Millennials, it's time to vote and be heard

To my fellow millennials, it's time to make our voices heard. After months of protests, demonstrations, donations, and volunteering, Tuesday is the time for us to practice the most important tool of our democracy - the right to vote.

While I applaud anyone who has been on the Parkway with a sign or on Broad Street chanting or has opened his or her wallet and schedules for a cause, none of that means anything unless you exercise the most fundamental right afforded us as citizens in a republic - the right to vote. Without casting a vote and giving ourselves a seat at the table of policy- and decision-making, the powers-that-be will refuse to hear us.

I encourage everyone, especially young people, to take the time to vote. There's power in numbers; our single votes matter. Whether our issues are with corruption and mismanagement within our city government, how city contracts are awarded, outrage at the Trump administration, or something else, it's time to make sure we're heard by our duly elected officials.

|Dave Rosenblum, Philadelphia, daverose259@gmail.com

Columnist Christine Flowers' point that prosecutors "should only care about convicting the guilty" showed a remarkably tone-deaf understanding of the role of an elected district attorney ("Philly DA candidates: You work for the people, not the crook," Philly.com, Tuesday).

When Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele welcomes new lawyers, one of his first lessons is that prosecutors' clients include the defendants facing charges as well as the victims of crime. A prosecutor's job is to do justice for all of our citizens. Yes, victims of crime need strong advocates. Not one of the current candidates have forgotten that - least of all the two who have, themselves, been victims of violent crime. But ignoring the process risks running roughshod over the truth.

That attitude is precisely why we have people in prison who are innocent of any crime. And without an acknowledgement of that very fundamental truth, we are doomed to repeat the sins of our past.

|Marissa Boyers Bluestine, legal director, Pennsylvania Innocence Project, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Philadelphia, innocenceprojectpa@temple.edu

On May 15, the nation observes Peace Officers Memorial Day and the start of National Police Week as a tribute to federal, state, and local officers killed or disabled in the line of duty.

This occasion also gives us the chance to thank local peace officers for all they do to protect our communities and come to the aid of citizens.

Former military personnel comprise an estimated half of police officers nationwide. That shouldn't be surprising. There is a continuity of purpose - service to country and community. We offer thanks to them and their families for the dedication, commitment, and perseverance they demonstrate on behalf of citizens and communities everywhere.

At Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care, we honor America's veterans throughout the year. Today, we hope peace officers everywhere will share in that recognition and be aware of the gratitude and respect they engender.

|Terri Doughty, acting executive director, Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care, Plymouth Meeting

The law provides fair procedures for students in campus sexual-misconduct proceedings ("Put safeguards in sex-assault cases," Tuesday). Yet, campuses have long failed to treat survivors fairly.

Students who seek help for devastating sexual victimization encounter administrators who respond inappropriately and harmfully. In 2011, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reminded campuses of their obligations under Title IX, and colleges started to pay attention. The procedures OCR prescribes are consistent with those historically required by courts for public and private universities. They require equal treatment for the accused and the survivor, including a standard of proof that applies in all civil rights cases, even those brought by students challenging findings of violations of university rules prohibiting sexual misconduct.

The American College of Trial Lawyers ignores equality and the survivor in its white paper, seeking to tip the scales in favor of the accused to the detriment of the survivor.

|Terry L. Fromson, managing attorney, Women's Law Project, Philadelphia

The Medicaid program accounts for nearly 23 percent of all spending in Pennsylvania's budget. Of that, long-term care services, primarily for older adults, account for 21 percent. That cost will only increase, since the above-85 population is the fastest growing segment in the commonwealth.

At LeadingAge PA, an association of not-for-profit senior services, we believe there's a way to slow down the rate of budget increases in caring for older adults - and consumers would benefit.

When a person with limited financial means needs around-the-clock assistance and lacks community supports to be cared for at home, the only option is to qualify for Medicaid and be placed in a nursing facility. That person often could be cared for in an assisted-living facility for half the cost, but Pennsylvania doesn't include assisted living in the Medicaid program.

The government could save nearly $100 million annually if people could access assisted living instead of inappropriately being placed in a nursing facility. That would help the consumer, their loved ones, and taxpayers. It's time to make assisted living an option for low-income citizens who need full-time services.

|Ron Barth, president and chief executive officer, LeadingAge PA, Mechanicsburg, Pa.