Greetings from Ukraine

Editor: On behalf of all students from Kiev who visited your beautiful city last December, I would like to send you best wishes for Christmas.

We took with us a lot of impressions, especially after meeting with your open-handed, sincere and hospitable people. We felt as comfortable with your children and adults as if we were at home and it was too difficult to leave you.

We were especially touched that you are glad to hear about progressive changes in our country, Ukraine. We are grateful to you for your support.

Due to these changes, we are now able to communicate more with each other, to exchange culture and ideas. That's why we would like to strengthen our spiritual bonds with your country and your city, which for years has been Odessa's sister city in the U. S.

We would help you with literature in Russian and Ukrainian for those wishing to know these languages and to study these languages seriously in Kiev.

We also are engaged in studying English. At present we have an English teacher from Texas, Jesse Doiron. He is a very interesting person.

Besides language, we study the American way of life, American culture and history during lessons. But unfortunately for the time being, we are short of the literature in English. We can't find any literature on the history of your country and your people.

We believe we need to learn all we can about each other not only to know each other better but to share equally in responsibility for the health of the planet Earth.

Tanya Ostapchuk.

Kiev, Ukraine.

The writer is an eleventh-grader and lives at 46 Shota Rustavely Street, Kiev 252005, Ukraine.

Double Loyalties

Editor: Your Nov. 14 editorial on extending municipal voting rights to non-citizens says that resident non-citizens "simply haven't taken the time or trouble to make a commitment to their adopted country." This is uncalled for -- and a little offensive.

I have lived in this country for 25 years, admire it and am grateful to it. But my inmost feelings -- my sense of who I am; if you prefer -- have not changed to the point where I might know myself to be primarily American and to have no other allegiance or emotional center. I would not therefore be justified in taking an oath of citizenship, proclaiming an allegiance I would not altogether feel. To do so would be insincere. I respect the process of becoming American far too much to pretend to take part in it.

You say also that "citizenship is an undertaking to bear society's burdens, as well as receive its benefits."

I in fact bear a number of those burdens. For instance, I pay taxes -- and there are some benefits I do not receive. In exchange for my allegiance, I should receive a right to vote in U.S. elections.

J. G. A. Pocock.

Baltimore.

Someone Dumber

Editor: I do believe that Roger Simon has found someone dumber than the banks. Himself.

The assertion in his Nov. 20 column, "At the rate they're going, banks can't lose," that the banks are making huge profits on their credit card operations is an utter misconception. Credit card interest rates are not tied to short-term interest rates. These loans are funded by a combination of sources which average higher than the 5 percent Mr. Simon mentioned.

Additionally, credit card loans are unsecured, meaning that if someone does not pay a bill, there is nothing the bank can repossess (which is different than defaulting on a home mortgage).

Because of these and other reasons, credit card interest rates need to be at a level which balances the risk.

With more than 6,000 issuers of credit cards in the marketplace, the competition is extremely fierce. Just look at your mailbox every so often. If consumers are not receiving offers for low-rate credit cards, then maybe there is another reason than lack of competition.

Stephen E. Hook.

Baltimore.

What Worries Me

Editor: To the 61 percent of the people who voted down David Duke's aspiration to the governorship of Louisiana, bravo!

Still, it is that 39 percent that worries me.

It is indeed sad that our totally inept government leadership has allowed the climate of this country to be ripe for the likes of David Duke.

Phyllis Lichter.

Pikesville.

Libraries

Editor: The lack of governmental concern for our public libraries is a national disgrace. In other countries, libraries are cherished repositories of civilization and culture and ideals. Here in the United States, libraries and librarians are invariably among the first victims of budget cuts.

And yet, these same libraries offer free information on education, jobs, resumes, high school equivalency diplomas and various forms of tutoring.

In a period of economic upheaval, we need our libraries more than ever. Perhaps our public officials feel safer with a citizenry that has to depend on tabloids and television for its information. Real democracy can flourish only where citizens, armed with the facts, are free to make an informed decision.

And it is our public library that enables anyone with the desire and the interest to learn the facts. We need to serve notice on our public officials that we will no longer tolerate their negligence our library systems. Surely, a nation that distributes billions of dollars in foreign aid can find some spare change to support an institution that serves the information needs of everyone.

Robert Burke.

Lutherville.

Still Not Sold

Editor: Allow me to commend Michael K. Hooker, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, for the personal attention he has given (letter Oct. 23) to clarify information presented in Robert Erlandson's article (Sept. 23), "Residents of Tiny Cowdensville Seek to Preserve Historic Black Community."

In addition, Dr. Hooker said he and his team had worked diligently to assure Cowdensville and its neighbors, Arbutus, Catonsville, Relay, Halethorpe, etc., that the proposed research park would have minimum impact on them and their existing environment.

Based on the news coverage of this proposed project, it seems obvious that even with all of Dr. Hooker's efforts to convey the idea that this project will enrich their quality of life, the communities more than ever consider the proposal an intrusion that will bring unacceptable risks to their lives.

This should not be a mystery, for simply stated, these communities -- most in existence for more than 100 years -- have lived long enough to know that they will be required to make many concessions in behalf of UMBC.

They realize that after all the individual compromises are tallied, there will be a serious net loss to their quality of life. Just as individuals are unique, so too are communities, with each having complex concerns and interests. They know their own needs and wants best, and apparently after careful consideration of Dr. Hooker's effort to sell the project's benefits, it is evident that their response is a clear, concise, easily understood: "We don't want this UMBC project in the middle of our community!"

There are many other community concerns than those addressed by Dr. Hooker in his letter to the editor. Of specific interest is one that relates to UMBC's responsibility to state and federal wetlands laws, which govern the 15 wetland sites that were tentatively identified within the project area by UMBC's consultant, Sasaki & Associates.

Another significant issue centers on the historic/prehistoric resources which have been documented as being eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

These are in addition to Dr. Hooker's acknowledgment of one specific historical resource.

Consequently, UMBC has been informed by the MarylanHistoric Trust that it must perform a detailed historic-archaeological assessment of the entire area. Since federal funds and permits are involved in the UMBC development scheme, federal laws rather than state preservation laws establish the basic requirements that must be met.

' Charles A. Kucera.

Arbutus.