Thursday, January 11, 2007 Older Editions

LETTERS on WHEELS OF JUSTICE APPEARANCE

No answers given

Editor, Townsman:

I am writing to convey my outrage at the way Principal Peter Anderson conducted last Friday's gathering at Andover High. Three speakers from Wheels of Justice had 90 minutes to express their thoughts and video presentations, during which most of the audience was quiet and respectful. The question-and-answer session began with a woman only expounding her views; why didn't Anderson request she pose her question? Most troubling, though, was Anderson's lack of knowledge (or unwillingness to answer) regarding the whereabouts of students' personal information collected by Wheels of Justice (and without parental consent). The evening ended prematurely but appropriately: the audience arose in dismay at the lack of a fair and balanced meeting.

Debbie Ginsberg

163 Woburn St.

If we can't listen here, how can there be peace there?

Editor, Townsman:

As students who have gone through the Andover public school system, and as members of the Andover community, we were appalled at the behavior of some of the people in the crowd at the public "Wheels of Justice" presentation last Friday. We went to the presentation to try and learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, instead of walking out of the program with a better understanding of the issue, we left with the knowledge that the word respect does not mean much to many people.

In elementary school, respect is the No. 1 thing the teachers try to instill in children's heads. It appears that after people leave such an environment, the lesson is quickly erased from their minds. The people who are technically our elders were contradicting the lessons they taught us themselves on decorum.

We were outraged at the massive amount of people who were intent on preventing the hearing of the side Wheels of Justice had to present. The pro-Palestinian side is a change of pace from the opinion that is predominantly expressed in the media. In our high school careers, we have learned to hear both sides of the story before passing judgment; Friday night, we were prevented from doing so because of a majority who believed hearing an opposing viewpoint would "brainwash" us as youth.

As young adults nearing the age of voting (and having surpassed that age, in some cases), the fact that the information we consume is biased and unbalanced is disconcerting. The one advantage of attending this presentation was the student interest it sparked. Students are now motivated to learn more about this issue before forming an opinion.

We now understand why this conflict has gone on for so long without any peaceful resolutions. If a group of people thousands of miles away from the conflict cannot even stand to listen to the opposing arguments, how can we expect there to be peace?

We are glad to see that the majority of students in attendance acted peacefully and respectfully. This gives us hope for the future of our country and our world. We just wish that our parents' generation had the same open minds that this school system has taught us to have.

Brian McCall

4 Langley Lane

Colleen Cummings

36 Boston Road

APS should have backed Anderson

Editor, Townsman:

Our high school principal needed support during this recent Wheels of Justice program. What concerns me deeply is the school administration said no to the program in October, which is what we pay our leaders for. Then the town of Andover gets a lawsuit from the president of our local teachers union and the town is forced to spend more legal fees out of the school budget to defend the administration. All of a sudden, the administration and school caves in to the president of the teachers union.

The Wheels of Justice was a perfect time for the School Committee and superintendent of schools to support the high school principal and tell the president of the teachers union enough is enough, especially in a year where the School Committee is negotiating a teachers contract. I feel bad for all our elementary and middle school teachers who work real hard each day and what they do gets overshadowed by the recent behavior of certain members of our high school faculty.

I suggest the School Committee develop a clear policy on new programs or speakers being invited to visit our schools, so in the future the town does not burn through cash in legal fees. Furthermore, our school leaders should get a backbone in dealing with the president of the teachers union. People are wondering: who is really is in charge of our schools? Like our newly elected governor says, it is clear it is time for change in the governance of our schools and to turn the page.

A special note: my wife is an active member of a teachers union in Massachusetts.

Robert Coffill

7 Quail Run

Where does 'free speech' end and history class begin?

Editor, Townsman:

It is sad to see that those responsible for the instruction of our children in the Andover school system seem to regard that "free speech," however biased, must be permitted or be allowed in the school system as correct and proper.

The Andover school system should spend more time teaching history to the students instead of allowing or permitting groups to present views that can only be described as hatred of particular people or events.

History describes in great detail the terrible genocide of the Armenians by the Turks. The Turkish government is still in denial. Maybe the Andover High School could invite someone from the Turkish government to present their version of this "non-event."

History describes in great detail the terrible genocide of the Jews and others by Hitler and his German fanatics. The Jew "haters" deny that any of this could possibly have happened. "Free speech" cannot be used against documented history such as extermination camps and gas chambers.

Recent history describes the terrible genocide ongoing in Africa. The documentation of the events is horrifying and one wonders how another human can do this or, even worse, refuse to admit that such horror is being committed. I'm sure that the "free speech" fanatics will soon add this genocide to their agenda of "non-events."

Richard A. Pangonis

30 Linda Road

Adults modeled disrespectful behavior for students

Editor, Townsman:

I was appalled by the behavior of the adults in the audience at the Wheels of Justice presentation. Some adults (not all of them from Andover) were heckling the speakers to the point where Prinicpal Peter Anderson was forced to stop the presentation. It was incredibly disrepectful.

I thought the information that the group presented was important. We, as a society, almost never see the Palestinian civilian side of life. I know first-hand how hard life is on the West Bank. One may consider their presentation to be propaganda, but it is no more propaganda than the information we get in the media. It's simply the other side of the story.

I think high school students are smart enough to listen to people who give them the other side of a story and put it together with what they have learned in the classroom, at home and in the media, and make reasonable decisions. I am surprised by the parents in this community. Maybe their children will grow up not to agree with them, but it won't be because they were exposed to a group that shared information with them that they have never seen before.

I applaud Anderson for having the chutzpah to reinvite a group whose presence was opposed by a vocal minority in this community. It was a good lesson for all of us. We modeled how adults work out differences, at least in this town. It is up to each of us to decide if what we modeled was how we want our children to behave.

Thea Shapiro

93 Haverhill St.

Middle East debate raises town above cabana-gate

Editor, Townsman:

As I spent Friday Jan. 5, at my home I was glad to see the ground did not shake, there was no clap of thunder or bonfire and the Wheels of Justice evidently rolled in and out of Andover without absconding any of our youth. I am glad the educational administration is not afraid to stop that which it feels may be harmful and, even more important, can change positions and move forward when necessary.

I always supported the Wheels of Justice visit to Andover. Denying them smacked a little too loudly of book burning to me. Every good citizen who ever burned a book did so in the name of protecting our children. I applaud my brother-in-law, Len D'Innocenzo, who spoke out early and in print against allowing the Wheels of Justice to speak at the high school. I acknowledge Pam Lebowitz for her civic involvement and her social conscience, which she so openly and publicly defended. The best thing that came to town with the Wheels of Justice was discussion. I have gone toe-to-toe with friends, neighbors and relatives and the best part is, at the end of the day, we kissed goodbye and parted friends just like always.

I have two children at Andover High School and neither is enrolled in any of the classes to which the speakers were invited. But both of them now know who the Wheels of Justice are, and by listening to and watching the public discussion, my one-on-one discussions and our dinner table discussions, they are better educated.

Even if you believe the Wheels of Justice are the devils incarnate, I say, "Bring 'em on!" There is no better place I would like my children to meet the devil than within the safe confines of AHS. Watching my children drive away in a car with no adult scares the heck out of me. The thought of dropping them off to live at a college or university 100 or 200 or 2,000 miles from home sends me to my bed with a bad case of the vapors. But I want my children to drive and I want my children to make their way in the world and if they do not learn to look the devil in the eye and recognize him for what he is, they will not survive.

Both my children are fully capable of thinking and are at the age where they must learn to judge things for themselves. I do not believe there is any greater conflict today than that which resides in the Middle East. It is a complicated, complex and long standing battle. Men and women have been fighting for home and faith since they have had home and faith. But no peace was ever achieved through ignorance. Students like my children (God help us!) are the future leaders who must find the resolution to conflicts like those we face today. If they were not allowed to face the most radical viewpoints head on, within an educational environment, where would you have this education take place?

Thanks again to the teachers who brought the group to town, the administration that allowed them to speak, and the friends, neighbors, relatives and civic leaders who raised us from the sleepy upper middle class white- bread community whose biggest debate revolved around a pool cabana to a civic-minded civil rights-debating group of intellectuals ready to protect our children from the devil and resolve a 2000 year conflict in the process.

Jamie D'Innocenzo

Ballardvale Road

Collecting names part of lesson?

Editor, Townsman:

Last Friday, I was treated to a lecture concerning the complex issues surrounding American foreign policy and the Middle East given by a zoologist, a science consultant and an amateur rapper. Since the session ended prematurely, I still have a few unanswered questions. What qualifies these individuals to teach such complex issues in public schools? Who was responsible for previewing and fact-checking their data before they came? (Hamas?)

Why was this group permitted to hand out propaganda to, as well as collect the names and contact information of, our underaged students? Does it bother anyone else that dozens of "anti-Zionists" were imported from Somerville for a self-described "Battle for Andover?" And could somebody please explain to me how the never-ending "Rap Song of Death" fits into the lesson plan? Surely the Andover High School social studies (and physics?) department can do better. Unless maybe (gasp!) this is more about promoting someone's self-aggrandizing political agenda than it is about providing a solid education. In that case, three cheers to teachers Ron Francis, Pat Patterson and Tom Meyers for a job well done. I couldn't help but notice the support their cause has gotten from National Vanguard, "a group of racially-conscious Whites who seek to maintain the cultural and biological qualities of their race," through eugenics. (Look it up, kids!)

Vanguard relates to the AHS curriculum in much the same way as Wheels of Justice and folks there certainly understand First Amendment rights. I'll bet representatives of this organization would be thrilled to lecture at AHS. What's to stop our teachers from inviting them next?

Alice Blaine Jaffe

Abbot Street

Francis testimonial

Editor, Townsman:

I am outraged at the smear attacks printed in the Townsman about Dr. Ron Francis, a terrific teacher at Andover High School.

I am a resident and have students in the schools. Francis teaches many important and advanced courses. One of my sons truly enjoyed his electrical engineering class, one of the few classes of its kind in Massachusetts. The course was very demanding and required a teacher with the kinds of applied and theoretical knowledge possessed by Francis. Such a course requires extensive lab, classroom time and after-school consultation. My son told me he never knew Francis had any views on the Middle East until he heard about the letters in the Townsman.

I believe Francis is an asset to Andover and one of the many reasons I am proud to send my children to the high school. Also in my opinion, the printing of letters that contain personal information on Francis, such as the town in which he lives, is a shameful practice. What he does at home and where he lives is none of our business.

Bob O'Leary

7 Stevens Circle

Not once did speakers mention terrorism or bombers

Editor, Townsman:

The first thing that went wrong at Friday's night Wheels of Justice presentation was Peter Anderson's management of the event. Anderson was asked to move the event to the Collins Center because there were so many people leaning along the wall, standing several deep in the back, and leaning on the stacks in the school library.

He declined and didn't feel it was necessary to move over to the Collins Center because it was too big. I suggest if everyone was seated and the event properly moderated the event would have continued with civil discourse. Even better, if there was an alternative viewpoint debating the Wheels of Justice then we would truly have seen our freedom of speech in action.

Not once did the presenters mention suicide bombers, terrorism, Hamas, Arafat and his stealing of millions of dollars from the Palestinians. Zionism and Zionists were the words of the evening. As Martin Luther King said, "When people criticize Zionists they mean Jews. You are talking anti-semitism."

I was sickened at the speakers' lies and distortions. I was only sorry I didn't walk out with the gentleman towards the beginning of the presentation who said something to the effect these are all lies and you should all walk out!

Iris Adams

1 Hickory Lane