A good lesson

Although it is not my nature to drag out something so unimportant, I feel compelled to set the record straight. I am referring to Charlie Passut’s scathing rebuttal to my letter which appeared in Tuesday’s paper.

Mr. Passut, not only does your “argument” not dissuade my opinion, it heavily reinforces it.

First off, let me say that I’m not sure any sculpture was necessary. However, with that decision having already been made, I feel Mr. Nardi’s is an excellent choice. Although I don’t know too much about art, I do know a bit about symbolism and art form.

Okay, seeing as how this whole concept has sailed way over your head, let’s go over it step by step. The sculpture in the MLK commons is A-B-S-T-R-A-C-T. Can you say that? This means thought of apart from concrete realities, SPECIFIC OBJECTS, and actual ideas. Things you can’t see and touch but can feel, in this case, the concept of racial equality.

Now, our next word has twice as many syllables but shouldn’t pose too difficult a problem for you: S-Y-M-B-O-L-I-S-M. (sim-boe-lis-im). That means representing objects and ideas through the use of symbols—Dann Nardi’s sculpture.

Mr. Passut, you see “… a concrete monolith choking on a bed of weeds” while people who possess an imagination see the long, difficult struggle we have to balance racial equality everywhere (concrete monoliths) and, with understanding and care, this idea will grow (bed of weeds).

You see, Mr. Passut, if you understood this, maybe, being a political cartoonist (an artist of some sort yourself), you wouldn’t have to waste your time writing a letter to express your ideas.

Also, Mr. Passut, I obviously do not know everybody on this campus. But, as Roy Rogers was wont to say, “All I know is what I read in the newspaper.” And since I’ve been here, I have read about numerous cases of blatant racism and homophobia. On a college campus nonetheless!

When you go about describing how I am the one with the closed mind, I find myself astonished at such convoluted logic. Since the first day that the sculpture plans were unveiled last year they were met with controversy by the masses. Yeah, it’s not physically beautiful but when did jumping to conclusions become an arm of open-mindedness?

For the sake of sounding repetitious, Mr. Passut, and with all due respect, an open-minded person will look beyond what their eyes detect, and observe what their MINDS detect (hence, the coinage). You don’t always have to see with your eyes, I feel the sculpture in the MLK Commons relays a pretty good lesson, if you ever feel apt to learning it yourself. Mr. Passut, some people actually dig the idea of racist equality. ‘Nuff said.

Michael Donohue

Sophomore

English