Redmond Finney’s death is a loss for Baltimore

As a student, you are occasionally fortunate to have an excellent teacher who assists in clarifying the material being taught, repeatedly reaffirms that you are not a failure because you made a mistake and imparts a love of the subject matter that stays with you.

If you are extremely fortunate, you also had a relationship with a special educator in whose class you may never have sat, but who nevertheless has a profound and fundamental impact on the trajectory of your life and many others around you. Redmond C.S. Finney, former headmaster at the Gilman School, was such an educator (Redmond C.S. Finney, retired Gilman School headmaster and All-America lacrosse and football player, dies, Aug. 1).

There are those who exude character and integrity by their truly unselfish, self-effacing efforts to help young people. Redmond C.S. Finney was a spirited and determined member of generational change and equity in Baltimore’s education and community activity.

He was in a class of heads of schools in Baltimore that included, among others, the late Anne Healy (Roland Park Country School), Bo Dixon (McDonogh School), the late Byron Forbush (Friends School of Baltimore) and Hans Froelicher Jr. (The Park School), who neither settled for mediocrity nor condoned inequity.

Finney’s exuberant interest in the achievement of others made you especially appreciate him.

He lived like his mission was not so much to teach and coach, but to create the strong but compassionate leader. He took risks in doing what he thought was right for his students, his faculty and staff, his school and Baltimore.

His joy in the successes of those around him, either big or small, was palpable. As a result, those of us who had the privilege of crossing his path are better for the experience.

His death is a loss not only to his family but also to the greater Baltimore community. His likeness may never be seen again. But those who knew him owe it to continue his mission.

Stuart O. Simms, Baltimore The writer is an attorney in Baltimore, a Gilman alumnus and former President of the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust. Time to ban assault weapons — again

In 1994, Congress got a backbone and banned new assault weapons for a 10-year period. Its backbone was gone when it came time to renew that law. Its time to get a backbone again. And not just to ban new ones (“America’s deadly weekend: The guns,” Aug. 5).

Assault weapons have only one purpose — kill as many people in as short a time as possible. I have never heard of an AK-47 being used in defense of life or property but almost always in mass shootings.

They need to be banned and any that are currently owned need to be returned for a refund (by the government). After a grace period, ownership needs to be a felony.

City should be grateful for cleanup efforts

I read the heartwarming article by reporter Christine Condon about the recent cleanup day in West Baltimore, organized by Scott Presler of Virginia and attended by dozens of volunteers (“After Trump’s tweets, conservative activist leads neighborhood cleanup in West Baltimore,” Aug. 5).

Then I read the ugly response by The Sun’s editorial board (“We assume it was pure motives that led a Trump supporter to launch a cleanup in Cummings’ district, right?” Aug. 6). The editorial board didn’t seem to like that someone from outside the city would dare try to intervene in its problems.

They claimed that it reinforced the idea “that the poor people in this dilapidated city can’t take care of their own neighborhoods and all the public officials around them have failed as well.”

As a former city resident, it amazes me that anyone could be so ungrateful. At the end of the day, a neighborhood was left just a little bit brighter, even if the condition is only temporary. Maybe it was just a publicity stunt by Mr. Presler. Maybe it was a one time event.

Yet, I’ve never seen a current City Council member, let alone Rep. Elijah Cummings, ever pick up a single piece of trash off of Baltimore’s streets.

Perhaps, it should be a requirement for those seeking to run for city office.