex lives? Was he presuming that the Japanese are sexually depraved individuals? Not only are the implications of his comment questionable and disrespectful, the language he uses is a form of hate speech. There are many negative connotations that come into mind when one uses the derogatory term "Jap." While I noticed the inherent racism in the news summary given by the disc jockey, I find it hard to believe that another student is incapable of identifying this racism, allowing him to make such an offensive statement. One must be aware of and sensitive to names given to certain ethnic groups that are derogatory and insulting.

"Jap" is a derogatory term. Asians and Asian Pacific Americans have been "invisible" citizens in this country for too long. Despite the fact that it should not be done, Asians and Asian Pacific Americans have been lumped into a collective group and viewed as highly successful people.

The model minority myth does not allow the possibility of differences of ethnicity and socio-economic class. The fact that we are seen as "invisible" members of society allows "slips" like the one mentioned above to occur. The dangers of being invisible includes being ignored when it comes to issues regarding how one's ethnic group is treated.

Are we so quick to forget times when the Japanese were offensively described as "Japs" in American newspapers during World War II? Have we forgotten about places that this country used to imprison and falsely accuse Japanese-Americans as spies, in the process falsely imprisoning other Asians as well, like Manzanar?

"Jap" is a derogatory term. Before I came here, I had the impression that Oberlin College was a progressive school, working hard to dispel thoughts like those expressed on the airwaves early that morning. The school I transferred from would have turned a blind eye to such an incident. I hope Oberlin College isn't the same.

-Brian Yung-Pan Chang,

College sophomore

Break the Oberbubble: help with hunger clean-up

To the Editors:

It is easy to get trapped in the Oberlin college bubble and not notice anything about our surroundings, which happen to be some of the poorest in Ohio. Lorain county is one of the poorest in the state, with one in four of its children living in poverty. The city of Oberlin happens to be the poorest city in Lorain county. Unfortunately, this is not just a local problem. Every 40 seconds, someone around the world dies from a hunger related cause. In America, the "wealthiest" country in the world, there are 3-4 million homeless people and about 27 million people that are considered hungry. This is ridiculous by itself, but the fact that government continually cuts spending on hunger and homelessness relief is even more so.

Even though the problem seems too big, you can help make a difference by volunteering and raising money for local, national and international hunger and homelessness relief organizations on April 10th.

Together with the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, Ohio PIRG is organizing the 15th annual hunger cleanup. This is a national day of service for the community where people raise funds through sponsorships for hunger and homelessness relief organizations. It works similar to a walk a thon, so people get sponsored for number of hours worked around the community. The work can range from doing spring cleaning at Oberlin Hot Meals to visiting residents at Welcome Nursing Home. It is so easy and so much fun. Volunteers will do community service for three hours, but raise money to make a difference the whole year through.

Over twenty local businesses, student groups and community organizations have endorsed this event including: OC Student Senate, The Feve, Oberlin Community Service Council, OC Office of the Administration, Second Harvest, and many more.

Last year there were 100 participants and 3000 dollars were raised here in Oberlin This is an Oberlin event that can help world wide. It is so easy to get involved for the day to make a difference. So break the bubble - if you would like to help out please contact OPIRG.

-Sarah Miller,

College first-year, Hunger cleanup coordinator

Snazzy advertising: the answer to up piano recital attendance

To the Editors:

The signs for Jon Kimura Parkers' recital were a good deal less effective than they could have been. They advertised a full load of Standard repertoire, with some 20th century short pieces thrown in for fun: fairly predictable, even with the oddness of so much hackneyed music. The event itself was something else entirely.

Had ICG consulted some marketing gurus, the signs would have been bigger, with more color, and said: "Overplayed favorites! Charming Miniatures! Engaging chit-chat! All for one low price." "See the amazing pianist/entertainer charm the socks off of professors and students alike!" And they would have been right.

What we have here is not just a mediocre pianist but some kind of new art form-one that draws its roots from the circus, the humble piano recital, and those witty hosts on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Mr. Parker is in fact a very talented performer-the show was well received; he was charismatic as could be, fluid on stage; he even made a vest work as performance wear. And he isn't a bad pianist. The Mozart was quite charming, and despite his odd reading of the other standard works, Parker seemed to find himself (if not Gershwin) with the Preludes. His Beethoven and Chopin were similar in their breakneck tempi and in their lack of other defining characteristics.

The real issue here, though, pertains not to his playing per se but to his insightful perception of his audience. It's no secret that the western audience for classical music is dwindling. Music Education has effectively disappeared, attention spans are shrinking with the introduction of every new video game, and the culture becomes more saturated with shrieking media outlets everyday.

Americans have a lot of things vying for their attention: the j.crew web site. Presidential impeachments. The Academy Awards. The un-cut Jerry Springer video. And it's getting worse. Who has time to listen to some old guy in a penguin suit submerged in slow, belabored Brahms or stodgy old Bach?

Here, in one easy-to-swallow and eminently marketable package, is an interim solution to the problem of the disappearing [North] American piano recital (until we can get it on the web): personable, down-to-earth pianist blazes (the thrill of blurry fingers; time is money; it all works out) through repertoire your mother would be proud of, gets jazzy, gets sentimental, tells jokes, and even throws in the Simpsons theme, in case you missed it because you went to a recital.

-Chris Younkman, Conservatory senior