The Chicken Connection
I’d like to thank Maureen Turner for writing an insightful and measured article (“Poultry Politics: Is the Valley ready for urban chickens?“, April 22) on a local topic that is so intrinsically linked to the national conversations on food politics and Latin-American immigration—perhaps two of the most “hot button” issues of our time. With that in mind, I’d like to add that the not-so-covert bigotry inherent in the response to attempts at allowing domestic chickens to be kept in Holyoke does not surprise me. We live in an industrial-capitalist society that systematically disconnects communities from their food sources and displaces them from their land base. Allowing people—not just those of Puerto Rican heritage, but all of us—to keep chickens in the urban environment would be a step toward empowering communities to reconnect with the ecological necessities of food production, and the embracing of cultural traditions that allows communities and families to exercise economic agency. This independence should be seen as consummately American.
Jeff Haven
Via email
Cover Campus Leaders, Not Losers
Having just seen the story of the 12 intoxicated people at UMass-Amherst for the umpteenth time since Saturday on the Monday 10 and 11 p.m. news, I have a question for all of the local media: Why do you only focus on the negative news on the UMass-Amherst campus?
There are 25,000 people on the Amherst campus and you tell the story of 12, and tell it over and over again. Yes, you cover the sports teams and their contests, but that is only a small part of the campus experience. Whenever you put 25,000 people in one place there will always be a negative story to tell. I hope you are not trying to tell us that on other campuses in and around Western Massachusetts on any given weekend night there are not 12 intoxicated people. How gullible do you think we are? You interview the unhappy residents of Amherst, but something tells me they knew the colleges were there before they were and that the “College Town Atmosphere” also factored into them settling there.
When are you going to repeatedly cover the negative on the private college campuses? Better yet, why not try something new: focus on the positive at the region’s colleges and universities. There are tremendous stories on each campus that need to be told, but you have to put down the police scanner and actually ask some questions. You will find stories of students leading other students to achieve great things; stories of science and technology that will change lives; stories of professors and coaches that constantly go above and beyond for their students; stories of alums whose fortunes came directly from their college experience and now are “paying back” their institutions with financial contributions.
Why not tell the story of the rising SAT scores and GPAs of the incoming freshmen or the tremendous growth in admissions applications at UMass-Amherst? Wouldn’t the taxpayers be proud to hear about the quality of the 24,988 students trying to get the most out of UMass-Amherst rather than the 12 people who weren’t smart enough to control their alcohol intake? I think they would.
Which local media outlet will break the mold, be different and tell the stories of the leaders on these campuses rather the stories of the losers?
Michael Sacenti
UMass Class of 1982
East Longmeadow
Editor’s note: The Valley Advocate has not, in fact, covered the story Mr. Sacenti refers to in his letter.
The End of the American Dream
I was a caseworker over a 30-year period and on several different occasions was involved in vocational/rehabilitation settings. The process involved interest/aptitude assessment of clients and training/rehab services directed toward the goal of job placement. We believed in people and opportunity in the places where I worked and had many positive experiences that reinforced such perspectives. I had no idea at the time that I lived in a “golden age” of optimism that would disappear in my lifetime. It no longer matters whether someone has skills, as there are minimal places where they can be exercised. In my field of social work, programs are minimal and poorly funded. In many other fields, opportunities are few and far between. The “American Dream” has been delivered by caesarean into the hands of a small percentage of the population. The optimism of the ’60s died when Wall Street titans started getting bonuses for losing billions. While we’ve been chasing Osama Bin Laden, guys in Armani suits took the entire country to the cleaners! And, I don’t believe we’ve seen the bottom yet.
Peter Rocke
Middlefield
