DEBATE OVER GAYS IS SILLY
From: David F. Ludwig
Columbia
Howard County's community pride in tolerance, diversity and education makes the ongoing debate over gay speakers in the high schools seem incredibly silly.
After all, sexual preference is not a political party to which one can be recruited, it is not a disease that canbe contracted by contact, and it is not a team that one joins or quits at will. Sexual preference results from the complex and long-term interplay of developmental and internal processes.
Nobody's sexualpreference can be altered by homosexual speakers in the schools. However, attitudes can be altered so that people may be more comfortablewith themselves (if they are gay) or with others (if they are not).
These modestly positive results can only enhance our community spirit, while intolerance and ignorance can only degrade it.
DOMINO'S APOLOGIZES
From: John Longden
Linthicum
During the week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, Domino's Pizza conducted a fund-raiser called the "Domino's Pizza Dough-Raising Program" in which several Howard County schools participated. The program was established as a method of returning something to the communities we serve. It is our thanks for your support.
The schools distributed letters describing the program tothe community. Customers who returned this letter with their pizza order between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3 received $1 off their order, and $1 was earmarked for contribution to the school from which the customer received the letter.
There was, however, miscommunication concerning the content of the letters.
We have since learned that several PTA members and school officials were displeased with the wording of the letters, believing them to be too aggressive in requesting supportfor the schools.
We sincerely apologize for any wording that may have been misleading and for any confusion or problems our dough-raising program may have caused. It was not our intention for such a situation to occur. We have taken steps to correct our mistake and to ensure that it will not happen again.
At Domino's Pizza, our goal is to delight the customer. We have proudly served the people of Howard County for over five years and hope to continue to provide you with the highest quality product and service anywhere. If there are ever any questions or problems you have concerning Domino's Pizza, please feel free to contact me at my office at (301) 859-3030.
(John Longden is the regional vice president of Domino's Pizza.)
GPA POLICY HURTSCOUNTIANS
From: Rachel Kulansky
Ellicott City
As a junior at Centennial High, I am beginning the college preparation process where everything we have worked toward for 12 or more years finally paysoff. Or does it?
It is a time when club participation can be dependent upon how good it looks on our transcripts, and every grade in every course is crucial. As students, we are often criticized for thisbehavior. Did anyone ever consider that there is reasoning behind this madness?
From the time we are freshmen in high school, we are encouraged to be the "well-rounded model student." We are advised to become involved in as many activities as we can balance. In addition, we are told to take advanced courses and to challenge ourselves because a "B" in the advanced class is better than an "A" in the average class.
Supposedly, it is in our favor to do this in the eyes of thecolleges when we apply. This may be true in other local school systems, such as Prince George's County, where students' grades are weighted, meaning that it is possible to earn more than a 4.0 GPA (grade-point average) for taking such courses. This, in turn, influences theirrank.
In Howard County, all courses carry the same weight, meaning that a student taking average courses with an "A" average will havea higher GPA and, therefore, higher class rank than a student in alladvanced courses who has a "B" average.
About a month and a half ago, a meeting on the selective college application process was held for the entire county at Centennial High School. The speaker, David Ogden, who was from the Admissions Office at Princeton University, wasasked about Princeton's policy regarding weighted grades. His response was that the university recalculates all of the GPAs so that applicants are judged using the same scale.
However, adjusting our GPA does not mean adjusting our class rank. This can be an important partof the admissions process, especially when applying to competitive schools where the majority of those admitted are in the top 10 percentof their high school class.
Unfortunately, in the end, grades, test scores, class rank and course selection are usually the most important factors for competitive colleges. Being involved in a few activities definitely helps, but they oftentimes separate those with comparable academic achievements from one another.
How then, if we're not comparable on paper to begin with because of our unweighted grades,can activities possibly compensate for this? They can't.
Howard County recently received the best score in the state on the MSPP (state evaluation program) report card. If we are in one of the best school systems in the state, if not the country, then why, as products of a great system, shouldn't we be equally competitive on paper?
REDISTRICTING IS POLITICAL
From: Ann M. Balcerzak
Clarksville
It was interesting to read the reaction of our Annapolis delegation to thelegislative reapportionment plan proposed by the governor's commission this week.
One of the key points made over and over during the 1990 campaign for the state Senate and the House of Delegates was that the election of a Republican delegation would result in our losing any say in this most important process. It is uncomfortable to be in the position of saying, "We told you so."
Rightly or wrongly, redistricting is the most political activity that government undertakes. Once this process is completed, we can only hope that we in Howard County will have some voice in Annapolis; however, things do not look promising.
Hopefully, the future will bring us a less partisan way of engaging in this process. Until then, we should take this fact into consideration, along with others which we continue to address, as we begin tosurvey the landscape for legislators to represent us in 1994 and beyond.
The writer is a member of the board of directors of the Democratic Forum.
SURVEY MISSED PROBLEM
From: Emily Dooley
Columbia
"Alcohol, tobacco remain popular with students," by DonnaBoller (The Howard County Sun, Dec. 1) was the topic of your articleconcerning teen drug use.
I am a student at Centennial High School who took the survey last December mentioned in your article. Not only did I think the questions were repetitive and a waste of time, I also thought that it could have been presented to the students in a much more positive way.
Every teacher knows that out of all the students they teach some will abuse drugs and alcohol. This survey solvednothing. It only reminded the governor of a problem that has ben ignored for far too long. Students need to be educated about the dangers(that) surround them.
By ignoring this we as a community have said it is OK to abuse drugs and alcohol. Somebody needs to send a message to all students that it is not OK.
The writer is a junior at Centennial High School.
DISTRICTS VIOLATE RIGHTS
From: Sherman Howell
Columbia
Missing from recent press coverage regarding the legislative redistricting planning process is the opinion of the Citizens for Equitable Redistricting (CED) over the disparate treatment of its redistricting proposal by the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Committee (GRAC).
It is not surprising however, that, in this regard, the GRAC lacks the insight and wisdom necessary to relate to the "just" and "visionary components" of the CED plan.
GRAC's plan accomplishes the worst: It appears, for all practical purposes, to dismantle the effectiveness of the governmental infrastructure of Howard County (that is, the county seat in Ellicott City would be dominated by districts controlled by other counties), exhibits very shadow sensitivity for minorities, and seems, as one person put it, "intended to destroy the spirit of the county."
CED is a group established to develop an equitable redistricting plan and to assess the redistricting implications of local, state and congressional reapportionment on Howard County's minorities. The group presented a minority redistrictingplan to the GRAC.
Our plan, which calls for a minority influence district, clearly meets the legal principles of the Voting Rights Act, which mandates, where possible, the creation of districts that enable minorities to elect a candidate of their choice or districts whereminorities can substantially influence the outcome of a given election.
The committee's plan, in contrast, creates "unusually large election districts," "divides the county politically cohesive minority population at its point of greatest concentration," and "creates multi-member districts," either or all of which affects the voting strength of minorities.
CED also chose to recommend a senatorial district for Columbia because sizable similarities exist between the ideology of minorities and non-minorities, because Columbia is maturing as asuccessful model in fostering racial equality and harmony among cultures, and because of Columbia's population size. The GRAC, again in what we believe to be an unbalanced judgment, chose to ignore this.
Contrary to The Baltimore Sun's editorial position suggesting otherwise, we remain convinced that the best alternative for meeting the legal requirements of state redistricting for Howard County continues to be the plan presented by CED or similar configured plans.
Our plan respects the population equality criteria, enhances the opportunity for Columbia's ideology to grow, and provides meaningful opportunity for minorities to participate in the county political process.
We agree with the national headquarters of the NAACP that, should thisplan succeed in passing the legislature, it "surely will be subjected to a court challenge and in all likelihood will be found to violatethe Voting Rights Act."
(The writer is a spokesman for Citizens for Equitable Districting.)
WRITE STUFF
The Howard County Sun welcomes letters to the editor, in response to its reporting, opinion columns or simply on matters affecting Howard County.
Letters should be typed or legibly hand-written and double-spaced. The paper may editletters for length and clarity. Include a daytime phone number, so that we can verify the letter and clear up any questions. Phone numbers will not be published.
Please send letters to "Letters to The Editor," The Howard County Sun, 3300 N. Ridge Road, Suite 140, EllicottCity, Md. 21043.