Sound Off for Feb. 11, 2007

Batch Data Processor | Saturday, Feb 10 2007 9:20 PM

Last Updated: Saturday, Feb 10 2007 9:26 PM

Reader: I am writing in response to two articles your newspaper has published recently, both by columnist Robert Price: one dealing with a proposed boundary change, and the other dealing with the fallout from the first.

I would like to express thanks for printing those flagrant displays of his lack of professionalism, because they have proved to be a lightning rod by which Plan 2 has gathered support. His generalizations about demographics regarding different schools as well as his responses to readers' complaints about those unfounded (and frankly, dumb) comments reveal the foolishness of his argument.

In my AP English Language class at West High School, we are learning about logical fallacies, and Mr. Price's articles serve as examples for multiple ones: a red herring argument (for targeting parents not involved), proof by example fallacy (by claiming that since the majority that showed up were against the plan, the majority of parents in the district were too), appeals to fear (lower test scores) and pity (by making his cause sound noble, and "all for nothing"), etc.

I hope Mr. Price learns from his mistakes of using emotions over logic, and swears off hyperbole until he learns what major effects it can have on his audience.

-- Patrick Arvizu

Here is Robert Price's response:

I'm prepared to concede this: My reference to West High parents staying home to watch "Sports Center" was, as I've previously noted, off the mark. Does it also qualify as a red herring? I don't know, but certainly it was not part of my central argument, which now seems to be getting scant attention. There's an irony for you: Several published rebuttals have focused on my ill-conceived hyperbole rather than the substance of my case. That in itself would seem to constitute a red herring. But that's my fault, I guess. I am mystified by your claim that I'm guilty of "proof by example fallacy (by claiming that since the majority that showed up were against the plan, the majority of parents in the district were too)," and "appeals to fear (lower test scores)."

In fact, with respect to the first one, I argued that we can learn nothing concrete from the absence of speakers. The only evidence we have is from those who spoke, and in this instance -- for whatever reason -- that was one-sided. So, in a sense, you have that part exactly backward.

With respect to the second alleged fallacy, I mentioned academic performance (not low test scores per se) only in support of the fact that West needs/deserves an infusion, a fact all parties, including the district, seem to agree on. There is nothing for anybody to "fear" if the revamped West enrollment area will be achieving higher test scores than both "old" West and "old" BHS, as one model I've seen indicates. Indeed, if this were just about sending one's kids to the school with the best possible test scores, the Stockdale-Laurelglen people would be best served going along with the committee's final recommendation.

But it is about much more than that. It's about striving for equity among all the schools in the district.

As for your "pity" charge, I'll take 'em any way I can get get 'em.

Reader: I think you should have published a picture of the Stockdale High School team. It makes no sense that you publish three pictures of the Cesar Chavez team and none of the winning team.

You have no idea the amount of hours and hours that these kids spent studying. I think that a picture in the paper would have been nice.

-- Pilar V. Akins

Reader: Stockdale High School recently earned top honors in two notable competitions, Mock Trial and Academic Decathlon. The Stockdale students who competed in these events worked hard to triumph over some extremely talented competition. Their victories were truly an accomplishment that deserved to be recognized. While I was happy that The Californian acknowledged Stockdale's successes, I was disappointed to see that the articles did not feature one single picture of these hardworking students. Instead, The Californian featured two or three pictures of competitors from other schools.

I do not begrudge any of the other participants' recognition for their hard work during these competitions, but I believe that at least one of the pictures included in those articles should have featured the winners of the event. It was a disservice to the students, parents, and teachers associated with Stockdale High School to omit photographs of Stockdale's victories in The Californian's write-up.

-- Kara Doyle

Jenner: We know very well how many hours these students work in preparation for these competitions, and we respect their commitment. We think it's important to celebrate their efforts, and that's why we cover these events. Each year we devote a great deal of staff time and space on our news pages to events such as the Mock Trial, Academic Decathlon, We the People, Spelling Bee, and so on. We typically will send both a reporter and photographer, although it's impossible for us to station a photographer there for the entirety of the event.

In the case of the Academic Decathlon, photographer John Harte attended the final round of the event. He took photos of students from all three of the teams who made it that far. The photos of the student from Cesar Chavez who showed some emotion as she answered the questions were by far the most interesting. John positioned himself to photograph the Stockdale students as the winning team was announced, but the team showed no emotion whatsoever and his photos reflected that.

In the end, editors chose to publish the most interesting photos, and they happened to be of a student from another school.

The stories we published are replete with references to Stockdale and we listed the names of the students involved. I have no problem with the practice of running the most interesting photo, and don't feel our omission of photos of Stockdale students was a "disservice."

Reader: While I certainly appreciate Camille Gavin's efforts (and Danielle Belton's previous efforts) in furthering the enculturation of Bakersfield, I am furious at The Californian's apparent lack of appreciation for the fine arts in the LOCAL setting.

I'm even more angry that despite other similar letters of complaint, the editors fail to recognize the importance of a sophisticated local arts section. You cover sports to no end, and even the latest Britney "controversy" gets higher billing than a brilliant local play or orchestra concert. Not only is promoting the local arts scene a great way to generate a more positive attitude and sense of pride among Bakersfield residents, it helps our city appear more attractive to potential residents and provides the community with more information about high-quality, often inexpensive entertainment.

The other weekend I attended both "The Graduate" at Bakersfield Community Theatre and "Sea Marks" at The Empty Space (which, to Gavin's credit, did receive as adequate a review as possible, given her limited column space). I was disappointed at the lack of audience members at both productions, because they were quite frankly two of the best plays I've seen in my five years of living here, with quality acting and several stand-out performances. I implore you: PLEASE highlight local artists, productions, and performers. Our city needs it.

-- E. Ramirez

Jenner: We list every single theater production in our calendars multiple times. We highlight photos from these productions whenever we can, and Camille Gavin does a great job of informing our readers about activity on the local performing arts scene.

Eye Street Editor Jennifer Self is developing a plan to give local theaters more attention with user-submitted previews and reviews. We can and will do more, but we have no plans to assign a staff reporter to review every production in Bakersfield.

I've learned that no matter how much effort we invest in some local topics, it is never enough to satisfy the ardent participants.