Letters to the Editor | June 7, 2023

I find it hard to believe that there’s still talk about forgiving college debt, as cited in Will Bunch’s Sunday column. Whether for a car, a house, or a college education, before anyone gets a loan, they should determine how they’re going to repay it. Then they shop for the best deal — be it a car dealer, a mortgage company, or a college or university. Fortunately, unlike other loans, there are several alternatives for college loans, such as grants, scholarships, or pay-as-you-go, which is what I did. I worked and went to college at night. The company I worked for offered employees financial assistance for a portion of tuition. Figuring out how to pay for college is a big part of a person’s education, too. It teaches how to financially meet the many goals they may have throughout their lives. There’s no such thing as a “free lunch,” and the sooner someone learns that, the better.

Judy Sloss, Glenside, sloss@comcast.net

The current homelessness problem in Norristown is at a crisis point. There are no easy answers, and The Inquirer is making matters worse by misrepresenting my positions on the matter for the sake of sensationalistic headlines (“Norristown official wants to bus homeless people to Villanova University”). I never said I wanted to bus homeless people to Villanova. I said I wanted to bus people, including myself, to the Villanova campus to make a point: A wealthy institution like Villanova University — with ample grounds, empty dorms all summer long, and strong Catholic values to offer help to the underprivileged — could very well ease Norristown’s immediate homelessness crisis. I also never cursed at Villanova faculty member Stephanie Sena, as she claims, nor did I say anything about $500 gift cards for the homeless.

I am a lifelong Norristown resident. I care about the homeless in our community. But I also care about Norristown’s homeowners and business owners, who are seeing their home values and business revenues dramatically declining due in large measure to the multiple, hazardous homeless encampments nearby. I simply refuse to allow outside forces to try to socially engineer Norristown to be the dumping ground for the region’s homeless population, those in addiction, and mentally ill people. It’s happening because most of Montgomery County’s social services are clustered in Norristown. That doesn’t make it right. Homelessness is a deeply entrenched societal problem. Norristown alone cannot solve it. We need help from all the other municipalities in the county to remedy this dire situation.

Thomas J. Lepera, president, Norristown Municipal Council

Bravo to The Inquirer for turning the lens on chronic absenteeism in Philly’s schools. I taught high school English for over 20 years in a low-income district, and I know this to be true: Habitually absent students generally have reading levels far below grade level. Kids who read at, or above, grade level show up. What’s the fix? Literacy starts in homes with a bunch of books, with adults or older siblings frequently reading to babies. If you want to help distribute children’s books to families living in book deserts, check out BookSmiles.org, based out of Pennsauken.

Larry Abrams, founder and executive director, BookSmiles Book Bank, Pennsauken

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth aged 15-24 in the U.S. While we continue to engage in a multidisciplinary search for the complex causes of suicide, we keep mourning young lives to untimely deaths. When this happens, we rarely take the opportunity to have an honest conversation about suicidality with our young. As a human being, a committed educator, someone who’s lost family members, friends, and students to suicide, and as an academic who has dedicated most of her career to suicidality, I have learned that silence in front of youth suicide does not serve us.

By not addressing suicide deaths, we end up robbing our students of the chance to grieve together, to make sense of what, for most of us, is unthinkable, yet suddenly very real. With that silence, we are also perpetuating the stigma that makes suicidality so much more difficult to deal with. We are making it harder for students to reach out for help. By not addressing the suffering of the suicidal student, we end up ignoring them and the immensity of their pain. We owe it to our young, whose well-being and education we’re all committed to, to gently give them a straight answer. Life is hard. Suicide is not the solution.

Alessandra Seggi, visiting professor in the department of sociology and criminology, Villanova University

How is the debt ceiling deal a win for the American people if we don’t get certain things, such as ensuring that wealthy individuals and big corporations pay their fair share? The debt ceiling agreement took away some previously approved funding from the IRS, which is a double whammy in that the wealthy will continue to have less of a chance of being audited and continue to use well-worn loopholes. Why didn’t Congress rescind the federal subsidies, also known as corporate welfare, for the fossil fuel industry, especially oil companies? Instead, lawmakers increased the work requirements for food assistance. This was completely disingenuous as there are plenty of work requirements already. Next time, let’s rescind the antiquated debt ceiling. This drama was completely unnecessary and still may damage our economy. We can’t take a chance of it being used in a hostage situation ever again.

Michael Miller Jr., Philadelphia

Conservatives have exploited the death of George Floyd and the protests that followed by stirring up fears and grievances. Laws were passed that prohibited racial sensitivity training and courses in schools in Virginia and Florida that would make white people uncomfortable. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis emerged as the leading opponent of “woke views,” what he calls a malignant ideology. As a result, systemic racism has been completely ignored, and critical race theory has been mischaracterized as indoctrinating young people to hate their white parents for being racists.

In Florida, the teaching of Black history was seriously curtailed, books by Black authors were banned, and there was a hostile takeover of a progressive college by the state. DeSantis has pushed so hard against people of color that the NAACP has warned them to stay away from the state. What America is witnessing is white backlash following Floyd’s death that is being ruthlessly exploited by DeSantis, who is now running for president.

George Magakis Jr., Norristown

When I challenged 30-year incumbent State Rep. Greg Vitali in the Democratic primary last year, my observation that his legislative record was by far the scarcest in Southeastern Pennsylvania was met with the refrain that, “It’s just not worth it when you’re in the minority.” Despite the legislative success of many of his Democratic colleagues, it is indeed famously, nightmarishly difficult to pass legislation as a member of the minority party — or even in the majority of a divided, bicameral legislature. But now that Democrats in the Pennsylvania House have the majority, Vitali’s new position as chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee entrusts him with the responsibility of bringing forward his committee’s bills for a vote.

I fundamentally disagree that it “isn’t worth it” to act while in the minority — but to be inactive in the majority would be indefensible. Vitali should advance the following bills, currently sitting in the ERE Committee, for a vote. They are bold but reasonable, progressive but viable, and inherently efficacious in the fight for our planet. HB 477, disclosing fracking chemicals; HB 801, pipeline early detection and warning systems; HB 170, increasing setbacks for natural gas well sites and related infrastructure; HB 603 and HB 604, protection from PFAS; and HB 20, the Pennsylvania Water Resource Act. Please reach out and urge him to advance these bills for a vote. His district office number is 610-789-3900. His Harrisburg number is 717-787-7647.

David Brown, Ardmore

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