Dear Editor:
The headline of the March 6 edition of The Current trumpeted, “LV debates baseball proposal.” The Ban Johnson Baseball League plans to raise money, at least $6 million, to build two fields on Longview College property, with that and more, an indoor training facility, and if ten million is raised, then they will get around to putting artificial turf on the current Lakers Field.
“The fields are part of a restoration project,” according to developer David Gale—restoration of what? The original Fenway Park? The original Ebbets Field? And just how are those fields related to the Longview Campus donated by the Long family for educational purposes? How will they blend with the Longview campus—with brown bricks and a blue line at top? The “empty field” so desired as the site is the scenic back-drop of the campus where two dozen deer browse all year around. They won’t feed on artificial turf.
Whether contributors will give only to arts or baseball is a false choice because one contributes to the core mission of the college and the other does not. “Why would we turn down a $6 million gift?” I can tell you why, and that is because the “gift” has strings attached. During the league’s summer season evening play, all its noises will pound against the large northwest windows of the Science-Technology Building, disrupting classes. Will the harried teacher be able to request that the cheering audience please be a little quieter? Will anyone else be able to use the fields during the season, or any other time for that matter?
Run-off will be piped into Little Mouse Creek between the fields and the Recreation Center, contributing to already deepening erosion.
To would-be contributors, I recommend giving to the heart of the educational mission of Longview, not its periphery. This is the time to heighten the educational experience at Longview, not drown it out. Let’s keep the “view” in Longview.
Sincerely,
Stephen Reinbold
Biology Instructor, MCC-Longview
March 18, 2009
Letters