To the editor -- The May 9 editorial asked whether Central Washington University's "house is in order." The answer is an unequivocal "yes."
All large organizations face daily challenges. President Jerilyn McIntyre and her administrative team are addressing these difficult challenges effectively. As a result, the university is thriving.
CWU's teacher preparation program earned continuing accreditation with conditions last October. A recent site visit by a state team was positive and we hope will result in state approval this month.
Last year, the university responded quickly to the discovery that two former employees had misused credit cards. Tighter accountability measures are in place and the University Relations division is under new leadership.
Recently, the state auditor forwarded a personnel complaint to the Board of Trustees, but admitted not knowing whether it had any merit. Now it appears this issue was resolved in 2007 -- though perhaps not to the satisfaction of the complainant.
Over the years, valued people have come and gone at CWU. But it is a testament to the high quality of our faculty and administrators that they are heavily recruited by other organizations. The truth is that since President McIntyre came to CWU, we've had an incredible period of stability and growth.
SID MORRISON
Trustee, Central Washington University
False pledge
To the editor -- Re: J.R. Labbe's May 3 column, "Singing with right hand over heart." If so moved, I would cavort around a bonfire under the moon and beat the ground while emitting guttural hoots. Witnesses would be shocked, amused, confused, concerned and even hostile.
Yet it is normal to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. I stopped participating when I evaluated it. Allegiance "to the republic for which it stands," is backward: Our representative government owes allegiance to the citizenry, not the other way around. "One nation" isn't true: There are over 500 federally recognized sovereign nations within the United States.
We aren't "indivisible." The fear and prejudice that plague this land are evidence of our inability to tolerate others of different ethnicity, politics, customs, language, music, religion, lifestyles and whatever else we can think of. Apparently, being different is considered wrong. Consider "liberty and justice for all." The amount of liberty and justice one receives is proportional to one's socioeconomic status. The rich and powerful can do just about anything they want, the poor are victimized or forgotten.
People are upset because Obama sang the national anthem with his arms by his side. Get over it. You have your freedom of expression, others have theirs, and I have mine.
FRANK A. CHANDLER
Yakima
Fight indifference
To the editor -- Jewish writer Elie Wiesel observed, "The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it is indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it is indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it is indifference."
The Pew Research Center survey shows individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal leaners. The conservative tends to believe it is about hard and good performance. They tend not to concern themselves with life's injustices and as a result their lives are happier.
It is interesting in Matthew 25, the honest question of those who were condemned to eternal fire was, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?"
Over the years, two statistics have stood out about Yakima: high unemployment and high crime. For the last two years both unemployment and crime rates have dropped dramatically.
The question for us in the future, will our concern be focused on us individually having a good job and be indifferent to our community's unemployment rate? Or, will we pay attention and try to keep Yakima's unemployment rate low?
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