LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (05/03/98)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A thank-you from Dnipropetrovsk

Dear Editor:

I am writing to thank you for the subscription to The Ukrainian Weekly funded by Self-Reliance (N.Y.) Federal Credit Union.

This subscription is of great value to us because both professors and students have access to original material, especially since our students take a course called "Mass Media English."

We would appreciate if you could renew the subscription to The Ukrainian Weekly for one more year.

Again, thank you for your assistance.

Alla Anisimova
Dnipropetrovsk

The writer is head of the English Philology Department at Dnipropetrovsk State University.

Re: New Jersey's Ukrainian Festival

Dear Editor:

As past chairwoman and member of the Ukrainian Festival Committee of New Jersey, I felt it necessary to explain some reasons why the committee has decided not to participate in this year's Multicultural Festival at the PNC Bank Arts Center on September 26.

Since 1990 there has been a steady decline in attendance at the festivals held at the Garden State Arts Center, today known as PNC Bank Arts Center. This may be attributed to a variety of reasons, among them numerous festivals held at many locations on the East Coast during the summer period, program content, change of festival date from June to September and general apathy of the public.

During this period the Cultural Fund continually cut our budget but interestingly enough its portion, fees for administrative stage hands and ticketing, were all rising. The committee was always under pressure to do more or the same with less. When we requested to see the details of their portion of costs, our efforts were consistently denied. There was always the threat from the Cultural Fund that if we couldn't break even, we might not be allowed to participate in future festivals.

The result of this kind of thinking was that the Cultural Fund, which is an extension of the New Jersey Highway Authority that sponsors programs for seniors, youths and the disabled, did not permit us to use the stage in 1997 since attendance for the main stage program in 1996 was very poor. Thus, for 1997 we had only a small program. The results were horrific attendance.

All along, the [fastival] committee had concerns about the relationship with the Cultural Fund. It was obvious that a huge facility like the center's theater can make a lot of money booking a prominent concert on a Saturday and not have to deal with money-losing festivals. All attempts to improve this situation were met with concern and criticism that we were not brining in cold hard cash.

In planning for 1998 we were told that we would not be allowed to have a separate festival but that five ethnic groups that have not produced a profit would be grouped together in something called a Multicultural Festival to be made up of the Polish, Ukrainian, Slovak, Jewish and Chinese communities.

We were also told that we would not be able to use the main stage and that all five groups would have to share the parking lot for the festival events. The reasoning was that the main stage, as well as the mall, will be under construction. Needless to say, all the committees were very upset and started an active letter-writing campaign to local newspapers and to the office of New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd-Whitman.

We also could not get a guarantee from the Cultural Fund that we could ever have our own festivals again. I see this as a means to an end for the Cultural Fund. For political reasons, the fund did not want to be responsible or accountable for stating that the festivals couldn't continue, so the Cultural Fund chose to make it so difficult that the committees themselves would pull out. My understanding is that the Polish Committee also is not going to participate in the Multicultural Festival.

So, where do we go from here? We are planning to have a Ukrainian Festival on a smaller scale this year. On Saturday, September 26, we are planning a festival in Whippany, N.J., with a dance to follow at the Ramada Hotel in nearby East Hanover.

Stay tuned for more details regarding event activities.

Luba Z. Siryj
Bellemead, N.J.

Kuropas should be lauded for candor

Dear Editor:

Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, should be congratulated for courage and candor in defending the good Ukrainian-name in his column of March 1 titled "Should Neal Sher be disbarred?"

I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of Americans who deeply care about the honesty and integrity of our judicial system, would answer this question about Neal Sher with a resounding "Yes!" Not only Mr. Sher, but all the other OSI attorneys as well who, according to the ruling of the U.S. District Court of Ohio, "acted with reckless disregard for their duty to the court and their discovery obligation." It is obvious now that Mr. Sher and other OSI attorneys consciously and deliberately perpetrated fraud upon U.S. courts, the whole American judicial system and last but not least, on American society.

If those "tainted fraudulent acts" and the "reckless disregard for the truth" can be considered crimes, then by law, not only should all of them be disbarred, but they also should be brought before a court of law for trial and if found guilty receive severe punishment. The punishment should be consistent with the enormity and gravity of damage done by Mr. Sher and other OSI attorneys.

It is a chilling thought for the overwhelming majority of Americans to realize that Mr. Sher and the OSI attorneys who were supposed to be honest beyond any shadow of doubt, violated their duty to uphold the law.

Members of the American Bar Association, the Ukrainian American Bar Association and other professional organizations whose good name and reputation as attorneys was severely damaged by Mr. Sher and a small group of dishonest lawyers should take immediate steps toward bringing him and this group of lawyers to justice and thus restore the integrity of the American judicial system.

Eugene L. Kuz, M.D.
Savage, Minn.