To the editor:

I would like to respond to Chuck Woodling’s Nov. 7 column, “City youth deserve own place.”

I was raised on the Haskell campus in the 1960s when there was employee housing; my father was head of the guidance department, my mother was a registered nurse at the student health center. Mr. Woodling’s reference to Haskell Memorial Stadium as a “goat farm” is offensive. Haskell has served as a home to several Native students. As a former teacher and administrator in the Lawrence public schools, I would never refer to any part of an individual’s home as a goat farm. I respect the dignity and integrity of individuals and truly believe that no one in this world has the right to degrade another individual. It shows insensitivity and lack of understanding.

Mr. Woodling states that because Haskell is strapped for funding, they value the $3,000 rental fee per game. In actuality, the $2,300 fee only pays for the cost of electricity per game, $700 pays for clean-up – not a profit for Haskell. As former principal of South Junior High School, I should remind Mr. Woodling that the federal Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Indian Affairs gave land to the city to build SJHS, Broken Arrow Elementary School and Broken Arrow Park.

I believe Mr. Woodling does not represent the Lawrence public schools or the Lawrence community. I suggest, Mr. Woodling, that you initiate a campaign to raise funds for improvements to Haskell Memorial Stadium.

Russell L. Blackbird,

Lawrence