Removal of Commandments reveals heritage is forgotten

Removal of Commandmentsreveals heritage is forgotten
EDITOR:
We, as Christians, have been sitting on our thumbs too long. It is time we speak up and be heard.
First, you took prayer out of the schools. Now, the state of Alabama is trying to take the Ten Commandments out of the courthouse.
We believe that courthouse is paid for with taxpayers' money. Therefore it should be up to the taxpayers to make that decision, not a minority.
Let us remind you whenever you took office, including the president of the United States of America, you put your hand on the Holy Bible. You swore to uphold the laws of this country. It is our belief that those laws are the Ten Commandments that are in the Bible.
Those laws were given to Moses by God. All the courts go by those laws. The laws say thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit adultery, and more. How can you make a ruling to have the Ten Commandments removed from the courthouse when this is the basic law of our country?
This country was founded on religious freedom. Maybe you should read the Constitution of this United States of America. Starting with George Washington who fought the British for our freedom to the World War II veterans who also fought for freedom from Hitler's tyranny, has that bloodshed of all veterans been in vain?
JAMES HILL
Youngstown
When it comes to YSU issues,de Souza needs reality check
EDITOR:
Bertram de Souza's Aug. 10 column featured his routine apoplexy over a pay increase at YSU and an anonymous letter by a YSU faculty member who alleges low morale in the work force.
The fact is that even after the recent pay package granted to Mr. McFadden, YSU's chief development officer (read fund-raiser), he is paid modestly compared to his peers in the public system in Ohio. His credentials, popularity and professional success justify an effort by the university to retain his services for the long term.
What has become tiring is Bertram blowing his top every time there is a pay or tuition increase at YSU. It is time to recognize three basic facts about YSU.
(1) YSU employs people whose education, skills and experience command significant salaries and benefits in the higher education marketplace.
(2) Regular tuition increases are unavoidable at YSU to meet operating costs in the wake of declining state support. When I joined the YSU faculty in 1969, the state paid about 77 percent of the operating costs of YSU. In the new fiscal year, the percentage will have dropped to less than 40 percent. As the proportion of support provided by the state has declined, the proportion of support provided by students has increased. This same general pattern has occurred across the state and indeed across the nation.
(3) Despite the trend of periodic fee increases, fees at YSU are consistently among the lowest at Ohio's public universities.
Given the need to attract and retain a highly qualified work force and given the steadily decreasing support of the state, the only way YSU can avoid pay or tuition increases is to close.
Coincidentally, I served recently on a jury that ruled in favor of The Vindicator in a civil case. The Vindicator was represented by a competent and articulate attorney who argued his case brilliantly. What did your newspaper pay for this talent? Did it take bids and hire the lowest bidder? Did it go to someone struggling to stay in practice? Of course not. It hired the best talent that it could afford. Why should YSU do any less?
THOMAS A. SHIPKA, Ph.D.
Youngstown
X The writer is professor and chair of philosophy and religious studies at YSU.