Letters to the Editor
amthoma
Published Letters: 22 Editor's Choice: 4
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Community Colleges
[Read the article: "The Trap"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I notice that a number of posters here who are underemployed have advanced degrees--community colleges want you! As an X-er with a PhD and 60K in student loan debt, I jumped aboard the community college gravy train six years ago and never looked back. And I am happy to report that I both live by my ideals *and* make a living. Many faculty at my institution are compensated better than those at the large state university in town, in part because we teach so many classes (5 a semester) and our pay scale is uniform. The salaries are determined simply by years of experience and educational level, so there is no inequity in pay between those in the sciences and those in the humanities, for instance. We receive fairly predictable raises every year, and many of us belong to an influential teacher's union. I'm not making a killing, but I'm managing my student loan payments and a mortgage on a tiny house.
The reason we need you? The average age of faculty at my institution is 47, which is not an unusual figure. I am the youngest person in a department with 25 full-time faculty, and I am almost 34--not quite a spring chicken. What that means, of course, is that the boomers will begin retiring in droves over the next few years, and community colleges across the nation foresee widespread shortages in faculty. So if you have at least a Master's degree and a willingness to teach, consider community colleges. Yes, there is a LOT of teaching, and it is indeed challenging to teach a traditionally under-served population, but it's immensely rewarding as well. Many of my students are first-generation college students who have a hunger to learn that is simply missing from their more privileged counterparts at the universities.
And the cherry on top? This year I'll be taking a paid, year-long sabbatical to write a textbook. Even my university colleagues often can't expect an entire year in which to research and write.
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Tragic
[Read the article: Ocelots are collateral damage]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for the article. How much more do we stand to lose thanks to this administration's short-sighted policies?
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Oh, for pete's sake
[Read the article: Texans turn against Bush's war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In Travis County (Austin), Kerry got 56% of the vote in 2004. Hell, even in Dallas County, Kerry got nearly 49% of the vote. So we didn't all vote for Shrub--got it?
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Reluctance to let the animals go affects those waiting to be rescued, too
[Read the article: Ellen, the dog bullies and me]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Six months ago, my neighbor and I took possession of a female pitt mix puppy who had been tethered to a tree (without food, water, or shelter) in my other neighbor's yard. That's right--we stole her. No longer naive enough to believe that Animal Control would help, as they visited our neighbor several times without any results, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We knew it would difficult, simply because of her breed, but she was a friendly, loving puppy who seemed no worse for the wear for having been tethered. But she was starving and sunburned as a result of being unprotected from the hot Texas sun, and the tether itself was a rope attached to a long wire. She nearly hung herself trying to climb out of her yard. Every time we visited the neighbor to tell her about problems with the tether or offer help, she evinced complete disinterest, saying that she wished Animal Control would just "take care of it."
Our experiences with the rescue organizations were mixed. There was no room for her at any private shelter, so one group insisted that I simply crate her inside my house (apparently leaving her outside even with a shelter was a non-no), and get on the waiting list for people who would "foster" her. It was also suggested to me several times that I might foster her myself, despite the fact that I have three cats and very little experience with dogs, much less pitts. In the meantime, my other neighbor just kept her in his house/yard with his dogs. I felt like no one from the rescues actually heard what I was saying--they seemed completely unwilling to veer from the party line--but eventually one volunteer put me on the list for a free spaying, vaccination, and microchipping for the pup, which made it possible for us to post her information on craigslist (i.e. people looking to breed pitts would pass over her). After three days on craigslist, a wonderful family responded who were looking for an energetic puppy as a companion for their own, and were delighted by the very qualities that I thought would make her hard to adopt (jumping, rambunctious, etc). They also had experience with pitts. All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better home for her.
If I had heeded the rescue organization's warnings not to post her on craigslist, it's possible that she still wouldn't have her "forever" home. Now I'm wondering if there was no room for her at these shelters simply because the rescuers are too reluctant to allow the animals to be adopted in the first place.
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Skin Deep
[Read the article: Pick your pretty poison]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's a wonderful resource, and I use it, but frequently it's not up to date. So, for instance, Avalon Organics may have eliminated phthalates from a certain shampoo, but Skin Deep will show the previous ingredient list and evaluate accordingly. So double check the ingredients of your product before you toss it out because it rates an "8" or worse.
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"Live Music Capital"
[Read the article: Band on the run in New Orleans]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's happening in Austin, too. Moneyed transplants move to downtown condos/lofts or close to Auditorium shores and then complain about the noise. WTF? If they get their way, they'll destroy the very thing that presumably enticed them to move here in the first place.