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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, November 3, 2002

Letters to the Editor

Other perils besides cell phones in cars

I have spent a fair amount of time sign-waving for various candidates I support during this election campaign. During that time I've watched a lot of drivers.

What has struck me is that there are really no more of them talking on cell phones than there are those eating, putting on make-up, talking animatedly with another person in the car, fussing with their children, reading (yes, they actually read while they drive) and generally not paying attention to the task of driving.

So why the constant focus on prohibiting cell phone use in vehicles? If you make cell phone use illegal, you should also shut down fast-food drive-through windows and prohibit children from riding in cars altogether.

I would suggest that stuffing your face with a burger that's dripping special sauce, onions, pickles and lettuce (on a sesame seed bun) into your lap is far more distracting than a cell phone. And a tourist with a map is a special kind of hazard, so maybe we should ban car rentals, too.

David Young


Reader misinterpreted comments on Arroyo

This is in response to reader Ted Calvero's Oct. 25 letter regarding my supposedly underestimating President Arroyo's intelligence in my comments to The Honolulu Advertiser on the Philippine president's visit to Hawai'i.

There were rumors a few days before she was to leave Manila that the trip might be canceled because of the recent bombings. I was commenting on a hypothetical situation. If the crisis escalates, would it be wise for her to leave? I said that in such a situation, she would be criticized whatever she does. If she canceled, some would interpret that as caving in to the terrorists. If she left anyway, others would see that as unwise or ill-advised. She would get flak either way. That's what I merely said.

My comments had absolutely nothing to do with underestimating the president's intelligence, which I actually hold in very high regard. Calvero has unfortunately misinterpreted my comments, and I'd like to refer him to an extensive article I wrote about President Arroyo in the latest issue of the "Fil-Am Courier," a Filipino community publication.

Mr. Calvero should learn to read more carefully and not be too quick to make uninformed judgments.

Belinda A. Aquino
Director, Center for Philippine Studies UH-Manoa


Average class size higher than stated

With all due respect to kapuna Roy L. Benham's commentary on Oct. 25, I felt the need to correct one of his "facts."

He notes that "the average classroom consists of some 25 to 30 students." If only that "fact" were true. Although our teacher's contract states our class average will be one teacher to 26.15 students, that is not the case in the real world of teaching.

What the public fails to realize is that many principals and schools take teacher positions and do what is called "cockaroaching." Positions that should be used for regular classroom teaching are often used to provide services that the DOE will not provide.

For example, the DOE and Legislature want schools to have technology, yet they do not provide a school-level position for a technology coordinator. Thus principals are forced to "cockaroach" or steal a position and use that position to service the technology needs of the school.

Every single school in the DOE uses "cockaroaching" as a way to address needs. However, the very negative result is a much higher average class size. Some teachers are teaching with as many as 35 to 40 students in a classroom.

So the next time the public complains about class size, maybe it needs to also complain about the lack of support positions at the school level.

Andrea Eshelman
Teacher, Pearl City High School


Balanced meals, exercise important

I just read your Oct. 23 article regarding "Folks in Hawai'i too fat." Have you ever noticed the people you see jogging or walking for exercise fit into two categories: young, thin types and elderly Japanese folks. Where are the rest of us roly-polies?

I guess our laid-back, relaxed Island attitude gets us into trouble. Hangin' with our friends while eating plenty ono food puts on the pounds. Visitors from the Mainland register shock when they see the size of a Hawai'i plate lunch and the numerous servings of starch. Two scoops rice, mac salad, bread and greasy meat, all in one meal.

I am only 14 years old, but I think that most overweight people just don't care. Or maybe they just don't know how to control their eating habits. Young people especially haven't been taught the importance of eating vegetables and less starch.

For most of us, developing self-discipline takes a miracle. But apart from that, I think we need to educate our Hawai'i families about the merits of exercise and balanced meals.

Esther Wallace


Fishery expert saw shark tour as positive

We recently had John Naughton on our North Shore Shark Adventures Tour. He is the Pacific islands environmental coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, or, what he likes to be called, a fishery biologist. Here are some of his comments, made after the tour, to KITV Channel 4 News:

  • "I think you guys have a good, safe operation going with minimal impacts on the environment."
  • "You are well offshore (three miles plus), well away from any recreational diving and surfing sites."
  • "The major shark species attracted to your operation are sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and galapagos (C. galapagensis). Neither of these species are particularly dangerous to man."
  • "You are operating in an area already utilized by commercial crab trap fishermen who discard old bait and bycatch at the site. Therefore, the small amount of palu (chum) you introduce during your dives has little impact on the area."
  • "I noticed a strong educational component in your operation, with both you and Chris discussing with your passengers the importance of sharks to our coastal ecosystem."

Joe Pavsek
Owner, North Shore Shark Adventures


Anti-war movement needs to refocus

As one of the marchers in the Oct. 26 "Not in Our Name" demonstration against U.S. policy toward Iraq and as a peace activist since 1964, I have a couple of observations.

Megaphones and "anti"-anything banners tend to marginalize the peace movement. By opposing something, you give it credence. Instead, try a positive approach.

Try advancing our similarities. Try to strengthen the common bond that makes all of humanity into a single spiritual organism. I refused to join the Vietnam Veterans Against the War unless they called themselves the Vietnam Veterans for Peace.

In the middle of Saturday's parade, instead of chanting slogans, people around me started singing "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me."

Let's begin this new movement all over again. Do not make it an anti-war movement; make it a peace movement. It will be stronger and it will grow faster, I assure you.

Don Child