Dear Editor:

Regarding contract negotiations, Dr. Kolb says that the two sides cannot simply state their positions through the media. Didn’t the administration start this process by taking out full-page advertisements in the Daily Egyptian and Southern Illinoisan?

He also says union leaders must set up a time to come back to the bargaining table. I thought it was the administration that refused to go on with the negotiation process, thus reneging on its commitment to interest-based bargaining. Is Dr. Kolb saying they are prepared to go back to being reasonable?

By the way, if you make only one offer, I suppose it must be your “best and last” offer. By the same token, is it not also your “first and worst” offer?

W. D. Wallis professor, mathematics