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Letters
Trustee overreacted in his criticism of college
I want to address a few of the statements made in the July 11 letter to the editor from Jeff Schwartz, my fellow trustee on the West Valley-Mission Community College District Governing Board.
Mr. Schwartz questioned a recent "open letter" that ran in the Saratoga News as part of West Valley College's efforts to do a better job communicating with its neighbors and community, ironically an activity that Mr. Schwartz himself has often recommended. Mr. Schwartz noted that the board had not approved the letter before it appeared in the Saratoga News.
Needless to say, if the chancellor were required to have every letter and every advertisement approved by the board, very little of the district's real business would ever be accomplished. I find it very unfortunate that Mr. Schwartz would resort to exaggeration and misinformation when discussing this matter. The fact that his property abuts the campus may explain his overreaction.
The open letter to the community is just one example of the district's ongoing efforts to be a good neighbor. Another example is the fact that the athletic department at West Valley College accommodates the surrounding homeowners when scheduling games. West Valley is the only California community college offering football that does not play weekend or night games. In addition, the college approves only a limited number of outside events on campus and they must be family-oriented, non-alcoholic community events such as the Rotary Art Show.
Finally, I want to make it clear that the opinions expressed by Mr. Schwartz are his personal opinions. He was not speaking on behalf of the board of trustees, and it is unfortunate that he did not clarify this as he has done in the past.
Nancy Rucker
Board President
West Valley-Mission Community College District
Name-calling environment created by administrators
My May 30 letter in the Saratoga News entitled "Alternative to Local School's Homosexual Club" stimulated a great deal of response.
Perhaps my interest in the homosexual issue now needs to be explained. My approach to the issue is based on a 10-year study of the scientific, legal and political facts surrounding the issue. Politically, I am in agreement with those political analysts who state: "The most powerful political force in the United States today is not that of the Democratic party or of the Republican party; it is the powerful political force orchestrated by the homosexual movement."
Let's now consider how the GSA club was implemented at Saratoga High. There may have been many players instrumental in its implementation, but two of the major players, as identified by news articles, parents, and the sheriff's office, have been Stephen McCue, a gay, popular art teacher, and assistant principal Karen Hyde, a member of Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays (PFLAG), who according to parents, "has been attempting, for over a year, to get a GSA club implemented at the high school."
The strategy commenced on Jan. 5 when Mr. McCue called the sheriff's office and reported a crime had been committed against him. The sheriff's report states Mr. McCue told the sheriff he had erased two homophobic words that had been printed in red lipstick on the door and wall of his classroom. The only evidence the sheriff's office found were traces of red, but because Mr. McCue claimed to be gay, the law required the sheriff to report the incident as a "Hate Crime."
Three months later, on April 5, a San Jose Mercury News journalist, obviously writing in support of the homosexual movement, wrote up the McCue incident, as though it were a recent occurrence, and implied that actual hate words were found. The journalist also implied that the high school contributed to the McCue incident by creating a homophobic environment.
The journalist's false accusation resulted in a big motivational effort at the school to prove the accusation wrong. Students were encouraged to rally together in support of the school and for the creation of a GSA club.
On May 30, I clipped my Saratoga News letter out of the paper and made it into a flyer. The flyer had the heading of "Help Save A Student's Life," because of daily news reports on the big increase in AIDS cases among young, gay men. I then met with principal Kevin Skelly and requested permission to distribute the flyer to the students during lunchtime or at the beginning of the school day.
Our meeting was congenial, but I was informed the only place I could distribute the flyers was on the public sidewalk in front of the school.
On June 6, I arrived at the high school at 7:30 a.m. and commenced distributing the flyers on the public sidewalk as parents and students arrived at the school. Shortly thereafter, I was surrounded by an angry, hostile group of students, who attempted to stop me from distributing the flyers in the midst of directing homosexual epithets at me, such as bigot, hate monger, homophobe, etc. DeCinzo's June 27 cartoon, except for the dress and appearance of the students, aptly depicted the whole situation.
When two sheriff's deputies arrived around 8 a.m., as a 75-year-old Saratoga resident, I foolishly assumed the principal had called them to protect me. The sheriff later informed me they had been called to the high school by assistant principal Karen Hyde, who wanted me removed from the public sidewalk because I was disturbing the peace.
When the sheriff's deputies expressed concern over the students' harassment of me to Ms. Hyde and the principal, their response was that the students had every right to be out on the sidewalk "expressing their opinion."
We can now confirm the high school's position on what constitutes a "hate crime," and it is if there is any implication that something negative has been said about a homosexual, then it needs to be classified as a "hate crime." If, however, someone indicates they do not support homosexuality, they can be called every ugly name possible, since the name callers are merely "expressing their opinion."
Let me state up front, I do not blame the students for all their name calling. I do blame the school's administration for creating that type of environment, and something desperately needs to be done to correct the situation.
Elaine Hocker
Saratoga
Correction
In a story in the July 18 issue of the Saratoga News, "Biking community recovering from friend's fatal fall in hills," the deceased biker was incorrectly identified. His correct name was Hobart Pihl.
In a story in the July 11 Saratoga News, "Open Reason," the property tax rate for the initiation of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District was incorrect. The correct rate was 1.7 cents per $100 of assessed value.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
