OBSERVER SHOWS FLAWED
PRIORITIES
Sunday, September 4, 1994
Section: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Page: 3C
Column: The Observer Forum. Today's focus: Cows vs.
computers
The writer is professor of mathematics, UNC Charlotte.
On Aug. 28, The Observer offered interesting articles about
two young men in our community: Jeff Seipel in ``The making
of a cowboy'' and Brian Dean in ``Latin grad competes in
Stockholm.''
Both are 18-year-old 1994 high-school graduates: Jeff from
North Mecklenburg, Brian from Charlotte Latin. Both will start
college this month, Jeff at N.C. State, Brian at MIT. Both
realized at a young age what they enjoyed and had a special
talent for: for Jeff, horseback riding and rope skills; for Brian,
computer programming. Both turned out to be so good at what
they love that they were invited to special training sessions.
Jeff spent two months on a ranch in Wyoming, preparing for the
National High School Rodeo finals featuring 1,400 of the best
competitors in 38 states and Canada; Brian spent six weeks
studying at home and a week at the USA Computing Olympiad
Training Camp at University of Wisconsin-Parkside (where he
studied cows, among other things). Brian was one of the 15
national winners of the U.S. Computing Olympiad and was
competing for a place on the four-student U.S. team which was
to compete in Stockholm, Sweden, in the International
Olympiad in Informatics. Brian was selected, won a silver
medal and placed 24th in the world among the top high school
programmers from 50 countries.
Now, considering these similarities, it would not be surprising
to see The Observer give these students fairly equal coverage.
Not quite! Jeff's story (with 10 pictures) occupied 90 percent
of the front page and all the back page of the Living section.
Brian's story took 3-3/4 inches of ``In the spotlight'' in
Mecklenburg Neighbors.
Is it fair to conclude that The Observer values team roping,
cutting and steer-wrestling more than mathematical
problem-solving and computing?
HAROLD REITER, Charlotte