Gamer-Girl Power

Wonderful to see this article [“She Got Game,” October 24]. Though our percentage of female students may be lower compared to higher education in general, for game schools it is not. On top of which: Women are leading the game initiative at Champlain through the leadership of Amanda Crispel and the Emergent Media Center. There we are addressing issues that others are afraid to approach — both in the game space and in life. The Emergent Media Center has produced “Breakaway,” a game that addresses violence against women and girls with Population Media Center and United Nations sponsorship — to great success! One of the story’s subjects, Erin Trzcinski, worked on it. This year, one of our students, Mahmoud Jabari, introduced “Breakaway” in peace camps for youth in the divided West Bank city of Hebron, Palestine. The results were amazing: Children went from believing that girls shouldn’t play sports to playing soccer with girls! This project was the subject of the keynote address in a recent “Meaningful Play” conference at Michigan State University. Champlain, Vermont and our female game developers are on the curve of change! The “Breakaway” team will talk about the project on November 26 at 6 p.m. in Perry Hall.

Ann DeMarle

Jericho

DeMarle is the director of Champlain College’s Emergent Media Center.

Hurling Insults?

[Re “Enfant Terroir-ible,” October 24]: It’s hard to believe that your food critic Alice Levitt — in her recent review of Caroline’s Fine Dining — would say that “our entrées made us just about due for the vomitorium.” How classless.

Dan Cohen

Burlington

Editor’s note: Context is everything. Levitt’s mostly glowing review of Caroline’s did contain a reference to the myth — now disproved — that ancient Romans threw up between courses to make room in their bellies for more food. The line was: “Though our entrées made us just about due for the vomitorium, we were so enjoying ourselves that we charged on to dessert.” Ancient Roman “vomitoria” were in fact the passageways within amphitheaters that allowed people to exit efficiently.

In the Name of the Son

[Re “Burlington PD’s Computer System Was Clunky and Costly — So Chief Mike Schirling Built a New One,” October 24]: A very well written piece on my son’s police department management system. He has combined a deep knowledge and years of experience in multiple disciplines into this system, and it has paid off for the department he manages and for the state of Vermont. He started in public service at age 16 in Colchester Rescue and went on from there. I guess you could say I am proud of his accomplishments.

Pete Schirling

Burlington

Lake Champlain Isn’t “Great” — or Large

Lake Champlain is beautiful and beloved, but it is not the sixth largest lake in the United States [“What Lies Beneath,” October 31]. If one speaks of natural, freshwater lakes in the United States, Lake Champlain ranks 12th in surface area. In addition to the five Great Lakes, six lakes have greater surface area than Lake Champlain: Lake Okeechobee in Florida, Lake of the Woods and Red Lake in Minnesota, Lake Iliamna and Lake Becharof in Alaska, and Lake St. Claire in Michigan. Unfortunately, the “sixth largest” falsehood has been mentioned in authoritative sources such as Lake Champlain books and research websites. It is repeated frequently by local media and tourist literature. I hope Seven Days can agree it’s not necessary to twist the truth to praise Lake Champlain!

Cynthia Norman

Burlington

Snowboard Gets Its Due

I would like to thank Seven Days and Keenan Walsh for the fine article “Snow Show” in the October 10 edition. It is nice to see that snowboarding is starting to get greater media attention these days. With Vermont being the birthplace of snowboarding — it recently became the official state winter sport — I hope we can all now stop and celebrate the historical impact it has played in our state.

Greg Carpenter

Fairfax

Sushi Standards

I think this review is unfair and far below the standards of Seven Days [“Plenty of Fish,” March 14]. I live nearby in Fairfield and couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the quality and class that this fine establishment has brought to northern Vermont.

To base a review on sampling the most adventurous dishes a restaurant has on the menu, without first sampling the classic dishes that the average patron would order when trying a new ethnic restaurant, seems to be more of a witch hunt than a serious review.

That the author didn’t like the Hot Lava roll is of no use to me or to most sushi lovers. I would never order the menu items reviewed by your author.

Please tell me, how were the sushi and sashimi lunches? Was the eel sushi delectable? Was the presentation perfect? Did the mixed sushi plate absolutely knock you over with the subtle flavors only found in the freshest fish paired with the perfect rice and sauces?

The answers to all these questions are a resounding “yes!” at the restaurant known as Yama, but your reviewer missed it all and in doing so did your readers a great disservice.

Vermonters deserve to know about this place.

Bennett Dawson

Fairfield

Editor’s note: The roll mentioned above is called the Kiss of Fire, not the Hot Lava.

More 3-D Printers

The career center in Newport has had two 3-D printers for a year now [Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: “What exactly is a 3-D printer?” October 24]. As is the case in Vermont news reporting, only the schools in the Burlington area get coverage.

Ron Paula

Littleton, N.H.

CORRECTION

In last week’s Fair Game, Paul Heintz mistakenly reported that the Vermont Senate includes seven Republicans and that 10 Republican House members are retiring. In fact, the Senate includes eight Republicans and only nine Republican House members are retiring.