Culture

Re "It's Just Grammar. Whom Really Cares," Commentary, May 7: When some of my students misapply the word "like," or use "goes" when they mean "says," or raise their voices at the end of a sentence that is not a question, or conclude a statement with the word "whatever," I hear an insecurity with both their language and themselves. The solution is to call these instances to their attention and to impress on them, respectfully, that anything worth saying is worth saying well. Our job as teachers is not to reshape ourselves to fit the surrounding culture but to become forces in shaping that culture.

I am responding to your article, "Activists Stress Chicano Studies, Concerted Push for More Latino Teachers," (Feb. 20). I am a first-generation American whose family migrated legally in the early 1900s from northern Europe. Our family embraced the opportunities and education available to everyone. I just can't imagine them demanding their culture and language to be superimposed over the history and language of their adopted country. I am sick and tired of a few whiners (40)

Flash versus substance. Celebrity versus artistry. Popularity versus integrity. Contemporary art often reflects larger social themes, but this time it's an internal conflict, rather than exhibited works, that offers a mesmerizing image of more universal struggle. The recent firing of the Museum of Contemporary Art's longtime curator Paul Schimmel was quickly followed by the resignation of the four well-known artists from the museum's board. Each cited opposition to the direction the museum is taking under director Jeffrey Deitch, a successful New York gallery owner hired by MOCA two years ago to help bring a higher profile, and financial stability, to the institution.

A Stanford senior communications major stood in the middle of a nearly empty stadium, the homecoming crowd having long since gone home, and administered the latest plunge into the heart of a USC football season. Richard Sherman had earlier leaped in front of a Matt Barkley pass and returned it for a touchdown. He had then posed for the cameras while jeering, "I'm 2 and 0 in the Coliseum. Fight on, SC!" But this was worse. This was about more than a 34-point deficit on the scoreboard.

It was an odd comment for a military briefing, the lieutenant colonel in his camouflage uniform complaining that Iraqi soldiers were attempting to "take advantage of our cultural sensitivity." Yet such is the fine line U.S. and British forces say they have negotiated in the war against Iraq.

Students at the Mission Parish School left their scary Halloween costumes at home Friday and instead slipped into kangaroo suits, Indian saris, Carmen Miranda-style fruit headdresses and Chinese pantsuits. "We took all the gore out of Halloween," Vice Principal Jeanne Aubertin said. For the last 10 years, the private school has organized United Nations Day to teach students about world cultures while still allowing them to enjoy the spirit of the season by dressing in costume.

Black and Latino drug addicts may be more likely to become infected with the AIDS virus because they frequent "shooting galleries" more commonly than Anglos, researchers reported. A new study involving 452 intravenous drug users in New York City found that those who were black and Latino were much more likely to share needles with strangers in illicit drug havens than were their Anglo counterparts. "This is a very, very high-risk behavior," said Dr.

Donny George, director of the Iraq Museum, is sitting on a bench under a covered porch, talking about Baghdad's glorious past. It is midafternoon and the sun is beating down on the museum's barren front lawn. Nearby, a group of U.S. soldiers lingers around an armored assault vehicle, keeping a watchful eye on the iron entry gate. On this day, the museum is still closed after a two-day looting rampage that wrecked many of its galleries. George seems relieved by the enveloping stillness.

Re: "The Dishiest Mag Alive" by Pamela Warrick, Feb. 24: The decline of American culture started with the first issue of People. GERALD MARANTZ Via Internet

Whether it's using leaves to daintily dab at food dripping from their chins or saying goodnight with loud, squeaky kisses, orangutans appear to have culture -- learned behavioral innovations that spread among social groups and to succeeding generations. Once thought to be the hallmark of man, cultural transmission has been detected in chimps, which evolved 7 million years ago.