Letters to the Editor: Roussel 06.15.17

‘Misquoted’

Springs

June 8, 2017

David,

Helen Roussel says she was misquoted in The Star article about her work for dyslexic students (June 1, page A1). The reporter who wrote the article believed Helen said, “2 percent of the population is gay and they’ve already got their own bathrooms,” but this is an obviously false statement of fact. There are no gay-only bathrooms anywhere I know of.

It strikes me as poor journalism that Helen was not called by reporter or editor to explain this untrue statement. Failure to do so has subjected her to unjustified but humiliating criticism. She is a dedicated advocate of special education for dyslexic students.

ARNOLD LEO

P.S. Helen is my niece-in-law.

Misinformation

June 5, 2017

Wainscott

Dear Editor,

While dyslexia in schools is certainly a problem to be addressed, I was outraged that Ms. Roussel wrote misinformation that was clearly not fact-checked about the gay population and has absolutely nothing to do with dys­lexia! Why even make a compari­son? And to be very clear, gays do not have “their own bathrooms.” Furthermore, the gay population in the United States is more than 12 percent of the population, not 2 percent. And that number is those who are open and counted. There are many, many more.

The East Hampton Star is a good publication and should be ashamed to print such false truths.

Dr. BARBARA ROTHBERG

Bigotry Is Alien To Her

Sag Harbor

June 10, 2017

Dear Editor,

I’ve several times been at either end of the interview process. I’ve even been both interviewer and interviewee for The East Hampton Star, a paper with a significant effect on its community and one which I continue to respect. I know how easy it is for quotes to get scrambled, misspoken, or misheard. This is why anomalies, in particular, need to be checked. 

There were four letters to the editor in this week’s Star, all of them pointing out a nonsensical and implicitly homophobic remark in the second paragraph of a front-page article called “Spelling It Out” (June 1). The article was based on an interview with Helen Roussel of Sag Harbor. It is about the serious research and advocacy she does to help children with reading difficulties get the attention they need. The unfortunate (and superfluous) remark early in that article was attributed to her.

I am writing this letter to say that I have known Helen Roussel for many years. Homophobia — or any form of bigotry — is alien to her character as I know it. I thought that, under these circumstances, it would be important to say this publicly.

CAROL WILLIAMS

Out of Context

Sag Harbor 

June 9, 2017

Dear Editor,

The letters of complaint last week in The East Hampton Star about my supposed remarks about gay people and bathrooms in the article “Spelling It Out” were completely justified — from the way the article was written. 

But I was not accurately quoted, and I was deeply upset that the remarks I did make were taken out of context. Over the course of a wide-ranging interview, I did not comment on bathrooms for gay people; I referred to bathrooms like those now labeled All Gender that accommodate the needs and feelings of transgender individuals and those with other gender identities. No prejudice or disparagement was intended at all — I am an advocate for L.G.B.T. rights.

My error, for which I apologize, was referring at all to accommodations for one group as a yardstick against which to measure the lack of accommodations for another. 

We live in a diverse and tolerant society; this is the founding principle of our free country. Today more than ever we need to be sensitive speakers and good listeners. 

Yours sincerely,

HELEN ROUSSEL



Handwritten notes taken by Judy D’Mello of The East Hampton Star during an interview with Ms. Roussel about her efforts to bring more awareness to dyslexia issues contradict Ms. Roussel’s recollection of that conversation as stated above. Ed.