Op-Eds

Separation of federal government and state

Think about it:  Would one federal department be more efficient at telling Americans how to get the best possible education? Or would dealing with education on a state, local or even personal level get the job done just as well, if not substantially better?  How would an all-powerful “mastermind” know what works best for Lorain, […]

The proof is in the pudding: 2010 is not 1934

The Republicans have won back the House of Representatives in this election, and the Democratic majority in the Senate is so narrow that nothing will get done.  It is important to know why this occurred. Conservatives will say it was a referendum on President Obama and a huge rejection of his “big government” philosophy. Many […]

Israel should be seen as a legitimate state

At UR, articles are being written with the intent of promulgating an anti-Israel agenda. The latest example is in an article regarding Israel’s status in the international community. People have freedom of speech, but when the information presented is not factual, others must speak out. The author of  a recent article, “Israel must be held […]

The clash of education reform and profit

At present, anyone hoping to be involved in any substantive way with the latest intellectual currents in educational reform must learn two words above all — charter schools. Despite their youth, charter schools have become the panacea for the troubles with education. Endorsed by everyone from Arne Duncan to the CEOs, chancellors or commissioners of […]

Apathy is not the answer to election troubles

These days in Washington D.C. it seems like the only thing higher than our national deficit is the moral deficit of our politicians. All the information one hears about government candidates seems to come from the unabashedly biased negative ads they throw at each other or from news reports uncovering heinous scandals. It’s no wonder […]

Pakistan can no longer be counted as an ally

I no longer feel that we can honestly call Pakistan an ally. Recently Two truck drivers were burned alive in an attack on fuel tankers heading to Afghanistan. Additionaly NATO forces launched attacks into Pakistan in attempts to eliminate terrorist threats. Taking these two events into consideration, let’s examine Pakistan’s response. Pakistani Ambassador Jalil Abbas […]

The importance of studying the humanities

Despite attending a modern research university, humanities students at the UR suffer relatively little for their choice of majors. Ribbing from their colleagues in the sciences, UR students interested in the humanities have a reasonable variety of programs from which to choose.  The unfortunate truth, however, is that as research universities go, this is far […]

The moral dilemmas of stem cell research

Stem cell research, particularly embryonic stem cell research, appears frequently in the news. Having followed this ongoing coverage and taken a general interest in the subject, we find that a number of pertinent issues often seem to go unaddressed. Our intent in writing this article is neither to attack nor defend the use of human […]

Suicide should never be glorified in society

   Suicide is, unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence in America. According to the  CDC, 95 people take their own lives everyday.  Most suicides go unreported, even by local media.  By contrast, the recent suicide of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi has drawn international attention.  This is due to media speculation that the cause of his death was […]

Israel should not negotiate with Hamas for peace

In the issue of The Campus Times from Sept. 30, an article  that commented on the now-stalled negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians noted that 1.5 million residents of Gaza  were not being represented in the talks and called for Hamas to be involved in the talks.   By firing thousands of rockets with the […]