LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (09/22/96)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Maine students reflect on exchange

Dear Editor:

Three University of Maine students have returned from an eight-week Samantha Smith Memorial Exchange with three different institutions of higher education in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Each one of them would not trade their experience, but had they known in advance what was awaiting them, they might not have gone.

Not knowing the language was a big handicap. The use of interpreters did not work well. In general, our students felt that science courses in Ukraine are lagging 10 to 20 years.

This is not directly related to the lack of equipment. The art major was very impressed with the technique and level of art taught at the institute with the limited equipment that was available. Science instructors may have been willing to listen and perhaps accept an American student's explanations, but not in the presence of their own colleagues or students. A young UM faculty visiting engineering institutions in Kharkiv got the impression that their institutions resembled American trade schools more than colleges.

Previously, I visited various laboratories at the Food Academy and found the research of good quality. The research of Dr. Teryanik on water structure in food is of exceptional quality. Similarly, research at the Institute of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine, with which the Food Academy collaborates, is top notch. I did not have an opportunity to attend any classes or see any of their textbooks. It is difficult for me to explain the difference between my observations and students' experience.

Our students' host families were friendly and very concerned with making the visitors comfortable. Despite the high food costs, our students were well fed. The interaction of our students and their host families was very warm, and the farewells somewhat sentimental.

The UM art student was especially perplexed about why people who claim to be Ukrainian preferred to speak Russian among themselves. Ukrainian hosts and contacts were frequently surprised that our students were not particularly interested in visiting Moscow. When the question was posed, "What is so special about Moscow?" they were told that it is "better."

UM students had difficulty in accepting the fact that three of the four Ukrainian exchange students spent more time and effort in finding a way to stay in the U.S. than to study and take with them the knowledge that could pull their country out of its present plight. UM students were upset that student selection in Ukraine for the exchange was based on parents' contacts and influence rather than the students' achievement. Our students, who consider themselves native Mainers, point out the tremendous opportunities for development in Ukraine, yet no one appeared willing to take the initiative to move the country forward.

Funding for the Samantha Smith Memorial Exchange program was discontinued by the U.S. Congress; however, other funding sources for student exchanges are still available.

Dr. Bohdan M. Slabyj
Orono, Maine

The writer is professor of food science at the University of Maine.

GOP is running against itself

Dear Editor:

It's interesting to see how Republicans are running against who they really are. We saw this most vividly at their convention where Newt Gingrich and others like him were relegated to secondary roles and women and African Americans were showcased instead. Now we see Republicans distorting their own record on the pages of The Ukrainian Weekly.

With nothing good to say about the Republican record on Ukraine, Republican activist Jerry G. Petryha claimed that Mr. Gingrich and Bob Dole are environmentalists (August 4). This is laughable. Less than a year ago, Congress voted to cut the Environmental Protection Agency by a third, end enforcement of the Endangered Species Act and rescind the rules that protect the wilderness and wetlands. This is part of the record; you can look it up.

In fact, the League of Conservation Voters - a coalition of environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, the Friends of the Earth, the National Resources Defense Council, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, etc. - already has. The league tracks how members of Congress voted on funding for National Parks, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, funding for the EPA, etc. In 1991-1992, Mr. Dole had a rating of 7 percent out of a possible 100 percent. In 1993-1994, he had a rating of 3 percent. In 1995, he rated zero. Mr. Gingrich had a rating of 13 percent and 7 percent for the same period. (As speaker of the House, he did not vote on most bills in 1995.) By contrast, the Republican Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, John Chafee, had a rating of 79 percent, 73 percent and 57 percent for the same periods. GOP Congressman Christopher Shays had a rating of 73 percent, 89 percent and 100 percent. Unfortunately, for Republicans, Messis Chafee and Shays are the exception, not the rule. Democrats, by and large, scored between 50 percent and 100 percent.

As others have pointed out, members of the Ukrainian community, like other Americans, should vote for whomever they choose, based on a variety of issues. Fair enough. What Republicans have no right to expect, however, is the support of the organized Ukrainian community. They lost that when they opposed Ukrainian independence in 1991, the Ukraine Famine Commission in 1983, etc.

By the same token, Republicans have no right to appeal to individuals based on the environment. Their record on that is clear. Under the leadership of Mr. Dole and Mr. Gingrich last year, Republicans tried to turn back the clock on the environment. Only by vetoing their efforts was President Bill Clinton able to stop them. That's also part of the record. You can look it up.

Now that they realize how out of step they've been with the American people, look for Republicans to continue to try to run away from their record, not only on the environment or support for Ukraine, but also on cigarette smoking, assault weapons, crime prevention, etc.

As for President Clinton, he's been doing the right thing for Ukraine, for the environment, education and the economy. (The combined rate of unemployment, inflation and mortgage rates are the lowest they've been since 1968. Ronald Reagan used to call that the Misery Index.) Bill Clinton will be able to run on his record because it's something to be proud of. Republicans are running away from theirs.

Andrew Fedynsky
Rocky River, Ohio