The Willow Glen Resident

Letters

Time for a real discussion on barbecue quarrel

As an educator, I have reviewed the recent array of commentary on the barbecue smoke controversy in downtown Willow Glen with great interest.

In my capacity as a teacher, I assist my students in developing a sensitivity to the reality of, and potentiality for, conflict in this world. It is from that bias that I offer the following observations.

First, it should be patently apparent that there are (at least) two sides in this debate. Such is the nature of conflict. But what seems to be missing is any substantive engagement between the two sides.

Why should either side assume that simply by stating its case it will in any way persuade the other side that it is wrong? If words were that effective, the need for lawyers and counselors would have ceased long ago.

Second, the debate up to this point seems to be based on inference, assumption and tangential argumentation. While we can infer the nature of each side's grievances, that is quite a different thing from knowing the nature of those grievances in a concrete manner.

One might also assume that residents think one way and merchants think another, but what is missing is an admission by both groups that there are usually more voices than sides in a given conflict.

And we may all be able to agree that smoke--in any form--can have adverse effects on our health; however, coloring a claim with loaded modifiers such as "stinking" and "artery-clogging" does little good. While one voice does not represent the whole, it nonetheless reflects the side with which it sympathizes, if only in the minds of the opposing side.

Third, I would posit that any comparison of this debate to the recent ban on smoking, even one rendered in a humorous fashion, is dangerous in that it misconstrues both debates. To wit, one need only look to the Jan. 14 column in The Resident.

Initially, it must be admitted that cartoons demonstrate improbabilities and flights of fancy in an often tongue-in-cheek style--we "get the joke" because it demonstrates that others seemingly did not. But such manners of construction can often fuel the fires of conflict if the debate is still unresolved.

We are quite aware of the laws that are in effect to stop smoking in public places, but the matter of the barbecues has yet to be decided. More so, the recent ban on smoking in bars is based on many facts that have no direct relation to a discussion of barbecue smoke. We may all agree that both lemons and oranges are fruit; to say that they taste the same is quite a different matter altogether.

Finally, I would like to suggest that all sides might find a lasting settlement to their woes if they looked to each other rather than looking for support independent of each other. An either/or dichotomy may seem to be the easiest answer to tenuous issues, but all that such a shading really does is prolong the dispute and weaken the chances for a resolution agreeable to all of the numerous voices involved.

A community is made up of distinct--often radically so--elements. Best that we start talking with each other on this--and any other--matter, rather than talking at one another.

Mark J. Porrovecchio
Campbell

Sports fans are cause of school's trash problem

In a recent letter to The Resident, a lady complains of trash on the Willow Glen High School campus. Right! Trash there is, but I think the lady blames the wrong source.

Since I have been using the track and field almost every day since 1953, I claim to be a trained observer. I claim that the students have been taking remarkably good care of their campus. A mountain of trash seems to sprout up after a major sports event that involves the general public. They are the problem.

Why the school personnel take so long to clean up these messes is a mystery. By that time the paper and Styrofoam have blown to the four corners.

As far as defacement of the concrete sign is concerned, that's a different type of problem. The sign does not say "Willow Glen High." It says "Willow Glen Educational Park," and a lot of people, me included, have never accepted this nonsense.

All three of my children went through these two schools, and they still shake their heads when they see that sign. I still don't know who the genius was who set out to destroy the names of Edwin Markham Junior High School and Willow Glen High School.

Although it's no doubt 100 percent politically correct, that sign is ugly enough without defacing it. A better solution would be to take it down.

Robert L. Smith
Cottle Avenue

Cheers to Willow Glen schools on return of music program

How refreshing it was to read the article in the Jan. 21 Resident regarding the return of music to the Willow Glen Educational Park. Praises go to Pat Day and Larry Laird for their creative funding and targeting music as a priority.

The Booksin Kodaly Music Program was able to survive by the skin of its teeth the budget cuts of the past 12 years. We too continue to struggle with creative funding to this day. The reinstatement of this music program at the middle and high school level will strengthen our support to continue the Kodaly Music Program at Booksin. The Booksin Choir hosted an audience 500 strong at the recent winter concert. To agree with Carla Fugashima, music fosters school spirit and community pride.

It is a welcome opportunity to have our students continue full-time music instruction at Willow Glen Middle School. I look forward to the sounds of the drums once again echoing down the streets of Willow Glen. Success and best wishes to Kathryn Donovan.

Booksin School will present the choir's spring concert the evening of Tuesday, May 11. Please contact Booksin School for more information.

Carmen Nicholls
Booksin School Site chairman
Briarwood Drive

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