Here is a copy of a letter that was or was not sent to the ITEM (I can't tell) but was PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE so it was said. I am reprinting it here because I think it is an intelligent and reasonable expression of the issues at hand.
Dear Editors at the Daily Item,
Here are two compelling reasons for the school committee to continue LPS' relationship with Gordon College.
As a proud parent of three LPS students, I value the diversity - including religious - in the Lynn schools. I've known Guatemalan Pentecostals, Arabic traditional Muslims, and Africans of both of these persuasions as well as traditional Roman Catholic. I am saddened to think that the school committee would demonstrate via this vote that some future cooperation with a conservative mosque on English classes or with a Catholic non-profit on a service drive is not appropriate either. The opposite should be true in a pluralist society.
Second, in my role as a faculty member at Gordon, I have placed many students in tutoring and mentoring positions in Lynn in the high-need field of mathematics, with very positive feedback as to their professionalism. I have seen many students' attitudes and ideas changed dramatically with exposure to the rich diversity of this urban community. I would be very surprised if these changes did not include the issue of same-sex relationships.
Anyone serious about both pluralism and opening minds should instead support making very clear to *any* outside group the expectations of professionalism required, rather than telling a large number of Lynn residents that their religious traditions are no longer welcome, which would be the (perhaps unintended) effect of the proposed change.
Sincerely,
Karl-Dieter Crisman
Lynn
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