CU student aid, diversity
Re: “College kids trade aid for debt,” Nov. 21 news story and “CU given D for diversity,” Nov. 22 news story.
I’m sure I’m not the only reader who saw a very clear connection between the two stories. First, the amount of aid available to lower income students has fallen drastically, while at the same time severe cuts in state aid to CU and our other state universities brought about significant tuition boosts. The result of this increasing gulf faced by lower income and minority students is that fewer attend CU. What a surprise! To hold CU responsible for something they have no control of is beyond silly. The telling aspect of this is that CU received a good mark where they do have influence: retaining and graduating those who do somehow manage to attend. Overall, I think CU deserves kudos for some success in very trying circumstances.
Charles R. Woods, Denver
School vouchers
Re: “Vouching for Milton Friedman,” Nov. 22 Cal Thomas column.
There is still work to be done by progressives who must not bask too long in post-election afterglow. The Republican word machine is alive and spitting out fantasies about the likes of vouchers.
Vouchers have long been code for tax relief for private school parents. Thomas thoroughly confuses the issue by rewording it “school choice.” A limited number of poor parents in pilot programs benefited from leaving poor public schools. The larger issue confronting our society, however, is what to do about the majority of poor, socially isolated children of color who are systematically cut off from access to the larger society.
Progressives have a better idea. We do not need to “reform” our public schools, we need to fund them equally. We need to establish transfer programs so that children of color are brought into the larger culture and white children are taught important life lessons about getting along with all kinds of people.
Bill J. Fyfe, Denver
Southwest light-rail line
Re: “A rail easy commute,” Nov. 21 news story
I’ve been taking the southwest light-rail line for five years, and I wish the newspaper and all of the local news stations would have given the whole story. No one mentioned that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the southwest line suffered tremendously. Service was a disaster. Trains didn’t show up, trains were delayed, it was standing-room-only starting at Mineral, three-car trains were cut to two-car trains and we were not happy commuters. This was a light week due to the holiday and the college kids being off. What will happen when everyone is back? We on the southwest line would just like our old schedule back!
Lois Garliech, Littleton
Snow and global warming
Re: “Ski resorts and global warming,” Nov. 24 Open Forum.
J.M. Schell’s caustic dismissal of global warming, on the grounds that ski resorts are opening early this year, demonstrates his ignorance of the topic.
The mere fact that rates of snowfall are increasing does nothing to refute the fact of global warming. Climate change caused by global warming can occur in many different ways, which include changes in precipitation rates, such as heightened rates of snowfall.
Science does not state that if global temperatures increase, the results of climate change will be the same for all geographical regions.
Jordan Ruud, Centennial
Prayer-lite
Re: “City goes lite on invocations,” Nov. 21 news story.
It is interesting that current Aurora council guidelines now prohibit clergy from exercising their First Amendment rights, namely, the free exercise of religion. For decades, clergymen were able to offer invocations with no questions asked. However, in our politically correct society, even the name of Jesus is taboo. I am reminded of Christ’s admonition: “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed.” Alas, it is a reflection of our own secularist society.
Brian Stuckey, Denver
Wilderness protection
Over the past several weeks, Congress has passed bills adding 350,000 acres to the National Wilderness Preservation System, protecting these special places for all time.
This system has now grown to 107 million acres, from New England to Hawaii, owned by every American citizen.
The latest additions are 275,000 acres in northern California, 42,000 acres in Vermont, and 34,500 acres in New Hampshire.
Today, and 200 years from now, anybody, rich or poor, can go to these places to camp, fish, hunt, or paddle a canoe, and soak up the peace and quiet.
The gains go far beyond recreation, though.
Protecting these lands means cleaner drinking water for downstream municipal water systems, higher air quality, healthier fisheries, more wildlife and the maintenance of natural laboratories where scientists can search for tomorrow’s medicines.
Colorado is home to 3.4 million acres of the wilderness system.
There are a number of other special places in our state that deserve this protection, and we are determined to see Congress pass bills that would create wilderness areas on BLM lands in western Colorado, at Rocky Mountain National Park and in Browns Canyon.
We hope that state residents will encourage our representatives in Congress to approve these proposals next year.
Steve Smith, Assistant Regional Director, The Wilderness Society, Denver
Outgoing Congress
The GOP Congress now leaving Washington is reportedly leaving behind $500 billion in uncompleted spending bills that they wrote, but are now dumping on Democrats so that next year they can say “look at the spendthrift Democrats!”
What a sleazy way to do business. The more we see and hear of this bunch, the worse it gets.
John Ruckman, Lakewood
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