Ex-Sen. Paul Simon, Uncommon Politician

California, with its recalls and casino connections and energy crises, could learn a lot from a genuine public figure like Paul Simon (obituary, Dec. 10). Despite his often partisan stances, the man had a thirst for fairness and had knowledge uncommon to the sound bite-spouting politicians clogging the airwaves.

I had the honor of studying under Sen. Simon at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1999. It was a journalism class, and our first assignment was to propose a topic for a magazine article. I already had my idea -- I was a former wrestler who had a bone to pick with Title IX. I wanted to explore the downfall of collegiate wrestling and draw a direct line to the gender-equity law. The day our assignment was due, Sen. Simon waxed political for a bit and coincidentally included a lengthy anecdote about the wonders of Title IX, about all the great things it did for his daughter and women athletes. I nearly swallowed the article proposal out of fear.

In the next class, Simon used my proposal as an example of how we must examine the world objectively and openly as journalists. He expressed genuine wonder at a fact I had researched -- 300-plus wrestling programs had been shut down since Title IX’s inception. To provide Simon, the author of 20 books, with a new fact provided a nice feeling for a 20-year-old.

Sen. Simon was a brilliant, thoughtful man of letters who will be sorely missed.

Rob Allin

Long Beach

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Re Sen. Simon: A good and decent man. These words are not usually associated with politicians, but former Illinois Sen. Simon was just that.

Ron Cossey

Studio City