Correction
An incorrect photo ran next to Chuck MF Deuce’s Derby story in last week’s issue. LEO regrets the error.
U of L Remains Committed to the West End
A recent LEO column in which Ricky L. Jones announced the end of the University of Louisville’s involvement in the Saturday Academy (LEO Weekly, April 16) has led several people to call the university and question whether we are backing off our commitment to the West End.
The simple answer: No.
U of L and west Louisville have partnered for many years in numerous ways. Those partnerships will continue, and they will continue to grow.
For instance, U of L supports the community through its Signature Partnership Initiative, which features dozens of partnerships designed to address economic, educational, social and health issues that confront citizens who live in our urban core. To highlight just a few of those efforts:
• U of L has partnered with Simmons College to provide access to higher education in the West End.
• Through a partnership with JCPS and the leadership, faculty and staff at J.B. Atkinson Academy, U of L faculty and students helped turn one of the state’s poorest-performing schools into a model for preparing students to succeed.
• Community Health Nursing Partnerships provide health care and education at schools and community centers throughout the area.
• U of L is planning to operate health and other outreach programs at the proposed YMCA facility at 18th and Broadway.
• And U of L secured a $1 million grant from the Oxley Foundation to support student teachers and to help JCPS teachers earn National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification at Atkinson, Shawnee and other schools in the West End.
Educational programming in the College of Arts and Sciences includes the U of L Yearlings Club lecture series, which brings our faculty together with the community to share expertise, discuss issues and forge common bonds.
U of L has long admired and supported the community programming of our former dean, Dr. J. Blaine Hudson, including the Saturday Academy. Dr. Hudson was unique; no one can replace his presence or replicate his vision for the academy. Although the Saturday Academy’s future seems best served by our stepping away, our long-standing commitment to the West End community stands firm.
John P. Ferré, Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, U of L
Snack on That Apple
Regarding M. Sanders’ Inbox letter from last week: If the church is being led by a leader in the flock who is skipping outdated scripture, more power to them. By doing so, they are opening their doors to a larger community in which the church functions as a positive force in this world — a force that helps turn us into better people by fully accepting other human beings with forgiveness and love.
The Bible wasn’t written by God — it was written by human beings who wrote what they thought God was saying. If God the almighty is a perfect god, then God doesn’t care about what gender I choose to be or spend the rest of my life enjoying growing old with. What God really cares about is how I treat my fellow humans and spend my time on this planet being a good person. We are raised as children to do no harm and accept others for the things that make us different. Why as an adult should I feel God doesn’t love me because I’m different than you, even though both of us are made in the image of a divine eye? Snack on that apple for a moment. Then take the time and patience to accept that basic belief and share it with those around you. You will then see how this world can be and, hopefully, will become a better place.
Tiffy Lafferty, East End
