Letters, 10/11: Doesn’t sound like cheating

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Apparently Neal Obermeyer (cartoon, Oct. 5) learned something entirely different than I did from the article on alleged cheating at the dental college. As a teacher with 38 years of experience, I read the article carefully and concluded that students were learning the material and successfully passing exams; they just weren’t learning in the manner some professors had in mind.

I applaud Dean John Reinhardt’s move to publish the contents of the notebook online, making the information available to all students. That should have taken care of anyone’s concerns. The real rub seemed to be that students were making money for a hog roast by publishing test information.

It wasn’t Nebraska College of Dentistry students who received credit for clinical procedures they didn’t perform, and the article never suggested that students graduated without learning what they needed to know to be good dentists.

I don’t see an ethical problem here. I see students eager to learn what they need to know for their chosen profession, and a few professors who for whatever reason balk at facilitating the learning process.

Kathy Hegler, Cortland

Deleted from society

At 56 years old, I feel obsolete. I write thank you notes and letters. I don’t have access to e-mail. I am a snail.

But even worse is people don’t respond. I don’t hear back, “Oh, I got your note.” They don’t call and say thank you for the card, the letter, the gesture. I do not hear back via phone, nor card, nor letters. I guess I got deleted.

And nobody bothered to inform me. Should I stop being nice, i.e., buying greeting cards and stamps and writing tablets and envelopes? Is being nice an expense on my part that I need to dispose with doing?

Susi Eddens, Lincoln

Thank you for phone use

The newspaper carrier who delivers between Washington and Garfield streets on South 11th Street responded admirably to a customer’s demand of whether she had a cell phone.

I had a flare-up that put my own phone out of reach and was going to try to wake a neighbor at 5:30 a.m. The carrier not only let me call but also ascertained how long it would take for help to arrive and that I was OK with that. This is not a job expectation, and I am very grateful.

Shirley A. Clark, Lincoln

Positive movies buried

I have many complaints about the media, but for now I focus on entertainment coverage. The most vile movies get much space and good recommendations, while those with positive messages and role models get negative comments or are ignored entirely.

The most recent example is the movie “Fireproof.” It opened at The Grand for one week. Its extension of time was to be dictated by whether it garnered enough attendance. The Journal Star barely mentioned it, which would have totally escaped me if I hadn’t been looking for it, having heard about it on Christian radio. I am sure many people would have gone if they had known about it.

The prevailing culture of trying to protect us from Christian values by declaring their positive actions and messages “religious,” and therefore unacceptable, while promoting almost anything that is deleterious is making itself increasingly evident in the behavior of almost every segment of our society.

If I were sentenced to watch for a month all the movies and programs that are highly touted, I probably wouldn’t make it that long.

Martha Greene, Lincoln