Americans should proudly
sacrifice for equality
While reading “Title IX is in serious need of revision,” (ODE, Mar. 6) I was once again disappointed with the perspective that many people have regarding this issue.
We live in a country with an appalling track record of classist laws and oppressive actions. In recent history, many noble attempts have been made (including Title IX) to even the playing field for the marginalized. These shifts have increased opportunities for some, thereby limiting opportunities for others.
Decades ago, this country decided to allow blacks to serve in the armed forces. As a result, there are simply fewer positions available for upstanding white folk. Providing tax relief and governmental support to socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals raises taxes for the rest of us. Should we ever get around to granting homosexuals the right to marry and receive commensurate insurance benefits, heterosexual couples everywhere can surely expect their rates to rise to make up for the financial losses incurred by the insurance companies.
My point is this: When the reality of finite resources is paired with a desire to even out the appropriation of those resources, there will necessarily be individuals who “suffer” in the process. This is the price we pay for equality, and we should pay it proudly. As Americans, it is who we are.
Jessica Rasmussen
first-year graduate student
special education
State must fund suffering
education system
Bent over the guillotine, funding for post-secondary education sits on the chopping block; the blade of the state budget cuts hovers a mere inch above the heads of students. Once the current budget plan, recently signed by the Oregon Senate, receives the governor’s signature, more than 3,000 Oregon college students will lose some or all of their Oregon Opportunity Grant for the next school year. Oregon recently received an “F” for affordability by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, and any further cuts will drastically damage students’ abilities to attend college.
I know that K-12 education is facing a funding crisis and that the Education Stability Fund money is needed to keep K-12 schools going. However, Oregon’s colleges and universities are suffering their own crisis as well. Oregon needs to support education at all levels, rather than transferring funds between higher education and K-12. By maintaining funding and grants for higher education in the next biennium, students will have the opportunity to receive a college education, allowing Oregon to reap the economic benefits of a highly educated workforce in the future.
Tobias S. Piering
freshman
pre-planning, public policy and management
