`ounce Of Prevention, Pound Of Cure' Holds True For Support Of Pbs, Too 
George J. Kochis' Letter (feb. 7) Was Unfair To Public Radio And Tv.

Sunday, February 12, 1995 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 8B 





Add `protesting' to skills Rutgers kids need to learn &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The spectacle is enough to make us aging 60s activists tear out what's left
of our hair. Somebody, please, teach the kids at Rutgers University in New
Jersey how to stage a decent sit-in. Give them a few classes in Walkouts
101Because the action they're holding now is the most laughably inept protest
since the late 70s, when feminists sometimes paraded topless to protest being
treated as sex objects. The Rutgers kids are just so -- so ignorant, and.... &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Sigh.) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Folks, it's not like the old days, we can tell you. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Here's a primer on how the Rutgers protesters violated every rule of
effective demonstrating. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 1. They picked the wrong target. Read it in your Little Red Book and burn
it in your brain, all you would-be activists out there: Choose your enemies
carefully. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Effective protests need an unsympathetic figure at their core. You need a
George Wallace, a Sheriff "Bull" Connor, a Richard Nixon as your opponent if
you want to win the battle of public opinion. (And that, after all, is what
it's all about.) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You need someone who seems to personify the ruthlessness or injustice that
you're fighting against. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You DON'T need someone like Francis Lawrence, president of Rutgers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Why? Because Lawrence has the public on his side, of course. And with good
reason, too. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lawrence remarked to faculty members some time ago that "disadvantaged"
students do not have "that genetic hereditary background to have a higher
average" in standardized tests. The apparent racism sparked the recent
protests, which shut down a Rutgers basketball game last week and disrupted a
Board of Governors meeting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Lawrence not only apologized for the remark. He renounced it, rejected
it, recanted it and rebuked it. He practically threw himself at students' feet
and begged for forgiveness, saying he had mistakenly jumbled his words. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Add to that the man's decades-long career of hiring and supporting
minorities. Add as well his leadership in making Rutgers attract minority
students. (The university boasts the second-highest minority-enrollment rate
of any university on the East Coast, according to the Associated Press.) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You've got a guy who'll win the sympathy of Mr. and Mrs. Average American.
The public usually forgives a public figure's honestly admitted mistakes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Which brings up Mistake No. 2 by the protesters: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 2. They're turning the public against them. Who are the intolerant ones
here? Not Francis Lawrence; as mentioned, he has humbled himself in a
scrupulously sincere way. By doing so he showed the utmost sympathy for the
hurt his earlier words may have caused others. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By contrast, the students appear as rabid as any cadre of Chairman Mao's
Red Guards. They want to scrap a man's whole career on the basis of three
words. Their standards would forge such a snippet into the fulcrum that a
lifetime hinges on. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 No thanks, say us mere mortals. And even the most radical students should
agree: As history teaches, any revolution so impossibly demanding quickly
turns to eating its young. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 3. They're giving aid and comfort to their "enemies." Knowing this would
inspire much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the Rutgers zealots. But the
truth is, their protest actually argues against the notion of a racist
America, and brings smiles to the lips of conservatives everywhere. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Here's why. In the 1950s, civil-rights marchers protested larger-than-life
evils. They boycotted segregated bus systems. They stood firm in the face of
police dogs and fire hoses. They braved taunts and jeers while integrating
school systems. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Such horrors seemed worthy of the protesters' righteous rage. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In contrast, the Rutgers kids are using a picket sign to swat a flea. Why
can't they find a bigger target for their anger? Where is that savage racism
whose snarl supposedly still echoes across the U.S.A.? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If Francis Lawrence and his fleeting mistake are the worst the protesters
could find, then America in 1995 is blameless indeed. The man apologized, for
heaven's sake. George Wallace glowered at the nation while he blocked the
doors to the University of Alabama. Now there was a villain: His malice
proved, rather than disputed, his protesters' point. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 College professors often fret that students dodn't know their history.
Well, add this Rutgers episode to the evidence. The kids may know little about
the Vietnam War. But they know even less about the war's student protests, and
the tactics that helped the protesters win. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some old firebrands should dust off their megaphones, and show those
amateurs how it's done. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Add `protesting' To Skills Rutgers Kids Need To Learn 
The Spectacle Is Enough To Make Us Aging 60s Activists Tear Out What's Left Of 
Our Hair. Somebody, Please, Teach The Kids At Rutgers University In New Jersey 
How To Stage A Decent Sit-in. Give Them A Few Classes In Walkouts 101.

Add `protesting' To Skills Rutgers Kids Need To Learn The Spectacle Is Enough To Make Us Aging 60s Activists Tear Out What's Left Of Our Hair. Somebody, Please, Teach The Kids At Rutgers University In New Jersey How To Stage A Decent Sit-in. Give Them A Few Classes In Walkouts 101.