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LETTERS Clarifying their position on The Merchant In light of the media attention that has been given to the statement by the League for Human Rights of B‘nai Brith Canada regarding the teaching of the Merchant of Venice in the schools of Waterloo County, I would like to clarify our position. Our policy, as outlined in our original media release of July 29, 1986, is entirely consistent with that of the group of concerned individuals from Waterloo County, who have been doing an excellent job of sensitizing the local community and the school board to the situation. To restate our position, we have urged that the play be taught only in the senior grades, where students would have a greater emotional and literary maturity. We also advocate that proper guideline If you are a woman, chances are you have had the need to work a vacuum cleaner at least once in a while, perhaps every day. Man or woman, we know how a vaccuum works. Mechanically inâ€" clined or not, we know the machine sucks most things into its innards. Can you imagine, or maybe you already have, how wonderful it would be to stick the vacuum against a set of thunderthighs, saddlebags or pot belly, and have the fat sucked into oblivion?! Not my idea of a really good time, but maybe yours. Liposuction, suctionâ€"assisted lipecâ€" tomy, and suction lipectomy. Do these words mean anything to you? They do to a plastic or reconstructive surgeon and to the group of women who have opted to sculpt or contour their body. These words describe a relatively new medical procedure in which fat is vaccuumed from such areas of the body as ankles, abdomenm thighs and buttocks. A plastic surgeon makes an incision and inserts a slender tube, a cannula, into an anesthized patient. The tube is attached to a highâ€"suction vaccuum which extracts fat â€" not just bulk fat but fat cells. We‘re all smart enough by now to know that something that sounds so easy is not so easy, right? Right. As with any surgery there are risks, particularly high with patients who think a lipectomy will be the answer to all their dietary and physical needs and troubles. In fact, fFeedback * oc oo t L . C * a y [â€" «s . o . 4 i T *# LAâ€"‘ es ?â€" ‘"‘I‘ve consented to donate my organs. I believe that the majority of Canadians lack the feeling of care for your fel?w man. This is my way of saying I care." Greg Galante Waterioo Fitness Forum Kathy Hammond Fitness Instructor the types of people who are prime candidates for this procedure are those who are already fit and active and in shape. It seems to defeat the purpose doesn‘t it? Actually men or women who are in shape, but with particular trouble spots are the ones I‘m referring to. You may be one of them. You keep active and exercise faithfully, but have an inability to rid yourself of loose saggy skin hanging around the midsection, or around the hips or thighs. (If you are fat all over you need a lifestyle change not a vacuum job.) The reasoning behind this beâ€"inâ€"shapeâ€"beforeâ€"surgery rule is that people who are already working on their health and wellâ€"being generally have good mental attitudes as well. They would not likely be so disappointed if the results of the surgery proved far from perfect. There is one exception to being in shape before the operation, however. If you look at grandma and grandpa‘s double chin and then at mom and dad‘s double chin, you can opt for preventive liposuction to ensure that you do not get a double chin. The risks and recovery time varies with the amount of fat removed and the amount of anesthetic needed to perform the operation. It could take between a couple of weeks to a couple of months before you can resume full activity after the operation. And this you‘ll need as you sit at home devising ways to pay for the great luxury of looking good. materials be developed for teachers and students, wherein the social component of the play could be critically examined. . The League has established its policy over the last ten years by working closely with a number of community groups from different parts of Ontario which have had to deal with the impact of the teaching of the ‘Merchant‘. Furthermore, we have held detailed consultations with experts in English literature and human relations regarding the teaching and impact of literature on society. It is our belief that the Board of Education of Waterloo County, on receivâ€" ing substantial representations from the local group, has acted in an extremely responsible manner in voting to drop the teaching of the Merchant of Venice from the intermediate grades, 7 through 10. At the same time, as a human rights agency, we felt that it was necesary to express our concern regarding the decision to drop the play entirely. "I‘ve often thought about it, but I haven‘t done anything about it â€" I keep putting if off." â€" Lacy Ibbotson Waterioo Would you consent to the use after your death of needed organs for transplant? Asked on King St., Waterlioo It is obvious that the League, the local citizens‘ group, and the Board are in agreement that the play remains exâ€" tremely problematic without proper teaching materials to address its social implications. Too often, there has been nothing done when other Ontario school boards were asked to address the issue of teaching the Merchant of Venice in their schools. The people of Waterloo County are well served by the members of their school board. Alan Shefman National Director Downsview, Ont. Reader urges boycott of Soviet Symphony I noticed in your Sept. 17 issue an advertisement for a concert featuring the I‘d like to tell you part of a true story. The story is about Tommy, the fourth child of the Lunski family. The Lunski parents hadn‘t had much time for formal education and had worked very hard to support their three nice, normal children. However, Tommy was born with a very severe brain injury. When he was two years old, he was admitted for neuroâ€"surgical examination at a hospital in New Jersey. The doctor explained that his studies had shown that Tommy was a vegetaâ€" bleâ€"like child who would never walk or talk and should, therefore, be placed in an institution for life. Fortunately, the Lunskis didn‘t beâ€" lieve him. By Tommy‘s third birthday, they took him to Children‘s Hospital in Philadelphia and Dr. Eugene Spitz, chief of neuroâ€"surgery. After carefully making his own study of the child, he told the parents that while Tommy was severely brainâ€"inâ€" jured, perhaps something might be done for him at a group of institutions in a suburb called Chestnut Hill. At this time, Tommy was just three years and two weeks old. He could not move or talk. The parents were given a program to follow at home and taught how to conduct it: they thought it might bring about an improvement in Tommy. They were to return in 60 days for reâ€" evaluation. Tommy‘s parents followed the proâ€" gram religiously. By the time they returned for the second visit, Tommy was able to creep. At the third visit, Tommy could say his first two words, ‘"Mommy‘" and "I would to save someone‘s life. The thought of being able to help someone once you‘re gone apâ€" peals to me."‘ Deborah Wood WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1986 â€" PAGE 7 Geoffrey Fellows ‘‘*Daddy‘"‘. Tommy was now three and a half. His mother then bought an alphaâ€" bet book and added it to the program. _ By the time Tommy was four, he could read all of the words in the alphabet book. And on his fifth birthday, Tommy could read anything. He read and understood the Reader‘s Digest with ease. State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR at Centre in the Square. I venture to say that this concert should not have been arâ€" ranged. The Soviet Union, in its actions over the years, has demonstrated that it is an enemy of the civilized values of freedom, prosperity and progress that we in the west have enjoyed for so long. To have cultural, or any other kind of friendly dealings with Russia is to sanction the destruction of these values. From that day on, the education of children underwent a gentle revolution. Tommy had taught the researchers that even a severely brainâ€"injured child can learn to read far earlier than normal children usually do. Such a discovery caused quite a stir and Tommy was immediately subjected to fullâ€"scale testing by a group of experts who were brought from Washington for the purpose. We lend to Russia an aura of moral respectability by having such dealings with them. The Russian leaders thus feel free to carry out their destructive policies unopposed. For these reasons, I do not intend to attend this concert, and encourage those who agree to do the same. Tommy, severely brainâ€"injured and barely five years old, could read better than the average child twice his age, and with complete comprehension. By the time Tommy was six, he walked, and he was reading at the sixthâ€"grade level. Tommy was not going to spend his life in an institution; instead, his parents were looking for a "‘special‘"‘ school for him to attend. Special, because he was so much advanced over other children his age. What a tremendous achievement that was! All honor to Tommy‘s parents who, in refusing to give up on their son, sought out the help they needed and then spent years painstakingly following the program that produced such rewarding results. (Mr. Fellows is the founder of the Human Resource Development Instiâ€" tute, P.O. Box 642, Cambridge. "I haven‘t, but I would. Why waste them? I may as well do something after I‘m gone." Martha Laurence Waterioo Dean Blakely Waterloo, Ont.