Letters to the Editor

11/18/10 6:00pm

To the Editor:While I share the Thresher's interest in the importance of sustainability efforts on campus ("'Green' grade disappoints," Nov. 5), I don't share your disappointment in this year's grade. When the College Sustainability Report Card was first issued in 2007, Rice got a C-. Every year since then, our grade has improved. If that trajectory continues, the B+ we earned this year may progress to an A- or better next year.

Contrary to your editorial, the university does indeed have rain sensors on the sprinkler systems for most of the lawns across campus. The sensors have a sponge-like device that turns off the sprinkler when it becomes soaked and expands. During a light rain, the device may not get enough moisture to activate it, and that could explain why you sometimes see the sprinklers on when it's raining. There's also a possibility that a controller has malfunctioned. When we're trying to fix such a problem, we may need to turn on the sprinklers, and that testing sometimes takes place during a rain.

Two locations where we do not have automated sprinklers are the intramural fields and the Engineering Quad; both are due to budget limitations. We have to water those areas by hand during the day while we have employees available to do the work. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity for a student team to develop a project for RESET funding. My department would be happy to help the team develop such a proposal.

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Russell Price

Assistant Vice President for Facilities, Engineering and Planning

To the Editor:

In his column, Cody Shilling wrote about intolerance of gays, citing scripture ("Societal intolerance of gays unfounded," Nov. 12). I am not a Torah scholar, but it is not too early for Mr. Shilling to learn some rules of context. He cites Lev. 18.20-23, which additionally states that lying with a neighbor's wife is defilement, and lying with a beast is confusion. Indeed, all are "wrong," like missing a problem on a test, but in differing severity. His reference to Lev. 21.14 about divorcees and widows is addressed only to the priesthood, which is under a different standard. Deut. 17.2-5 only prescribes stoning for those who abandon the covenant, not for those who have different beliefs. Those who swore to observe the covenant, back in Ex. 19.8, well remember how serious that oath was. However, his question on selective mitzvah is good, especially in regard to Lev 19.18b, "... thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

John Dobelman

Statistics professor

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