Dear Editor,


I am the President of WJ’s Best Buddies Chapter. Best Buddies members were concerned about the way in which Best Buddies was construed in the Feb. 3 “Life after Best Buddies” article.

First, Best Buddies is not limited to high school in anyway whatsoever. There isn’t such a thing as life “after” Best Buddies because (1) Best Buddies is not a segment of a person’s life and (2) Best Buddies is not only about Academic Support Center (ASC) students interacting with non-ASC students.

Many Buddies take general courses with many other students and they are not at all limited to ASC and subsequently cut off from any other communication except for the interaction provided by Best Buddies. Best Buddies is an organization that benefits the Buddy just as much as it benefits the Peer Buddy because the joy and learning is reciprocated by both people, if not more so by the Peer Buddy in certain situations.

Best Buddies most definitely continues past high school. There are college chapters, community chapters, and even E-Buddies which is like having a Best Buddy online. And, most frequently, Buddies and Peer Buddies continue to stay in contact with one another even after they progress to a different stage in life.

One of the questions that Sam Mabie was asked to answer was: “What one tip would you give someone graduating from Best Buddies?” No one can graduate from Best Buddies because it is an activity, not a school program. It would have been much more appropriate to simply ask: “What one tip would you give to someone graduating from high school who has special needs/developmental needs?”

Thank you very much, and all in all, I was thrilled to see an article written about Sam’s journey.

Senior Yasmin Radbod
WJ Best Buddies President 2008-2009