A handy solution

The recent kerfuffle regarding the preservation of the farm campus of the Children’s Home (“Nature in limbo,” Nov. 25) fortunately has a handy solution. The Land Conservancy should undertake a publicized, local fundraising campaign to raise at least $300,000 toward the project from corporations and individuals. Then the city of Winston-Salem should redirect its proposed $$200,000 donation to fund badly needed parks and recreation initiatives in low-income neighborhoods.

Citizens want the land preserved in an undeveloped state, especially considering its downtown proximity. Our local economy has been strong for a good while. We, as a city, have the funds. The conservancy, the community, and the City Council should step up now to make both parts of our proposal a reality.

Beverly J. Broyles and William C. Crawford

Winston-Salem

Women’s studies?

It is commendable that “Schools advance ethnic studies” (Nov. 20) via the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education, e.g., new courses like American Indian studies and Social Injustice: The Holocaust and Modern-Day Genocide.

What remains conspicuously absent are women’s studies. Surely, the patriarchal discrimination girls and women have faced throughout history, and contemporarily, are equally relevant. What about such courses as: the Women’s Suffrage Movement in America and Women Rights; the Impact of Sexism, Gender Discrimination and Stereotyping on Women; Advertising and Fashion Influences; Gender and Sexual Harassment; the Feminism Movement; Female Infanticide and Femicide; Sex Trafficking; Differences between Sex and Gender; Eating Disorders; Violence against Women and Domestic Violence; and a host of others. Both teenage boys and girls could benefit from such consciousness-raising courses.

It’s obvious that some of these are controversial, but with hope, a consensus could be gleaned for those that should be addressed in a curriculum. It is reasonable and humane that a committed group of women advocates — men and women — could narrow the list into a comprehensive semester course for one-hour credit. I would like my granddaughter, when she reaches high school, to have such an elective available for her. I would like to think readers with their daughters and granddaughters would agree.

I’ll conclude with a personal note: I took a Changing Sex Roles course at UNC-Charlotte decades ago, and it remains the most impactful course I ever experienced.

Peter Venable

Winston-Salem

Republican squabbles

As a “recovering Republican,” I flash back to a nightmare scenario where my parents argued constantly and seemed on the verge of divorce. Thankfully for my sibling and me, this was not the case, but it seems as though we “children of the Republic” are now witnessing squabbles in plain sight of us. More daunting for an adolescent is that it is even worse behind the scenes.

Perhaps the parents should have never married in the first place? Were they ever suited for the task of running a household, parenting or setting the right example?

I am further mystified that only Democrats seem to have a modicum of a moral compass, open-minded thoughts of their own or any sense of history, convention, rule of law, etc. Those scared and terrorized Republicans go to their room hoping the tornado will soon pass.

Will we have anything left and recognizable when we can finally crawl out from the basement of our damaged houses?

Bruce C. Anderson

Winston-Salem

Curious

Just out of curiosity, do opinion columnists Mark Thiessen and Hugh Hewitt live on this planet?

John Sheldon

Winston-Salem

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