Recently I attended a Lobby Day in Columbus on the behalf of Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio to discuss the Ohio Prevention First Act with my state legislators. The day was very successful and informative, and I was proud to voice the need for this landmark legislation for Ohio women. The act encompasses a number of important subjects, including providing comprehensive sex education curriculum in Ohio schools to better prepare teens to reduce unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, to equalize access to contraception by pharmacies and insurance companies, and to ensure access to emergency contraception for sexual assault survivors in Ohio’s emergency rooms (The CARE Act). (more…)

Last week, the Voice featured the headline:  “FMF claims local clinics misleading: asserts that pregnancy centers withhold facts from patients.” I found many of its arguments inaccurate. (more…)

As the Beall Avenue Streetscape project through the College nears its end, I hope students will change their habits and cross only in the new brick-paved crosswalks.

For a very long time, students have crossed the street wherever they wanted to. While construction has been going on, few cars have been using the street and students have gotten even more into the habit of crossing anywhere. Now that the project through the campus is nearly over, automobile traffic is starting to pick up again. Old habits need to be updated. (more…)

I write in response to Alexander Lans’s opinion published in last week’s edition of The Wooster Voice.

First, I applaud his concern and find that we agree on several of the substantive points.  While it may not be surprising given the historical grounding of our college and our nation, the observance of religious holidays is decidedly Christian-centric.  Lans and I would, I believe, agree that these norms are in conflict with an espoused set of values that would have us recognize that faith traditions are essential dimensions of culture; if we value the multiculturalism of our campus community, we should respect the many faith traditions of our members. (more…)

I am writing in response to the article “We deserve more than a tool shed,” published Sept. 4.

In my three years at The College of Wooster, I have lived in the Annex, Bissma, and Wagner. What I have found is that almost anyone will tell you that, in reality, the physical condition of the building has minimal impact on the overall quality of life. As a former Annexer (’07-’08), as we like to call ourselves, I crack jokes about its dilapidated appearance frequently. However, the community built inside those peeling walls was as good as any underclassman could hope for. (more…)

Health care should remain a capitalist business.  No matter who pays for it, health care is a service.  You don’t get something for nothing — there are exceptions, but health care is not — and should not be — one of them.  The only exceptions are services that the Constitution instructs the government to provide and that individuals cannot provide for themselves: a postal system, maintenance of roads, national defense, etc.  Nowhere in the Constitution is there a right to free health care.  The fact that many struggle to pay their medical bills is concerning, but irrelevant to the idea that it is a right.  Many struggle to pay for their homes — does everyone now have the right to a free house? (more…)

I would like to personally let you know how much I appreciate all the articles on the upcoming election. Since it is in fact, such an important election, this kind of coverage is most certainly necessary. I’ve found all of your articles very interesting, especially the ones regarding Sarah Palin.

As an American woman, it’s such an unfortunate and quite frankly, an insulting nomination and it is crucial to alert the public just what kind of woman she is. Against sex education, birth control, environmental protection, alternative energy development, gun control, and the separation of church and state, Sarah Palin is clearly a destructive choice as the potential Vice President of America. (more…)

The choice by John McCain of Sarah Palin as his candidate for the vice presidency is an act of astonishing irresponsibility and exhibits profoundly poor judgment. Not since Richard Nixon’s ill-considered choice of Spiro Agnew and George H. W. Bush’s highly questionable selection of Dan Quayle has there been such a frontal assault on the common sense and clear thinking of most Americans. This type of flawed, shallow decision making and imprudent judgment clarifies for all why McCain is not only a very dangerous and radical choice for president, but it also confirms in starkly realistic terms why he is absolutely ill equipped to carry out the duties of the office. (more…)