A little appreciation goes a long way for teachers

In response to “A teacher’s importance merits greater gratitude” (Nov. 28 issue):

As a public school teacher of nearly 10 years (and the son of a veteran teacher who has taught for over 30 years in the classroom), I found Mr. Desrochers’ words to be uplifting and encouraging.  Teaching establishes a foundation in society which is paramount to our future success and endeavors.  Unfortunately, teachers have also become convenient targets for politicians, administrators and those who would seek to benefit from such exploitation – many of whom have never been teachers.  I commend Mr. Desrochers for having the courage to express his gratitude for teaching (and the treacherous terrain we currently navigate).  A simple acknowledgement of the hard work, long hours and little pay which teachers endure, indeed goes a long way. 

— Steven Michael Olguin

Public use in public library should be retained, expanded.

In response to “Library policy restricts public use” (Nov. 28 issue):

It is not final. It is far from final. We, the public, who support this university in so many various and great ways, will not stand to be treated so unfairly.

There are students who bring their kids to use a computer while they study. The child is a public person. There are “public” people who pay top dollar to audit classes who also could never do all their own work in a two-hour time frame. There are folks who come here to campus for the library computer use to do job research. There are public people who do work for students, such as writing and editing work. That takes a lot more than two hours.

I can’t imagine this, we come to games, events, we fund a lot of things here, such as the screen at the stadium. We (go to) the shows, museums, galleries, we shop at the bookstore and other campus stores, we attend and enjoy so much. We buy food at the food court and other places (in) the student union. 

The library’s reasons are so-called “budget-need cuts” yet it is really a mess because the library is freezing cold due to excessively high levels of air conditioning. So, really, TEP is making a killing on that issue. Cut the air conditioning. Regulate the temperatures properly and the library would be in a lot better shape.

The public leaves now at 9pm daily, and there are hundreds of computers not even in use overnight. Not every single student stays up all night long.

Many public folks cannot afford a laptop, either. One idea is to have it available for a public person to check out a laptop, like they already have for students.

— Deborah Wilcox