Speak Out 11-21-18

Good idea

A big thank you to Dr. Kenneth L. Stilson for his petition to change the name of the university. There are five SEMO alums in my family, and we're donors. We hope everyone will agree. It'll help take the university to a new level.

Jackson football

Thank you, Jackson Indian football, for a great season. You gave us a reason to pack The Pit and to travel to all the away games, and you earned the legacy that you're now a part of. We are a football town!

School skit

Regarding the article on the suspended Popular Bluff teacher who allowed a skit on the 15th Amendment that featured a Ku Klux Klan costumed student symbolizing voter suppression. Maybe the article did not include enough details to more completely describe the situation. However, it seems appropriate to accept, not deny the past, including the role of the Klan in intimidating black individuals, in suppressing the black population despite the voting rights delineated in the 15th Amendment and other governmental steps toward equality. The teacher, I believe, should not have been suspended nor should she have apologized. We have a history in this country of not honestly acknowledging the issues of slavery, of the Civil War, of prejudices, and thus impede healing.