Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / March 29, 2000, edition 1 / Page 6
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Meredith Herald March 29, 2000 6 Campus Opinion Revamp ways of agriculture From the Not a day goes by ihai we do not consume something lhal was made possible by Iradiiional agriculture. We enjoy salads, bread, ricc, fruit and ccreal. But do we ever think about the costs of bring ing us our sandwiches or pizza? Traditional agriculture requires pesti cides, herbicides, fertilizers and other Editor chemicals that don’t stay on land very I 1 long, running into groundwater instead. Traditional agriculture requires tilling the soil to prepare for each season’s planting. But tilling creates lopsoil erosion, which costs the U.S. $44 billion per year to deal with, The nutrient-rich soil washes into rivers, preventing oxygen and sunlight from penetrating the water’s surface. Needless to say, the chemicals and the erosion cause problems for the entire ecosystem. If we don’t already think about those costs, Wes Jackson wants us to. Founder of the Land Institute in Salina, K.S., the heart of the Breadbasket of America, Jackson will visit Meredith's campus next week. And he has some ideas about the way we rely on and use traditional agriculture. In.stead of traditional agriculture, he calls it annual monoculture because the grains and plants must be replanted each year and only one type of plant is grown per field. And replanting means tilling, which means erosion. And growing non-indigenous crops means chemicals, which means runoff. But Jackson and the rcscarchers at the Land Institute know that there is a better way to grow the grains and crops we depend on for our consumption and for livestock’s consumption. He calls it perennial polyculture and Natural Systems agricul ture, and when he comes next Tuesday and Wednesday, he will describe the benefits of perennial polyculture. Until then, think about how we use and abuse agriculture. Can we do better? Maybe Jackson himself holds the key. He will present the spring Honors convocation in the amphithe ater next Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. and Wedne.sday in Jones Chapel at 10 a.m. Meredith Herald Editor in Chief...,Leslie Maxwell News Editor. Christina Holder Copy Fxlitor......... ....Sara Pareons Photographe-r.. Jenny Altier, Abby Speficer Reporters .....Jenny Aluer, Alexia Andrews, Leesha Austin. Jenni Drady, Jenny Cosia. Stephanie Jordan, Nikki Norris, Jessica Parrish, Betsy Rhame. Kristin Schneider, Joni Smith. Harmony Strong. Tracy Sumner. Lora Tillman, T^nesha Williams, Lisa Wilson Distribution Lora Tillman, Alexia Andrews, Jenni Brady Subscriptions Nikki Norris & Jessica Parrish Faculty Adviser. ..Dr. Rebecca Duncan Editorial Polky; The Meredith Herald is published by the College throughout the academic year. The paper is funded by the College and through independent advertising. The opinions e?ipressed in the editorial columns d«> not necessarily reflect those of the college administra tion. faculty, or student body. If you have an article ide-i for the staff, c(mtact the office at 760- 2824, You can also e-fnai; * paper at maxwJll@meredith.edu>. All ideas will be considerec hb may not n««ssatily be used. Campus forum Students clarify their position To the editor; We group of students recent ly wrote to the Herald (Mar. 8) expressing our opinion regard ing a specific book proposal written by Dr. Clyde Frazier Our letter stated that we believed that opinions put forth in the proposal were demean ing to women and were con trary to Meredith’s stated goal of “educating women to excel.” In the Mar. 22 issue of the Herald, Dr. Frazier replied to our letter, accusing us of “undermining academic free dom” and of charging him with “wrongdoing.” Nothing could be further from the truth. We did not, nor do we now, accuse Dr. Frazier of “wrong doing.” Nor did we, as his let ter implied, call for his resigna tion. Nor did wc, as another let ter to the Herald charged, call Dr. Frazier a “chauvinist." We did, however, affirm Dr. Fra zier’s right to express his opin ion —as we affirm our right to express ours. Academic free dom implies open discourse between mutually respectful parties. We have been, and will continue to be, respectful of Dr. Frazier and urge him to adhere to the same standard. Dr. Frazier said that “it is impossible to understand how anyone could really be offend ed” by this book proposal. Per haps we can clarify (his issue. In the introductory section. Dr, Frazier says, ‘The toler ance for petty tyrants who rule their wives and children, and as many other men as (hey can manage, with callous disdain is gone.” In Section 11,4, Dr. Frazier stated, “This fundamental reproductive difference has shaped their biological evolu tion and is the root of other dif ferences between the sexes,” He continues, ‘The common pattern across species is that males are ardent and females are coy. Cross-cultural compar isons, survey research and experimental evidence all point to the same pattern in humans.” In Section II.5, Dr Frazier states, ‘The importance of cul ture not only distinguishes humans from other animals, it is even more important for men than for women because their lives are less profoundly shaped by biology.” In Section II.5, Dr. Frazier states, “Coming of age rituals for girls are far less elaborate and demanding, they tend to be celebrations rather than tests and girls arc rarely subjected to the kind of pain that boys rou tinely face.” Later in the same section. Dr. Frazier says. “Failure to ‘be a man' is not simply a personal shortcoming, it endangers the society as a whole.” In Section 11.6, Dr. Frazier seems to be saying that women’s sexual freedom is the cause of men’s unwillingness to take responsibility for their children. Later in the same section, he seems to say that women must publicly defer to men in order for men to participate in family relationships. In Section II.7, Dr. Frazier states, “Motherhood is more reliable because it is firmly rooted in biology. F-'atherhood is less certain becau.se it is largely ba.sed on virtue.” I.ater in the same sec(ion he says, “Masculinity is also inherently moral because i( is sacrificial." He continues, “Women sac rifice themselves for their fam ilies but men have been expect ed to make sacrifices for the good of society as a whole.” S(ill later, in this section, he says, ‘The pressure to adhere to cultural expectations about gender are [sic] stronger for men than for women. Both sexes judge a man who fails to live up to gender norms more negatively than a woman. In Part III.8, Dr. Frazier says, ‘To a significant extent, the contemporary rejection of masculinity reflects our cul ture’s rejection of virtue itself." In the Appendix, Dr. Frazier seems to be saying that mathe matical ability is a “ma.sculine” characteristic. We hope these examples will help clarify the possibility that some women find this book proposal demeaning and that the work raises issues with which some women (and some men) might disagree. We look forward to continued, reason able discussion of this topic. Sincerely, Maggie Tucker Hannah Weber Lyda Fontes Missy Neff Elizabeth Pegram Lyn Tucker Jennifer House Lora Tillman Anna Hopkins Faculty member supports students Dear Editor: Students in the history and politics department have taken a public stand against the views expressed in Professor Clyde Frazier's paper. “Is Masculini ty Obsolete?” Their objections have provoked an angry response from Dr. Frazier, who complained in last week’s Her ald that their comments violat ed the spirit of academic free dom. As a fellow member of the H-P faculty. I am writing to contradict Frazier's claim. The students have conducted their protest honorably, presenting their objections directly to Dr. Frazier from the outset. Rather than attempting to preempt debate, the students have encouraged others to read and reflect on the paper. In the Please see FORUM page seven Letters to the Editor Policy: Everyone in the Meredith community is invited and encouraged to write a letter to the editor. All published letters must be typewritten with a contact name, address, and telephone number.All letters must be signed by the author in order to be published. The Herald reserves the right to place any other article submissions on file until needed or to choose not to print them. The Herald also has the right to edit submissions for space restrictions, grammar and style. Opinions expressed in the letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of the editorial staff.
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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March 29, 2000, edition 1
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