Be careful what you seek
when using percentages
Stacy Ryburn reports that Stephen Coger of the Arkansas Justice Collective is upset because of 541 folks given citations for misdemeanor marijuana offenses in Fayetteville last year, 142 were black people, thus comprising 26 percent of the total while the black population in the city was only 7 percent. He said the collective's determination is that "black residents in economically disadvantaged parts of town are being unfairly treated." Thus Coger implies that the percentage of marijuana citations of black people should be no higher than their percentage of the general population and that a higher number automatically indicates racism and inequitable policing in Fayetteville.
If you believe that is a reasonable position, perhaps we should carry that logical (?) argument to other areas as well. The University Of Arkansas should then also limit participation of black people in the basketball and football programs to 7 percent of the total players and on a national level with a black population of 12 percent, the NBA and the NFL should likewise limit the participation of black people on their teams to 12 percent of the total. Sound fair?
A better idea would be for the collective members to go visit those black Fayetteville residents in "economically disadvantaged parts of town" and persuade them to refrain from using and possessing illegal drugs and, if successful, the percentage of citations of black people will be reduced naturally.
Phil Warner
Garfield
Stockdell enhanced lives
by advancing public radio
This is a "thank you" for Rick Stockdell, general manager of radio station KUAF, the National Public Radio affiliate, 91.3FM, who is retiring this month. Four decades ago, Rick came to Fayetteville and with vision, perseverance, determination and great clarity of purpose, persuaded the University of Arkansas and the Journalism Department to let him take the student radio station and turn it into a marvelous asset that would become an essential part of Northwest Arkansas and the surrounding states. With genius and a lot of hard work, Rick immeasurably enhanced the quality of our lives.
Without KUAF, life here would be greatly impoverished, in fact, almost unbearable. Not only do we receive the kinds of programming that connects us to the rest of the country and the world, but his talented staff has brought us originals like Ozarks at Large, the Community spotlight, the vinyl hour, classical music and so much more. Rick has certainly earned his retirement.
We are very grateful and wish Rick well in his next endeavours. Whoever follows him as manager will have some very big shoes to fill.
Olivia Sordo
Fayetteville
Commentary on 07/17/2019