I am compelled to provide a critical clarification to the severely misleading letter from Terry Hughes (BDN, Feb. 17). In his letter, Hughes made a point to isolate “university people” from the rest of the Orono High School community regarding the inclusion of “Girl, Interrupted” in the ninth-grade English curriculum. In truth there was no such division.

Those who spoke in favor of keeping the book in the curriculum were all parents or family members of OHS students (many of whom are in the ninth grade), educators or students themselves. Many of those speaking up for this book, myself included, do not work with the university, we simply live in Orono and are not afraid of books.

There were, however, several individuals present who neither live in Orono nor have a student attending Orono High School. These folks were members of the Christian Civic League and they spoke against keeping “Girl, Interrupted” in our ninth-grade curriculum. I can only guess that while our (the Orono community) interests were personal, theirs were political.

I have lived in Orono for the past 20 years and have seen the damaging effects of legitimate “town-and-gown” divisions. I am upset that Hughes has chosen to cry “town vs. gown” in this case. Doing so devalues the quality of our community participation in this process, the policies set forth by our school board, and fails completely to credit our children with the cognitive critical thinking powers they are developing.

Jodi Clayton

Orono