School Was Right to Ban Navajos

* As a parent of two Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School students, I am compelled to respond to “Northridge School Bars Young Navajo Visitors” (June 2).

Shirley Levine, the principal of the school, acted in a responsible manner when canceling the Chinle students’ visit to the school. I think I speak for devoted parents everywhere who would agree that the health and welfare of our children should always be our first consideration when there is even the slightest possibility of exposing them to a serious disease.

This was anything but an arbitrary decision. As was mentioned toward the end of the article, the principal made every possible attempt to contact health officials and experts so that she could make an informed decision. Unable to connect with any of the health experts over Memorial Day weekend, she did what any conscientious school administrator responsible for the education and well-being of students would do. She decided to be cautious and take no risk of exposure.

The article that should have appeared on the front page appeared on page A17: “Fear of Disease Sweeps Navajo Land.” This article addresses the hundreds of patients who have “swamped health facilities throughout northwestern New Mexico,” “fearing that they have an unexplained flu-like illness.”

As it appears that the residents of the Navajo reservation do not seem to be taking all of this too calmly, I hardly think that our school was overreacting. Let us not forget legionnaires’ disease, which claimed the lives of 34 people in one year and required four months to isolate its origin.

The program of cultural exchange has been a successful and meaningful experience for all involved over the past several years. As far as the tradition being “marred” by this incident, we have the authors of the story to thank for that. Their biased and ill-informed article undermines the very purpose of the program by underscoring the difference between the cultures and making an unfortunate set of circumstances a vehicle for sensational and irresponsible reporting.

ROBIN PINDLER ERLICH

Woodland Hills

* As an alumnus of Heschel Day School and a concerned high school junior, I strongly support the decision made by Principal Shirley Levine to ban Navajo children from visiting the school at this time. Her decision is based on the fact that little is known about the illness plaguing the Navajos. To date, some of the reported cases of the disease have struck victims who were not American Indians, suggesting that the disease may be contagious.

Surely Mrs. Levine would not allow Heschel children who were possibly subjected to an unidentified disease to visit the Navajos.

SCOTT A. WEISS

Chatsworth

* We are very upset with the article that you put in the newspaper.

When we saw that you wrote that the Chinle children came all the way out here just to see us, we got even more upset. You made it sound as if they came to the gate and we closed it and then locked it. You made it sound like we didn’t let them in because we were rich and they were poor.

In our class of 25 people, only three parents are doctors, seven parents are lawyers and no parents are judges. And we are not prejudiced.

Last year when we were in third grade, the Navajos had to make a decision whether they wanted to come here because the riots were happening, even though they were almost over and weren’t near us. Their decision was not to come because they didn’t want to be in danger. That’s the same reason why they couldn’t come here this year.

LAUREN NASSBAUM

Northridge

* My letter to you is about last year, when I was in third grade. The Navajo school decided not to come here to meet their pen pals because they were afraid that because of the riots it was not safe.

This is just how Shirley Levine, the principal of our school, feels.

Anyway, Shirley was sort of stuck between her two decisions. If she did let the Navajos in and one of the children had the virus, all of the Heschel parents would be upset at Shirley. If all of those news reporters and television news channels wouldn’t have made such a big deal out of all this, nothing would have happened.

Is it because we are Jews? Last year, when our Navajo pen pals didn’t come, we were very disappointed. But news reporters didn’t go to their school and ask the principal all sorts of questions about her decision.

JESSICA WILLIAMS

Northridge

Lauren Nassbaum and Jessica Williams are Heschel school pupils. Letters expressing similar views were sent by 25 other Heschel students.