Speak Out A 11/20/03

Reasonable plan

I WANT to compliment the university for its approach to making budget cuts. I was particularly glad to see that an early retirement program wasn't made available to all the faculty. That made no financial sense. Limiting the retirement plan to the departments affected by the cuts was a much more reasonable course of action.

Critical choices

IF THE university administrators and regents were on a sinking lifeboat, rather than throw the stereos overboard, they'd throw a few survivors out.

Energy, environment

MTBE IS used as a fuel additive to replace lead. It also causes cancer, an attribute that has been known for some years. Most folks agree that a legitimate function of government is to protect us from air and water that might cause cancer. Republicans in Congress are proposing an energy bill that protects MTBE manufacturers from any liability for the carcinogenic product they market. In what way does this serve our energy needs or serve Americans? It looks more like business as usual from the party that favors corporate profit over human health. If Congress passes this bill, we have to hope the Senate will reject it since there is no doubt that the president will sign it if it reaches his desk.

Smoking dangers

EVERYONE KNOWS the effects that secondhand smoke has on those forced to breathe it. Parents are not allowed to neglect or harm their children, yet America lets them smoke in front of their children. Not only are parents smoking in front of their own children, but teachers and child-care workers are endangering the children under their temporary care. Why is this allowed, and why is no one doing anything to stop it?

Private comparison

IT WOULD be nice for SEMO to be compared favorably to Vanderbilt and Ivy League schools, as one Speak Out writer suggests, but he is missing the point. All those schools are private institutions funded by rich alumni. They cost considerably more to attend than SEMO. You still cannot name one decent state university that does not have an athletics department. I think the writer was one of those people losing a cushy job while the university trims its bloated staff.