Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Divine Interjection

I'm a North Philly girl, born and raised. I love Philadelphia and the Divine Lorraine is as much a part of me as it is a part of anyone who truly loves Philly [Cover Story, "Left Behind," Michael T. Regan/Mike Newall, Jan. 13, 2005]. It's a beautiful and majestic building with a great history, and you were able to tell her story with respect.
Nellie Rodriguez
North Philadelphia

Gag Reflex

It appears that Philadelphia high schools are not giving student journalists the authority to make their own content decisions [News, "Gag Order," J.F. Pirro, Jan. 6, 2005]. Students have the right to express their opinions and to produce "underground" newspapers or other materials that do not have official school support. This might very well be something that the young people interviewed in the article might want to consider if they want to avoid a coercion to produce vapid publications. They should also know about the Student Press Law Center (www.splc.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing legal help and information to the student media and journalism educators.

We sympathize with all students who attempt to exert their constitutionally protected rights in public schools where the administrators create democracy-free zones. It is a bit ironic that any school that flies the U.S. flag, convenes a pledging of allegiance every morning and is designed to promote the civic values of citizenship would seek to crush a student voice when that voice is annunciating a controversy in their school or general community. The freedom of student journalists is not the only thing at risk here; this is merely indicative of a nation moving ever so closely to fascist, anti-democratic practice and philosophy.
Oskar Castro, National Coordinator
American Friends Service Committee's Youth & Militarism Program

He Wouldn't Have Done This

With the court ruling allowing the Barnes Foundation trustees to move the art collection from the Merion building Albert C. Barnes intended to serve as a school and eliminating all guaranteed class time from his will, the foundation as Barnes intended it is officially dead [Slant, "What Would Alfred Do?" Steve Conn, Jan. 13, 2005]. Everything Barnes stood for has been declared null and void. The discussion about "recreating" the Merion building in Philadelphia only adds insult to injury.

Let the movers and shakers who pulled off this cultural hijacking build their "21st-century" monument to the colossal ignorance of Philadelphia's political and philanthropic titans. They have no intellectual or moral claim to Barnes' vision. Plagiarizing mere physical trappings cannot legitimize this farce.
Filomena Beltrame
Havertown

Corrections

In "What Would Alfred Do" [Slant, Steve Conn, Jan. 13, 2005] we mistakenly identified Dr. Albert Barnes as "Alfred." Also, due to production errors, capsule reviews were incomplete or missing from Movie Shorts [Jan. 13, 2005], and copy was missing from "Jim Warren Meets Vampirella" [Duane Swierczynski, Jan. 6, 2005]. We apologize for the errors.

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