Subject: RE: Spectator coverage of a current issue Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 16:04:53 -0500 Message-ID: <430805CF49B4394DBBE86FAA7BC2FA03020C653A@s-ecb-email.cvtc.local> From: "Bakker, Marcie" <MBAKKER@cvtc.edu>
The other parent, Kathy Mentink, teaches in my dept. here at CVTC. She
is also the advisor for the Campus Crusade for Christ here at CVTC. (I
am one of the advisors for the Pride Alliance Club.) She definitely
promotes the "ex-gay" movement along with other supposedly "Christian"
(her definition of such) issues in her psych and sociology classes here.
She pushed hard to get the student government to use student fees to
bring in an 'ex-gay' speaker, Chad Thompson, this spring and was
successful in doing so. N. Bennett was not the only parent. I think
another question to be asked would be "how many parents belonged to this
group" before the newspaper gave them the front page, free publicity?!
Marcie Bakker
Instructor
Behavioral Science Dept.
CVTC
________________________________
From: sfpj-request@listserve.uwec.edu
[mailto:sfpj-request@listserve.uwec.edu] On Behalf Of Andy Swanson
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2005 1:25 PM
To: Kate Hale
Cc: Richmond, Elizabeth B.; Markgraf, Jill S.; Wilcox, Jean A.; Alea,
Mary Ellen; Wesenberg, Nancy Christine; SFPJ
Subject: Re: Spectator coverage of a current issue
I'm not someone who has children, but...
This whole thing about the unsigned(!) letter. The fact that the Leader
Telegram reported it at all is disgraceful. After all, I could write an
unsigned letter claiming that I'm a "group of parents". How do we know
that this "group of parents" contains anyone other than Neal Bennett
himself. The fact that it was unsigned recalls any number historical of
incidents of cowardice paired with prejudice. In any responding action,
we should demand that these "parents" come forth and identify
"themselves".
OK, it may not be much more than a symbolic act, but I think any letters
responding to this unsigned letter should always include quotes. E.g. "I
am responding to the 'group of parents' who sent the unsigned letter to
the school board. I find the willful ignorance of the 'parents'
unAmerican."
I also think Marty had a good point about the Leader Telegram fanning
the flames of this story. They could just have easily chosen to ignore
the whole episode. After all, there are plenty of cases where parents
have much more legitimate complaints about how their children are being
educated.
Andy Swanson
On May 12, 2005, at 12:46 PM, Kate Hale wrote:
How many folks on the SFPJ listserve have children at Memorial?
Or elsewhere in the ECASD? Perhaps we could do a "group" letter to the
school board.
I have a son, just finishing his junior year at Memorial.
Kate Hale