Our readers' voice
In Monday's article, "Starting Salary Up for All Majors," you report that the average starting salary for Central Michigan University graduates is now $49,224. It may interest CMU students to know that the average salary for CMU assistant professors- many with Ph.D.s or other advanced degrees- is only slight more than that: $52,000. What this means is that many CMU graduates will earn more immediately after graduating from college with BAs than the professors who taught them!
Jeffrey Weinstock Graduate Program coordinator and associate professor of English
As we approach Election Day, I have a final appeal to voters, especially those registered here in Mount Pleasant: be informed voters.
With all the media coverage, it is hard to not know the issues when it comes to the presidential race, but when it comes to the local races, voters can be tempted to be lazy and not be informed voters.
Whether you are voting for Senator Obama or Senator McCain, I encourage you not to simply cast a straight ticket vote. Students who are voting on campus will be making decisions that impact the permanent residents of Isabella County, and it is unfair to these good people to make an uninformed vote.
Two of the races that will be very important this election are the races for register of deeds and county clerk. Register of Deeds Sharon Brown and County Clerk Joyce Swan, who have been in office for years, have perfected the jobs that they do, and having a bunch of college students elect two people who have no clue what they're doing over two competent public servants is just wrong.
And the same goes for all other races this year. Voting straight ticket is not voting the issues, and that is unacceptable. Some people may not care about researching the candidates for these offices, and that is fine too.
Just remember that you do not have to vote for each office. If you don't want to research the candidates for the county positions, then just vote for president.
If that is all that is important to you, then do that. Voting in only the presidential race is far better than voting in all of the races without knowing the facts.
Nathan Inks Lincoln Park sophomore
Obama not the one
Buyer beware. Republicans thought they were getting a competent conservative leader in W. in 2000 because that is what we largely wanted to see, not what a critical analysis of the record showed.
Same holds true for Obama, folks want to see a dynamic, competent, leader who will unite - where the record shows otherwise. He is a radical product of the corrupt Chicago political machine, and he is an elitist.
I think Obama will win and he will be a failure (when in league with Pelosi and Reed how can there be any other outcome?) ... yes, like Bush and the Republicans (not conservatives) have been failures.
This country is lacking principled leadership in both parties.
Eric commenting on Vote for Obama posted 9:18 a.m. Oct. 27
Voting against a veteran
I didn't think there would be a time I wouldn't vote for a veteran given the choice, but McCain has proven me wrong when he was stunningly absent from the New GI Bill vote and actively spoke against it. Also he brings a forgiven policy rooted in a cold war mentality, while also supporting a trickle-down economic plan. As we have seen these don't work in today's world.
It is better to have more people buying many things or a few people buying a few high-ticket items? Us in the middle class spread out wealth more than those in the upper class. We keep the Meijer, Target, Wal-Mart, GM, Fords, etc. in business, keeping our money circulating among the middle class.
Rick L. commenting on Vote for Obama posted 12:08 p.m. Oct. 27
Conservatives shouldn't have to pay
Central Michigan University is acting unconstitutionally in that the university has an obligation to provide free security for politically-related events on campus. If student groups were required to pay for security, those who disagreed with the topic discussed could disrupt the event in order to increase the cost of hosting the event for event organizers. This amounts to a "Heckler's Veto."
I wonder how liberal groups on campus would respond if they had to pay extra for events, because Dennis Lennox and CMU-YAF showed up to protest and/or cause disruption. The liberal groups would demand that they not be required to pay for it.
Liberal groups, conservative groups and a-political students must band together to protest this draconian university policy. The market-place of ideas is threatened by free speech-hating administrators.
University President Michael Rao and his goons must be held accountable to the students, but more importantly, to the United States Constitution.
Dr. David Duke commenting on University to charge political group for Horowitz security posted 10:01 p.m. Oct. 26
