Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 6

Editorial Board J. MICHAEL PATE, President, Publisher JOHN WINN MILLER, Exec. Editor, Sr. VPNews MARY ANN LINDLEY, Editorial Page Editor BILL BERLOW, Associate Editor ERIKA D. PETERMAN, Associate Editor Other Officers, Directors CINDY WEBBER, Chief Financial Officer TONY ADESHINA, Operations Director DEB PHINNEY, Advertising Director GREGORY N.

HAFDAHL, Circulation Director JEAN BUFORD, Human Resources Director MIZELL STEWART III. Managing Editor August 27, 2001 Editorial Page Editor. Mary Ann lindley Phone: (850) 599-2178 Fax: (850) 599-2295 I E-mail: mlindlcytaldem.com i ft TVTVT T7TVT THVk 1 WMM(BIIE 6A www.T SlNCE 1S05 Tallahassee Democrat Editorial Flashback I i 4 S- r7 t-' a ig. 1 'y iwl AJ 1 1 College Days: It's back to school time. Whether that means more classes or dealing with increased traffic, everybody in Tallahassee will notice that thousands of students have invaded our fair town.

That's why Editorial Flashback decided to open the vault and pick out some images of student life from the not-toodistant past. Above: Florida State University students engage in some general wackiness during the long, strange 1960s. Left: FSU students grab their umbrellas to battle the rain in 1984. Above right: FAMU students wear their finest at this 1950s party hosted by FAMU President George Gore and his wife, Pearl. Middle right: Florida State College for Women students pose in front of a "Jack Buggy" in this 1940 photo.

Bottom right: The 1948 FAMU Homecoming Parade makes its way through Tallahassee. All photos are courtesy of the Florida State Photographic Archives. fei23 iSL Jf '-WW If 1P1 Letters To The Editor for certainly they don't want it to be dangerous for heterosexuals to show their preferences in public as it currently is for homosexuals no holding hands, no hugging, no dancing, no dining by candlelight and certainly no kissing in public. Ms. Latimer would also like to restrict homosexuals from taking their concerns about prejudice (from the likes of people like herself) to elected officials.

Then she says that none of us should expect preferential treatment after asking for preferential treatment for heterosexuals in access to our legislators. I assume the reason the two letter writers argue so inarticulately for their bigoted positions is that, as evidenced by the above noted components of that argument, they are coming from a position of prejudice, which, of course, can never be argued successfully because it is based in lies and fear with no truth behind it. I can already hear the responses, so to head them off: I'm heterosexual and married, and I have six children and three grandchildren. DEAN NEWMAN dnewmanenglish.fsu.edu Somehow, Lotto profits haven't helped schools To all of you generous Lotto players who have poured billions into the Florida Lottery for more than 10 years for the benefit of education: Please note that now the educators are begging for donations of school supplies. What's wrong with this picture? BILL SINCLAIR It was the best of road rage, it was the worst of road rage To the kind lady who saw me pulled off to the side of the street and slowed down to ask if I needed help: Thank you so much for your kindness, and God bless you! Don't ever stop being an angel.

To the old geezer two vehicles behind her who blared his horn obnoxiously because he had to slow down a bit: Can you be more selfish? Shame on you! I hope you need help someday and no one will stop because there are pests like you behind them, abusing their horns. SHIRLENE C. STUCKEY Tallahassee is in danger of losing its unique charm Re: "Hanging out with Mr. Mosquito" (Letters, Aug. 23).

Yes, Mr. Sutherland, Tallahassee cannot continue to grow and expand forever and ever, nor should it. But I am afraid that when it does stop growing, it will have lost its "unique, charming quality of life" as letter writer Bob Brady so eloquently put it recently. I believe it was last year that Tallahassee was the only major city in the Southeast to receive an A for its quality of air, but I predict that as Tallahassee continues to grow, it will lose that A quality of air ranking. According to Mr.

Sutherland, growth is "necessary and even good." But I beg to differ. What are the byproducts of growth? Well, there will be an inevitable major increase in traffic, poorer quality of air, more crime and further destruction of Tallahassee's lakes, rivers, woodlands and fields as well as a continuing decline in songbird and wildlife populations. So tell me, Mr. Sutherland, are these byproducts of growth "necessary" and BRANT R. FOSTER Jeb Bush's misadventures should cost him the election Re: Touchscreens: Manipulating totals would be too easy" (Letters Aug.

21). Bryan Morris wrote: "Republicans will not have to bother to even vote to win this election!" That is, unless a Democratic hacker gets into the system. Joking aside, if you look back on all of the havoc Gov. Bush has caused, do you really think there is any chance he will be re-elected? For the sake of Florida's future, I hope not. DAVID JEDZINIAK djedziniakhotmail.com Inarticulate, bigoted letters hold murky positions In response to the letters from both Jim Moore (Letters, Aug.

13) and Barbara Latimer (Letters, Aug. 21), I must try for my own edification to clarify their murky positions. Both seem to believe sexual preference should be kept "personal." I assume what they are saying is that homosexuals should keep their preferences to themselves, Lefsgetridof automobiles and cameras Tom Diaz's screed on sniper rifles (syndicated column, Aug. 22) was just too much! The Violence Policy Center is just as far to one side of the gun issue as the NRA is to the other. Can we expect to see an opinion piece by Charlton Heston soon? Let me forget for the moment that this piece was pretty much fact free and just focus on one thing.

Mr. Diaz tells us how horrendous sniper rifles are, but fails to mention that, to my knowledge, not a single crime has ever been committed in this country using this type of weapon. So what violence is the VPC trying to prevent? If we are to outlaw things just because they can be used to commit crimes, I suggest we start with every vehicle in this country. All of them can certainly exceed any legal speed Jimit. And think of all the death and destruction caused by crashes each year.

Just one final thought: If guns cause crime then cameras cause pornography. LARRY HINSLEY larryhinsleyyahoo.com A message to college undergraduates: If the skills, stupid live to-eat; one eats to live. her from taking some applied sta repeat this pattern in college if professors ignore or disdain computer training. Take as many credits as possible that require field work and programs away from campus. Students can transform the concepts, theories and models they have studied into skills as they are brought face to face with reality.

Look for opportunities outside of class in work and extracurricular activities and especially in the summer to develop the skills that are important. These experiences help make better course selections the next semester and will demonstrate to the students what skills they need to develop. They will also alert students to what skills they like and what skills they find irritating. William D. Coplin is a professor of public affairs at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, where he directs the Policy Studies Program, a skills-based, communitycased and client-based undergraduate major.

Readers may write to him at: 200 Eggers Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. 13244-1090. By William Coplin "knight ridder tribune Too many college undergraduates are lost, angry and confused. Nearly 50 percent will not graduate after five years of your four-year program. Even if they do graduate, they are likely to have trouble finding a job and even more trouble in landing employ-T ment that they see as a path toward a happy future.

At the root of the problem is their failure to see college education as a great feast of stuff to learn. The skills they learn are the vitamins and nutrients. The rest ends up well, you know where, i The definitions, concepts, facts, quotes, models and theories trans-; mitted through lectures, readings and other activities are not ends in themselves, but rather the process material through which under- grads learn how to explore and exercise many different skills. They are like food. But the process Js.

not the purpose. One does not The same goes for a college education. The stuff students process enables them to pass their courses but the goal is to help them build their minds and hearts so that they can lead satisfied lives: Here are my eight rules for getting the most from a college education. Say once a day "It's the skills, stupid." Keep asking, "What skills do I want to exercise after college that I could not before college?" Make a list of the skills to develop and then choose courses and programs that will help develop those skills. Do not think the choice of a major or program solves the problem.

Undergraduate professional school programs like management or communications require a lot of general education and sometimes require that students learn little of which they can apply. Conversely, becoming a fine-arts major because the student enjoys it will prevent him or tistics or technical writing courses. Know the range of skills and consciously choose which to learn at what level of expertise. Here is my list of the skills that students need to develop: obtaining and assessing information, reading, writing, communicating, calculating, reasoning, using computers, problem-solving, making decisions, feeling, enjoying, learning and, as H.L. Mencken said, distinguishing appearance from reality.

The skills need not be only those the students thinks he or she will need for a career. They also can be those they think will help them have fun and, yes, that includes wine tasting. Understand why the student personally has trouble focusing on skills. The high school education blinded them to the centrality of skills as the student turned into a test-taking and paper-writing machine. They will probably try to unless they focus on skills.

Don't look to college faculty to guide the student to the skills. Look at college faculty as the cooks for your educational feast. Their secret desire is not for the students to enjoy the meal but for them to become cooks just like them. For example, the history professor teaching about the American Revolution may expose students to different historical interpretations of the American Revolution. That is useful, but when the professor forces students to make interpretations of the interpretations of those interpretations, they are entering the realm of "the study of the study of." There is much too much of that throughout the college curriculum, leaving students with less time than they need to develop critical skills.

Computer skills are a good thing. It is hoped students need no convincing. Take advantage even Cr Questions? Letters to the Editor P.O. Box 990 Tallahassee, FL 32302 Tax ttQO tdedfttaldem.com INTERACT: SHARE YOUR OPINIONS VITII US Letters should be no more than 150 words. Please include your full name, address and telephone number (for verification purposes).

We may condense letters and edit 'for grammar and clarity. By sending a letter or article, you give us the right to publish in any medium. E-mail addresses will be published unless otherwise specified. Call Mike Pope, letter editor, at (850) 599-2173. Read your letters online at httpyAvww.tdo.comnewsletters Is50) 599-2295 I v..