Leaders or Loudmouths? Results of All-Female Colleges

In the article ``All Women, With No Apologies,'' July 12, Janet McKay, president of Mills College, makes a good point when she states that all-female colleges help young women develop confidence in themselves. Many women in elected offices are good examples of the effectiveness of all-female colleges in developing leaders. Examples include the first female governor and the current lieutenant governor of Connecticut, who attended Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr respectively, and the state's three United States congresswomen, each of whom attended a women's college. George Dean, Southport, Conn.

Leaders or Loudmouths? Results of All-Female Colleges

Why is an all-female Mills college good, and an all-male Citadel bad?

The answer: No reason.

One need look no further for a typical attitude than the interview with Janet McKay, Mills college president. On the one hand Ms. McKay states, ``I don't like to be bullied, and I distrust a person who will try to get something by aggression.'' On the other hand, three paragraphs later she says, ``When doors are not open, we may need to beat them down.''

We seem to devour each other in discourses of suspicion, hostility, and unreason. If we would sharpen our attitudes and remove emotion and hatred from issues of sexism (as well as others) we likely would find no issues at all. Ward Rapp, Evanston, Ill.

Emus are more than a meal

Regarding the article ``Breeders Aim to Hatch a Big Market for Emus,'' July 12: Isn't it enough that carnivorous humans are licking their chops for whale meat, horse meat, etc.? Now the Monitor cooks up another tasty morsel in reporting what could result in the confinement, slaughter, and misery of yet another innocent species: the emu.

If we're looking to attain the millennial estate in which the wolf dwells with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the kid ... and a little child leads them (not wears them or eats them), shouldn't humans begin to express toward lesser ideas what Isaiah prophesied for the animals? Vegetarianism is an excellent way to start. Chris Anderlik, Empire, Mich.

Media helped create the Korea crisis

The opinion-page article ``Charting a Course with North Korea,'' July 15, was one of the most comprehensive assessments written on the North Korean situation. I would like to direct my thanks to the author for being so enlightened. It was a comfort to read a line like, ``For the US then, patience, persistence, and resourcefulness ought to govern its approach to North Korea.''

The crisis that prompted former President Carter's visit to North Korea last month was partially, if not entirely, created by media coverage using provocative words like war imminent and preemptive strike. I know the media scared everyone, perhaps including Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, who were characterized as not quite sane. Myong-Hee Kim, Washington

Venus de Milo stands alone - unguarded

The theft of the ``Potrait of Jean Dorieu,'' by Robert Nanteuil, from the Louvre (Events, July 12) is hardly a surprise. Guards seem disinterested in or overwhelmed by the droves of people who fill the beautiful galleries daily. The Venus de Milo in her circle gallery is amazingly left alone to the public. When I visited, the only time the guards showed any energy was when they were herding us out of the building at closing time.

The sole reason one goes to the Louvre is to see the most perfected art collection in the world. But at the same time, there is much more at the Louvre - book, print, and poster shops, eating places, boutiques, and the Metro entrance with its shops, information, tickets, and busy restrooms.

Unfortunately, the Louvre has succumbed to the prevailing trend of hiring consultants and architects who create billion-dollar, nonfunctional fantasies. The museum's main purpose is to protect and display the incomparable art that visitors come from around the world to see. Surely, with all of the superelectronic technology availble today, it could be made impossible to steal an art treasure without sounding alarms. Crystal Ragsdale, New Braunfels, Texas