Excerpts of recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Ohio newspapers:
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The Toledo Blade, March 11
Oh the brave new world of higher education.
Rider University In New Jersey had been considering inviting Chick-fil-A to open a franchise on campus because students like the food the chain produces. The university dropped Chick-fil-A because of the company owner’s opposition to same-sex marriage.
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And while the passion of college-aged activists is a wonderful thing, not everything in life - like eating a sandwich - needs to be a political, or ideological, decision.
… Meanwhile, fight for something that matters - like free speech on campus, or a vital American press, or schools that change lives. Virtue-signaling is an act of vanity. It builds nothing and changes nothing.
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It takes all kinds to make a world, and that’s one thing - the plurality of humanity and thought, even in a single individual - a person should learn in college. That’s why colleges should be “safe spaces,” for all sorts of opinions and people.
Finally, the administrators in charge of institutions of higher learning need to show young people how to be adults. They need spine and intellectual clarity. Universities exist to seek out and pass on thoughts of lasting value, not fads and passions of the moment.
Online: https://bit.ly/2NZ7n9n
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The Lima News, March 9
It took some doing, but Ohio came up with a solution for its under-performing schools that is proving to be worse than the problem.
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House Bill 70 was supposed to be a cure-all when it became law in 2015. Its message to under-performing schools was a simple one: Correct your problems, or the state will correct them for you.
That sounded good - tough love. But almost four years into it we’re finding tough talk doesn’t always equate into sterling results.
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There’s also no question Ohio’s heavy reliance on standardized testing makes for a flawed grade card. Consider a school district’s graduation rate only counts for 15 percent of its overall school grade. Shouldn’t that be the most important measure of a school?
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In this case, the true “F’’ may belong to the Ohio Department of Education. With all the children who graduate from Ohio public schools finding success in college, the job market and the military, how can the state agency put out a report card claiming the vast majority of the state’s schools do not prepare graduates for success?
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Online: https://bit.ly/2Ttvrre
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The Vindicator, March 5
President Donald J. Trump’s love for brutal dictators notwithstanding, North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un has the blood of American college student Otto Warmbier of Cincinnati on his hands. The administration must hold Kim responsible.
Trump’s willingness to give the dictator a pass on the death of the 22-year-old University of Virginia student, who succumbed to injuries from months of torture in North Korea, should be the last straw - even for the Republican president’s most ardent supporters.
Unfortunately, he has become the political Teflon Don for millions of Americans who voted for him in 2016.
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Fred and Cindy Warmbier did not mince words in reacting to the president’s statement about the North Korean strongman.
“Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”
In the midst of the widespread condemnation of his comment, Trump said Friday that he was being misinterpreted.
“Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Otto’s mistreatment and death,” he said.
Note that the president did not say he holds Kim responsible, and neither did he use the word torture to describe what the young American student experienced.
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Online: https://bit.ly/2HcZGvP
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The Sandusky Register, March 6
Give Mike DeWine credit: He’s diving in addressing problems we didn’t know were problems until he amped up attention. The gas task proposal is one such issue that needs addressed. A decision by DeWine to form a task force to study the warrants system in the state is another.
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The vast majority of warrants get processed through the sheriff’s office, and warrants can pile up and be difficult to manage. At times, multiple warrants are filed for the same individual, or warrants cannot be served because the suspect is gone on arrival, or otherwise cannot be located.
DeWine wants his task force to make a quick study of what the problems are and what potential solutions can be found and report back to him within three months. No sense dragging it out.
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The sheer volume of outstanding warrants - 466 out of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and another 1,700 for other agencies - likely means the system is ripe for upgrades and efficiency models. If DeWine’s task force can come up with solutions and ways to streamline the system everyone will be better off.
Online: https://bit.ly/2EUgXWZ
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