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Home | Opinion Exchange | Letters

Readers Write for Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009

Last update: October 1, 2009 - 11:19 AM

PAWLENTY FOR PREZ

He's only following Sen. Obama's example

I find the ranting regarding the governor's political aspirations and current agenda almost comical! Critics obviously have closed their eyes to the fact that President Obama completely ignored his senatorial duties for roughly two years while pursuing his own political interests.

Is there a double standard here, or am I missing something? Maybe we should impeach all elected officials for aspiring to and working toward higher office?

RICH COLESTOCK, MINNEAPOLIS

HUNGRY STUDENTS

Empty stomachs often mean empty brains

What happens when Tyler, a low-income 8-year-old Minnesotan, goes to school without lunch money? The answer is not always a "free lunch."

An increasing number of Minnesota schools are turning away low-income children at lunch counters. Alternatively, our schools offer cheese or peanut butter sandwiches in place of the nutritionally balanced hot meal of the day. If Tyler has lunch debts, the school district may use a collection agency to pursue his family.

We are thankful that Senator Al Franken and Rep. Keith Ellison are currently working with a bipartisan group of legislators in Washington that views these practices as unacceptable. It has introduced a bill to expand free school lunch to more low-income children.

Federally funded free school lunches are only offered to children in families earning less than about $25,000 a year. Thousands of low-income Minnesota families experiencing a recent job loss, a home foreclosure or high medical bills are just out of reach of free school lunch. Some families pay a reduced price but even this price has become unaffordable for families living on the edge.

When times were good, schools could absorb lunch debts. Now that times are bad, this is no longer the case. Across the state, we know of school cooks and lunchroom staff instructed to turn children away after nonpayment. Some staff are digging into their own pockets to pay for lunches for these children. We also know of junior high teachers who keep snack drawers for teens who would rather go hungry than be stigmatized by taking the "cheese sandwich" at the lunch counter.

The most gifted teachers cannot teach math and science to a child who has not eaten for 18 hours. We hope you will join us in thanking Sen. Franken and Rep. Ellison for taking a leadership role in recognizing children cannot learn on empty stomachs.

JESSICA WEBSTER, ST. PAUL; POLICY ADVOCATE, LEGAL SERVICES ADVOCACY PROJECT, AND Colleen Moriarty, St. Paul, executive director, Hunger Solutions Minnesota

KNEE-JERK OPPOSITION

Republicans need to do more than complain

The Republican Party is concerned about President Obama spending time promoting a Chicago proposal to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Once again, if Obama is for it, the Republicans are against it.

I would prefer the Republican leadership use its own time better. We indeed do have many important issues that need solving. So the American people would appreciate the GOP's constructive cooperation instead of simply yelling rudely from the sidelines ala Rep. Joe Wilson.

STEVE MARK, MINNETONKA

PAYING FOR COLLEGE

MCAD understands the plight of students

In her Sept. 27 column, Kara McGuire wrote about the challenges that families and students have in paying for a college education. While one of the institutions mentioned was the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), the lessons apply to students at any number of public or private colleges or universities.

It is encouraging that the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, which will increase Pell Grants, cap interest rates and streamline the student loan application process, if passed by the Senate and signed into law.

The total financial aid package is often the most important factor in a student's decision of which school to attend. For this reason, MCAD sets aside more than $5 million annually for scholarships and financial aid. More than 90 percent of our students receive federal, state or institutional aid. Private loans, taken out by less than 3.5 percent of MCAD students, are not promoted as a way to pay for one's education. And once a MCAD student graduates, the college provides tailored, personal, and unlimited career placement support.

When author Dan Pink addressed MCAD graduates and their families in 2008, he said, "In the economy your children are about to enter, the abilities they have developed here at MCAD will serve them very well. The abilities that now matter most, in a hardheaded way, are really the right-brain ones: artistry, empathy, inventiveness, big-picture thinking. These abilities' have become paramount."

JAY COOGAN, MINNEAPOLIS; PRESIDENT, MINNEAPOLIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN

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