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Johnson’s record worrisome for students at YSU

Congressman Bill Johnson becoming YSU’s next president has been a point of contention in the community. Frustration concerning the hiring of a politician, with highly polarizing political views, and absolutely no background in academia, is to be expected even if not unusual. Increasingly, universities are pursuing this tactic after being tightly squeezed by state funding cuts. Ohio’s budget this year included several provisions specifically targeting funding at public higher education institutions. These included changes to the rates on tuition increases and the State Share of ...

School lunches always should be free

During the pandemic, the government embarked on a beautiful experiment: expanding public programs to stave off poverty. One critical component was ensuring that public school students had free lunches regardless of family income. During the 2020-2021 school year, 98 percent of all school lunches were free to students. All of a sudden, public schools were allowed to treat the idea of feeding students to be as essential as educating them. These pandemic-era programs — which also included a monthly Child Tax Credit, a pause in student loan repayments, and expansions of SNAP and ...

School lunches always should be free

During the pandemic, the government embarked on a beautiful experiment: expanding public programs to stave off poverty. One critical component was ensuring that public school students had free lunches regardless of family income. During the 2020-2021 school year, 98 percent of all school lunches were free to students. All of a sudden, public schools were allowed to treat the idea of feeding students to be as essential as educating them. These pandemic-era programs — which also included a monthly Child Tax Credit, a pause in student loan repayments, and expansions of SNAP and ...

Disarming domestic abusers protects everyone in country

Before the Lewiston, Maine, spree shooting suspect began voicing plans to “shoot up” his community, there was already a red flag that he might someday commit a mass shooting. The same red flag was also present well before a Florida Republican donor shot his wife and then killed himself in a restaurant parking lot three weeks ago in Palm Beach, Florida. The same red flag had been flapping wildly for years before a shooter took the life of a Judge in Maryland four weeks ago. Each of the shooters, now all dead by suicide, had the same red flag waving from their past: domestic violence. ...

Opioid settlements will be impactful to Ohioans

For decades, Ohio, like every state, has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Thousands of lives have been lost to substance-use disorders and thousands more continue to struggle with this disease. As the pharmaceutical industry begins to pay out lawsuit settlements as a consequence of its role in the opioid epidemic, our state has come together in an unprecedented way to fight to abate this crisis and save lives as one Ohio. Just two months ago, I was honored to be appointed to serve as the OneOhio Recovery Foundation’s first permanent executive director. I appreciate the board of ...

Remember to honor veterans today

Veterans Day is an important opportunity to honor the brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting our country and reflect on the extraordinary sacrifices they and their families have made to preserve our freedoms. I’m proud to represent a population of more than 26,000 veterans in Ohio’s 14th Congressional District. As the son of a World War II veteran, I grew up hearing firsthand accounts of the dedication that is required to serve our country and the challenges veterans face when they return home. Today, my deep gratitude for those in uniform, along with my ...