To the Editor:
My name is Jeff Etienne. I am the man whose article was in the paper last week [11 October: “Crime and punishment on campus”]. The article misrepresented me and gave out way too much information about my case and situation.
My picture is on the front cover of the issue for everyone to see. People automatically pick up the paper beacause they recognize me, and the picture makes me look like a criminal. I am far from a criminal and I don’t want people to get that idea. It makes it seem a lot worse than it really is. It almost makes me seem like I’m worse than a criminal, and more like a murderer or something.
I have had alot of people come up to me and question me about the article. It’s not like I’m hard to miss when my picture is on the front page and on the inside of the paper right next to the artice clear as day. It’s hard for me to go about my everyday life when all I think about is “who’s going to come up to me today and ask me about the artice or who’s going to make a comment to me about it?”
When I chose to do the interview I did it to clear my name and to be represented in a positive way, and it turned out to be negative. The article also failed to include my apology to Ronald Favis.
Jeff Etienne
Criminology, Freshman
To the Editor:
The article by Joseph Thompson on page three of October 18th’s Free Press, detailing the “crime and punishment” experiences of Jeff Etienne was an overly dramatic and unprecedented piece that succeeded only in reinforcing racial stereotypes as they relate to the committing of crimes by young black men. We were astonished by its presence.
We cannot recall a time when a full page was devoted to the specifics of a crime committed by a student. Additionally, we cannot recall a time when the picture of a student-criminal was printed in conjunction with any reporting on the crime. In fact, the only information on crime that we can find in the Free Press on any given week is in the “Crime on Campus” log. We personally find computer theft, alcohol and drug violations, assault and rape charges, and the creepy man who was taking pictures of female students on campus to be far more detrimental to the general wellbeing and deserving of reporting.
Still, the sheer size and depth of the article on Etienne blew us away. The crime he committed was credit card fraud-and to that end he only charged $85 to the stolen card number AND he confessed to the crime.
Whether it was the intention of the editorial staff or not, we find it appalling that you chose exploit a black student who committed such a minor offense. Your prominent picture of Jeff Etienne perpetuates serious racial stereotypes of young black men as the primary committers of crime. Perhaps that was not the original intent, but certainly no thought was given to the ways in which this article might be construed by others.
Your choice of reporting was offensive and careless and we hope that, in the future, you’ll more carefully consider the context and urgency of the topics on which you report.
Steffan Morin
Women’ Studies, Junior
Janine Gorham
Undeclared, Sophomore
To the Editor:
This letter is in response to Dudly Greely’s quote, “It couldn’t have been done without the efforts of the students. This is the result of a lot of hard work on their part.” [Footprint, Oct. 11]
I just want to say that not only couldn’t it have happened, but it WOULDN’T have happened, without the hard work of students dedicated to clean energy and sustainable living. And as you may know from the article, Sarah Ferriter, and the students who voted for the $1 fee, didn’t get fully what we wanted either. But we did get a local business to start offering a product it otherwise wouldn’t have offered. While this is progress for Portland, we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us.
I’m working with Envirocitizen, the same group that Sarah Ferriter worked with to get biodeisel used on campus, and we’re building a voter bloc on campus.
You may have seen some of our stickers around, saying “Vote Environment” and I encourage everyone to do just that. In case you are wondering how to do that, the University Student Activists released their voter guide for the town of Gorham last week, at Chamber Your vote. It’s a comprehensive guide to all municipal and state offices for the town of Gorham. You can see where all the local politicians stand on clean energy and American Made fuels, as well as other issues.
In addition to just voting, there is so much that we all can do: on this campus, in our communities, and in our homes. We need to be the change we want to see.
Sarah Ferriter and the folks she worked with are proof of that.
Please on November 2nd and beyond, keep this in mind.
Heather Stanley
Women’s Studies
Freshmen
To the Editor:
In response to an article in the Oct. 11 2004 issue of The Free Press, I must say that it is pretty pathetic that Christopher R. Rizzo, a columnist for your paper, cannot express his opinion without using profanity. I assume that he is a student of USM and find it rather disappointing that he represents what this institute of higher learning has to offer. Intelligent people learn to use language that conveys their opinion without offending the listener or in this case the reader. In the future, I no longer need to read beyond this writer’s name to realize that I am wasting my time.
Bob Irish
Junior, Industrial Technology, Environmental Health and Safety
To the Editor:
Hurrah! Let’s hear it for the free and open exchange of ideas at USM. Isn’t it odd that at an institution of higher learning, a place where the pursuit of knowledge is a major goal, that campaign materal for President Bush disappears from the Bailey Hall bulletin boards while Kerry propaganda remains unmolested? It would appear the liberal Democrats on campus couldn’t accept the idea people have thoughts different from their own. This does not say much for openness and divergent thinking in Gorham.
Sad, isn’t it?
W. C. Monroe, Graduate Student
To the Editor:
I heard this pundit on the news radio talking about how bears needed to be “harvested” as if they were fruit, lest they be in our backyards, attacking our pets and neighbors and eating out of our garbage cans.
Suddenly it occurred to me, the problem stems really from the rising human population.
We’re encroaching on the wild territory and we’re running out of space. Somebody has to do something about the rising human being population. We need to drop the ban on hunting human beings. The population of the United States doubles roughly every 20 years. Some may call harvesting by other, divisive, words that are only used to frighten you- the voter. Some call this “murder” or “being mauled by a bear.” Don’t be fooled by these divisive tactics.
I figure that in order to maintain the population, we need to harvest about 50,000 human beings a year. If 50,000 humans were mauled by bears each year, I think we could keep the human problem under control.
We have human beings living in our cities, roaming the streets at night in the cold, they’re going through out garbage looking for food, they’re attacking our children and neighbors. Some would call these people “the homeless” or “the poor” or even” criminals.” This only normalizes their existence. The danger is right therein our own backyards, and it’s time we woke up and realized how bad the problem is, and something be done about it.
I can’t stress enough that harvesting the poor is for their own good, not an act of cruelty. They’re running low on resources, it’s only a matter of time before they turn to eating you or your children. I hope that you keep my proposal in mind on November 2nd.
Asher Platts
Music Major
Senior