The mission of the Oasis Program against Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence is to both prevent and respond to all forms of interpersonal violence. Thus, when we saw the recent cartoons (Etc, by David Claire Parsons, Feb. 20 and 21) using themes of relationship violence and voyeurism (or peeping) as the punch line we were quite concerned. Why are jokes like these problemtatic?

Violence against women exists on a continuum, with social norms and individual beliefs creating the climate that supports violent and violating acts. Jokes like these in a campus publication create further barriers for victims of violence seeking help and send the message to those committing the acts that it is not such a big deal.

We as a community need to send a different message: that we do not find violence or sexual assault funny or acceptable and that we will challenge those who do. Our words, actions, and thoughts help create the type of community we want to be part of. We can and must do better, Wildcats!

— Dr. Kathe Young,
Oasis psychologist

Erin Strange,
Oasis violence prevention specialist

It’s revealing that the U.S. federal government will allow sick citizens to have highly addictive Class A narcotics like Oxycontin and Percocet on campus but the relatively safe God-given plant (see the 1st page of the Bible) cannabis (marijuana) is treated like a weapon of mass destruction (Medical Marijuana Ban To Hit Campuses, Feb. 23, 2012).

Harmfully, government classifies cannabis a Schedule I substance alongside heroin while meth and cocaine are only Schedule II substances. The problems associated with that misclassification harm all North Americans in more ways than can be comprehended.

— Stan White,
Dillon, Colo.

In response to the Feb. 22 column, “Streetcar safety problems unsolved”:

I learned about Ashley Powell’s article about the streetcar safety problems through an Internet group list-serve run by an electric railroad enthusiast group. At first I thought Ashley’s writing was going to be emotionally prejudiced, however, as a retired locomotive engineer, I have early on noticed the very graphic dangers in the illustration for the Park and University intersection, and I have posted negative comments about the unsafe depiction in the list-serve regarding the illustration.

As the Orange Empire Railway Museum’s Gazette recently pointed out in the last issue, looking at any vintage photograph shows a wealth of historic realities about urban living and railroads. Some development occurs as the result of a rail line, other development adapts to an added rail line. In this case, the illustration looks like someone “putting a streetcar line in place” regardless of the situation.

There are indeed bicylists’ considerations that did not exist in the early 20th century. Today there are more bicycles on the streets than at any time I can remember in my 63-year lifespan. People do not understand that the groove in the street is a bicycle trap … however, bicylclists in general themselves have little regard for pedestrians, so this is a two-way problem in educating the public.

I think the Park and University intersection demands a better engineering perspective. As for modern life in our country, which is introverted and disrespectful of reality, there needs to be a re-orientation toward consideration and behavior, because electric commuting trains whether of the interurban full-size kind or the smaller-than-light rail kind are a very important benefit to society. But there are considerations all-around that need to be addressed as we try to make up for the tragedy of the post-World War 2 era in which the electric rail system was destroyed wholesale without a thought of how beneficial it was.

— Libris Fidelis
Iowa City, Iowa
life member Orange Empire Railway Museum and Pacific Southwest Railway Museum
retired locomotive engineer (Southern Pacific)