Regarding the Hell House advertisement

Perhaps it’s time the Herald considered ethics when choosing who to take money from. Let us consider for a moment the implications of that statement. For those who do not know, when a group or corporation approaches the Herald staff with an advertisement to be placed in the paper, money is also exchanged. All those Arby’s coupons that litter the sidewalks were actually paid for by the company. The Herald of course uses this money, along with the rest of the advertising and classifieds fees it receives to pay for the paper. So, do they really care where that money comes from?

Judging from the advertisement that fell out of my Herald on Tuesday of this week, I would say not. Yet again the Hell House has paid its way into the pockets of the Herald press. I am disgusted with the thought that your staff did not even consider the consequences of placing such an ad in your paper. You contribute to the hatred and fear of this nation. I have always read the Herald every Tuesday and Thursday since my freshman year here at Western. Now I refuse to read it. Shame on you, Herald, for accepting hate money. Shame on you.

Carrie Stewart

Bowling Green graduate

Decimal grading is a more accurate system

Most of the colleges in Washington state use decimal grading, which simply means that every professor assigns semester grades ranging from 0.0 to 4.0. This has the advantage of being even more precise than the plus/minus system, and it allows professors to make finer distinctions. What I like about that is the fact that it challenges the top students and helps keeps them engaged. Under Western’s current system, a student who takes five courses and averages 91, 93, 90, 94 and 96 percent gets a 4.0 average GPA (five As). Under a decimal grading system, the same student has a 3.68 average for the semester, and his/her grades in the individual classes are 3.6, 3.7, 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that decimal grading deflates grades. Under our current system, a student taking five classes and averaging 79, 78, 69, 89 and 88 percent has a 2.2 GPA (C, C, D, B, and B). Under decimal grading, the same student would have a 2.66 average for the semester, with grades in the individual classes of 2.5, 2.4, 1.5, 3.5 and 3.4, respectively. I just wanted to throw this out there; those who advocate plus/minus on the grounds that it would increase accuracy might consider decimal grading, which is considerably more accurate than plus/minus.

Tom C. Hunley

Assistant professor

department of English

Thanks for your help

It is with sincere appreciation that I write to express my excitement and gratitude for the gift Family Enrichment Center received. The Delta Gamma Chapter of Kappa Delta has supported Family Enrichment Center for many years. Today, I would like to publicly recognize their outstanding support.

Kappa Delta made a $5,000 donation to support Family Enrichment Center in its mission to empower families and prevent child abuse. Raising that level of money is no easy task for any group, much less those who are also pursuing a college degree.

Over the past year we have seen a 38 percent increase in child abuse reports in our region. Child abuse is a sad reality for over 800 children in our community. Kappa Delta’s efforts will help us do more to prevent child abuse and neglect in the Barren River Region.

We are grateful.

Jennifer Bryant

Executive Director

Family Enrichment Center

Vote your head election day

While watching the recent debate, I observed many things. One candidate offered plans to solve many of our commonwealth’s problems, from waste and fraud to drug abuse and on to medical costs. The other candidate spoke in vague terms but was sure of only two things, raising your taxes and depending on fixing our problems with revenues made on expanded gambling. We have seen this ruse before. In 1988 Wallace Wilkinson ran on a campaign promising us that the lottery, if enacted, would be used to fund education. Instead, it’s been used to fund pork and motel visits, and amazingly, made it back into the campaign coffers of his lieutenant governor when they ran for our commonwealth’s highest office.

One candidate was constantly trying to generate sound bites, while the other was giving people his vision for improving the commonwealth through better education, better jobs and lower taxes.

One candidate’s supporters showed respect, while the other’s were too afraid to listen to the candidate who is removed from the politically incestuous relationships in Frankfort. One candidate spoke of getting a better value for your tax dollar, the other spoke of expanding the spoils system that his party has lived on for the last 32 years. Kentuckians, the democratic party of Wendel Ford, Happy Chandler, and William Natcher is dead.

Now all that remains is a corrupt gang of socialists, criminals and cowards. I urge you to vote your conscience on Nov. 4, vote for change in Frankfort, vote for Ernie Fletcher.

Darin Holloway

Cave City