Hue and cry
Regarding “Sandwich, Chips and Jesus” (9/1/2016), a quote attributed to me truncated and misrepresented my views. The full statement I made was, “Can you imagine the hue and cry that would ensue, most especially from the Jesus Lunch organizers, if a group of Muslim parents rented Fireman’s Park and handed out Muslim literature to their kids?” To be clear — I fully support every person’s First Amendment right to believe and practice what they choose. I also fully support the First Amendment separation of church and state. Neither of these is at issue here. What is at issue is adults coming to a park adjacent to school grounds and enticing students with food in order to proselytize to them. These lunches have caused divisiveness inside the school, where minority students are being marginalized and harassed for expressing discomfort at these events. The organizers have been told repeatedly, by students, by parents and by the administration, that their actions are causing harm. They have been offered several alternatives. But they refuse to listen and are apparently indifferent to the harm they are causing. Just because people have a right to do something does not make it the right thing to do!
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis (via email)
Funding squeeze
Shabazz High School is just one example of the funding squeeze our Madison schools are facing (Strapped for Cash,” 9/8/2016). The department I work in experienced a 56% cut in our materials budget. We looked into the possibility of doing a crowdfunding campaign, but found out from our principal that the Madison Metropolitan School District discourages this (BOE Policy 2609) just a few days before Herb Kohl’s people announced he was funding all of the Wisconsin schools “donors choose” crowdfunding campaigns! Stephen Colbert has done similar grant funding for teachers in North Carolina. Thanks, guys. Now, if we only had a governor and legislature who valued public education....
Phil Lyons (via email)
Correction
In a review last week of his new memoir, Charles Monroe-Kane was identified as the host of Director’s Cut. He is a former host.
