Letters: Ohio bill 'frighteningly similar' to new Russian law - The Columbus Dispatch
Restrictive Ohio bill frighteningly similar to new Russian law
The March 7 column "Proposed law threatens accreditation, funding of colleges, universities" left me surprised and shocked.
I was surprised that Ohio lawmakers would not understand the impact of the potential Ohio law House Bill 327 on federal laws. Apparently, federal law requires our institutions of higher learning to be accredited for them to be eligible for federal funding.
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The column's authors noted that their accrediting agency would have to deny accreditation to colleges and universities that implemented the restrictions proposed in the bill. Ohio residents would suffer greatly.
Ohio lawmakers seem proud of the recent announcement that Intel plans to bring a mega manufacturing complex to Ohio, but part of Intel’s attraction to Ohio was its universities and technical schools providing a competent workforce. If federal assistance is lost, then Intel may just jump back to Wisconsin.
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Those same Ohio lawmakers who profess to be against 'big government' would require many more state government agencies to be set up to monitor for and enforce the absence of these forbidden topics that might be mentioned in the schools.
More:Professor: 'Only the brave and foolish' will teach about race, ethnicity if bill passes.
What shocks me is that the law that would prohibit certain things to be said or discussed in schools is frighteningly similar to the recent laws passed in Russia outlawing the use of words like “war” and “invasion.”
So who is this law meant to protect? Is it the elected officials who do not wish to have educated voters?
Monica Zimmerman, Columbus
Lawmaker should remember Maya Angelou's words: history 'cannot be 'unlived'
As a library lover, I find House Bill 327 particularly alarming.
The current version of the “divisive concepts” bill specifically mentions political subdivisions, which includes public libraries. It’s hard to imagine how a library could even function without books and other media that have been considered divisive at some point since their publication.
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Maya Angelou famously wrote, "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." How can we learn from the past if we won’t face its brutality with clear eyes? If we don’t learn from it, aren’t future generations doomed to repeat those mistakes?
We should embrace teachable moments, not turn away from them. I urge all Ohioans to contact their representatives in opposition to this bill.
Adam Gibbs, Grove City
ODOT perpetuates I-70's history of 'racism'
The Ohio Department of Transportation announced it will soon permanently close the ramp which connects eastbound I-70 to northbound Ohio 315.
This work is part of the larger “Ramp Up” project which is intended to streamline highway access through downtown.
I-70 has a deeply racist history in our community and the choices ODOT is making underscore that we have not left this racism in the past.
More:How highways destroyed Black neighborhoods in the '60s, as told by elders who were there
In their official recommendations for alternative routes, ODOT instructs commuters coming off of Interstate 270 to drive through the Hilltop and Franklinton communities, directly along streets with high pedestrian traffic.
Indeed, one of these routes passes multiple apartment complexes and even the local elementary and middle school.
Pedestrian traffic deaths are already at a record high. When will ODOT value the lives of those living in minority. urban communities as much as they ease the lives of the commuters coming into our city?
Evangeline Warren, Columbus
source: https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/letters/2022/03/14/letters-odot-interstate-70-through-minority-areas-ohio-bill-simular-russian-law-divisive-concepts/7000212001/
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