Letters to the editor

Fans chanting inappropriate

Chanting is as much a part of being a fan as… Fans chanting inappropriate

Chanting is as much a part of being a fan as anything. We do not have “P-E-N-N-S-T sucks” any longer; so during the Backyard Brawl, Pitt fans decided to use “GO HOME Mountain-QUEERS.” The use of the word queer as an insult shows exactly the homophobic disposition of the University of Pittsburgh. Please do not tell me they were using queer as “odd.” Queer now refers to the LGBT community and to claim that was not the implication is ludicrous. People were not saying “Hey WVU you are odd,” they were yelling “Hey WVU you’re a bunch of sissy faggots.”

Everybody knows that homophobia exists on campus. Our chancellor refuses to believe the partners of queer employees are equal to the partners of heterosexual employees. Students are threatened, some have even been attacked and organizations like ROTC are allowed to proselytize their anti-gay doctrine.

Could these things actually have anything to do with a bunch of Pitt students not seeing anything wrong with using an identity word as an insult? The notion that queer is a bad thing is an overpowering sentiment at the University of Pittsburgh. This Saturday was an affirmation of that ugly truth. When will Pitt say, “Let’s take steps to end homophobia”? I hope that sooner than later the University will see the benefits of an administration that is dedicated to serving the entire community. Until then, yours truly will probably be the only one at Heinz field not yelling queer at the teams we want beat.

Josh Ferris

President

Rainbow Alliance

SIS teach-in facts inaccurate

The article “SIS holds teach-in to prepare for logging company protest,” (Nov. 22) unfortunately repeats allegations by a San Francisco-based activist group about Boise that are inaccurate, misleading and false.

We have set the record straight time and time again. Time and time again, this group has ignored the information we provide. It is more interested in protests than progress. We’ve met with the group’s representatives several times over the past few years in an effort to have a constructive dialogue. However, they appear to be interested only in making outrageous claims against Boise, harassing customers and staging media events.

Boise is a company deeply committed to conservation values and the practice of sustainable forestry. We helped to create and strongly support the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFISM) program. This program, a partnership between forest products manufacturers, conservation organizations, public agencies, foundations and academic institutions, was just awarded a 2002 World Summit Business Award for Sustainable Development Partnerships by the International Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations Environmental Program.

Boise is proud of its environmental stewardship record and fully communicates its environmental activities to customers and the public. Our independent, third party audits and customer tours of our forestry practices are just two of the many ways we demonstrate this commitment.

We at Boise support and encourage debate on issues of public concern. But that debate must be based on facts, not misinformation and false accusations. We want to assure you that this attack on our company is unfounded.

Ralph Poore

Media relations manager

Boise Cascade Corporation

Editor’s note: The Boise Cascade Corporation provided The Pitt News with a point-by-point response to each allegation presented in the Nov. 22 article. This more extensive response is below:

The article “SIS holds teach-in to prepare for logging company protest,” which appeared in The Pitt News on Nov. 22, unfortunately repeats allegations by an activist group about Boise that are inaccurate, misleading, and false. Let me address these false allegations point by point. I have grouped similar accusations.

Accusation: “… [the] regional contact for the Allegheny Defense Project, presented information on what she argued were Boise Cascade’s numerous environmental … violations.”

The facts: Boise is a company deeply committed to conservation values and the practice of sustainable forestry. We helped to create and strongly support the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFISM) program. This program, a partnership between forest products manufacturers, conservation organizations, public agencies, foundations and academic institutions, was just awarded a 2002 World Summit Business Award for Sustainable Development Partnerships by the International Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations Environmental Program.

Under the SFI program, we have successfully completed independent third party audits of all the timberlands we own and control, as well as land of others on which we harvest. Our audit results demonstrate our compliance with the rigorous standards required by SFI. Audits are conducted by recognized independent university and consulting experts in hydrology, wildlife biology, roads and harvesting, and forest management. These forest management audits are ongoing, with new audits scheduled every three years. As part of our audit program, Boise customers are invited to accompany the audit teams into the forest to observe their work. Additionally, we have formed and recently expanded our own Forest Stewardship Advisory Council, comprised of seven noted conservationists, to advise us on improving our forest management practices.

Boise is proud of its environmental stewardship record and fully communicates its environmental activities to customers and other stakeholders. Our independent, third-party audits and customer tours of our forestry practices are just two of the many ways we demonstrate this commitment.

Accusation: “… this logging was the work of the Boise Cascade Corporation, a company that takes much of its timber from old growth forests … “

Accusation: “… Boise Cascade is still one of the United States’ top loggers and distributors of old growth forest products. They are currently the top logger of U.S. federal lands and take much of their wood from endangered forests both in the United States and in parts of South America … “

The facts: Boise ranks 11th among companies purchasing sawtimber from federal lands.

Boise harvests timber in the United States and Brazil. In Brazil we harvest eucalyptus from long-established plantations. We obtain some wood through long-term contracts with Canadian provincial governments. We have neither forest holdings nor harvesting operations anywhere else in the world.

Boise does not accept contracts that require logging of old-growth forests. In March 2002, Boise announced our intent to phase out logging of old-growth forests by 2004. Boise currently derives an extremely small amount of our wood supply from old-growth forests – less than 1 percent in 2001. A 24-month phaseout period enables Boise to meet its contractual obligations on previously purchased timber sales. Federal rules require Boise to meet these obligations. During this two-year phaseout period, we will meet our existing commitments, but we will not make any new commitments to harvest old-growth forests. There are no old-growth forests on the timberlands that Boise owns or controls.

Accusation: “Boise Cascade is also the leading plaintiff in a lawsuit fighting a national policy protecting 58.8 million acres of national forests from further logging and development.”

The facts: Boise is one of more than 40 plaintiffs in eight separate lawsuits filed against the Roadless Rule. The lawsuit in which Boise is involved was filed by a 10-member coalition including several recreation groups, two Idaho counties, and a Native American tribe. The states of Idaho, Alaska, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and the governor of Montana also filed lawsuits challenging the rule, as did a coalition of industry associations representing most United States paper and forest products companies. These lawsuits have maintained that the Roadless Rule process was predetermined and one-sided and failed to consider the long-term health of our national forests. On April 6, 2001, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho agreed and found that “the comment period was grossly inadequate and thus deprived the public of any meaningful dialogue or input into the process – an obvious violation of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act).”

Accusation: “The company is also under Environmental Protection Agency investigation for alleged 20 years worth of air pollution violations.”

The facts: In March, Boise announced that it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to settle alleged violations of certain sections of the Clean Air Act.

Under the terms of the settlement, Boise will install state-of-the-art air pollution controls at our plywood facilities in Florien and Oakdale, La.; Elgin, Ore.; and one of our facilities in Medford, Ore. (Medford plywood); and will evaluate our control options at our particleboard facility in Island City, Ore., at a total capital cost of about $12 million. We will also manage and fund supplemental environmental projects at a cost of more than $2.9 million. Additionally, Boise agreed to pay a $4.35 million civil penalty.

Although the EPA alleged that Boise made various modifications at the listed facilities without obtaining permits, we contend that we obtained the proper permits at the time of the projects. We also currently possess the proper permits for our operations. In support of our view, we produced more than 10,000 pages of permitting, project, and emissions data-related materials to the EPA.

In its enforcement initiative, the EPA has targeted not only Boise and other companies in the forest products industry, but electric utilities, metals manufacturers, and oil refineries as well.

While we believe our actions to be correct, appropriate, and legal, we also believe it is in the best interest of our company not to engage in protracted and expensive litigation but, rather, to reach settlement and progress with our normal business operations.

Accusation: “… These [violations] include worker safety violations, labor union busting, and sexual harassment.”

The facts: Boise has one of the best safety records among all industries and our pulp and paper mill in Jackson, Ala., holds the world safety record among such mills having surpassed 9.5 million hours without a lost-time accident.

More than 11 years ago, there was a sexual harassment allegation at one of our many mills. The allegation, which involved Boise and a labor union, was successfully resolved by sponsoring a new sexual harassment training program. No penalties or fines were ever assessed.

Most of Boise’s timber manufacturing facilities and all of our paper manufacturing facilities are unionized. An attack on Boise’s operations is an attack on these hard-working employees. In fact, a major national labor management committee is supporting Boise’s efforts to respond to the lies and misrepresentations of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN).

The Forest Products Industry National Labor Management Committee (LMC) is our industry’s national vehicle for labor management cooperation on shared public policy issues. One of the LMC unions, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC), responded to the falsehoods contained in an advertisement placed by RAN in The New York Times on Sept. 7, 2001, and mailed letters to the heads of the organizations who endorsed the RAN ad.

In the letter, Mike Draper, the UBC’s Western Region vice president, told signers that: “The RAN advertisement is purely a symbolic move devoid of the facts, designed to reshape consumer demand for forest products and invoke sympathy among the American public. By signing this ad, you are not protecting the environment, but simply participating in a slick publicity campaign against the working men and women in the forest products community.”

PACE International Union also issued a statement in support of Boise. PACE International Union President Boyd Young applauds Boise Cascade Corporation for “their role as a responsible corporate citizen, providing consumer products for millions of citizens and thousands of jobs for working Americans, while leading the industry as an environmental steward of the land.”

Accusation: “… Boise Cascade also has also been linked to several human rights violations … Boise Cascade has also been connected to a 1995 massacre of 17 members of the Organization of Peasant Farmer Ecologists in Guerrero, Mexico.

The men were demonstrating against Boise Cascade’s logging, as well as the region’s general logging practices. After the incident, investigators found several arrest warrants for the demonstrators dated for the day after Boise Cascade signed a contract with Guerrero’s governor … “

The facts: These accusations are absolutely false and defamatory. In fact, RAN has in the past made similar statements and has admitted subsequently that Boise was in no way involved in these incidents. The facts are that on June 28, 1995, near Aguas Blancas, Mexico, 17 campesinos (farmers) were killed by state police during a protest against state agricultural policies. To suggest that this tragic event had something to do with our former operations in Mexico is malicious and defamatory. We had no operations in Mexico until July 21, 1995 – nearly a month after the Aguas Blancas incident. In many news articles, both Mexican and American, the facts have clearly pointed to government corruption as the driving force behind this terrible event (see, for example, Mexico City Times, June 28, 1996). In addition, during Boise’s years of operation in Guerrero, Mexico (July 1995 to April 1998), we never took delivery of logs harvested in Tepetixtla, the area where the killings occurred. Boise didn’t sign a contract with Guerrero’s governor.

Finally, if students and University officials are looking for recycled paper, as The Pitt News article suggests, then Boise’s ASPENTM 30 percent recycled paper is a high-quality copy and multiuse paper that contains 30 percent post-consumer fiber and meets federal and state guidelines for recycled content. If the University or its students prefer to purchase a 100 percent recycled paper, then Boise offers customers a 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper called ASPEN* 100 office paper. ASPEN(tm) 100 office paper delivers reliable, high-quality performance.

We at Boise support and encourage debate on issues of public concern. But that debate must be based on facts, not misinformation and false accusations. We want to assure you that this attack on our company is unfounded.

Ralph Poore

Media relations manager

Boise Cascade Corporation