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Sup? and contributions to literature

During my 25 years as a professor at Saint Francis, I read countless student essays and research papers — some good, some bad, and some surprisingly funny. And though I’ve forgotten many of those papers (and sadly some of the students), one student’s “contribution to the literature,” as professors say, sticks with me 15 years after I retired. The paper began with one word: “Sup?” Having no idea what this word meant, I asked a young secretary — not much older than the students and accustomed to questions from clueless professors. “It means ‘What’s up?’” ...

Safety first before sharing kids’ photos

As families across our area prepare for a new school year, the Center for Child Justice, Blair County's Children's Advocacy Center, is encouraging parents and caregivers to think carefully about the personal information they share in first-day-of-school photos. For years, the CAC has educated families about online safety, digital privacy and the ways offenders use publicly available information to target children. While first-day-of-school photos are a cherished tradition, many of the signs used in these posts can unintentionally reveal details that put children at risk. "We ...

Encouraging children to read is crucial

As we approach the forthcoming college fall semester, much discussion has centered on the difficulties a lot of Gen Z students are having with reading and critical thinking. One Chronicle of Higher Education article that many of my colleagues at Ohio State University’s Lima campus recently read delves into students’ struggles with literacy. This review essay, “My Students Can’t Read,” was written by Tyler Jagt, an adjunct professor of liberal studies at Mercer University. Jagt discusses what I now like to call the “usual tech suspects” when it comes to students being ...

No price too high for evading school shopping

In the pantheon of parental duties, shopping for school supplies stands alone. At the tripart crossroads of “least enjoyable,” “most expensive” and “least negotiable,” it is an intrinsic part of life in late summer, and it has been since I was a kid in the Cretaceous era. I remember it much more fondly from that perspective — being the receiver of shiny No. 2 pencils, folders, composition notebooks and a Trapper Keeper to hold it all together. I’m certain my parents found the experience annoying and expensive, but with all due respect, they had absolutely no ...

We live in a mixed economy

Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan keeps calling himself a capitalist. And the Democratic Socialists of America keep backing him. Why? Because the DSA understands that El-Sayed has to say that to win over even Democrats in a moderate state like Michigan. They firmly expect that once elected, he would do as they say. Confusing? Yes, on purpose. But let’s move beyond this war of labels. Let’s stop using socialist and capitalist as either compliments or denunciations. The United States has a mixed economy, as do most modern countries. It has an economic system in ...

The summertime political reruns

When I was younger, so much younger than today (credit The Beatles for that lyric from “Help”), television networks would rerun programs that had originally been broadcast the previous fall and spring. A few still do, like “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy,” but those are syndicated shows. Still, it can be fun to watch programs you missed, or even ones you have seen, especially if you can impress someone with “Jeopardy” answers because you know them. Reruns that always annoy are the political ads, which start before primaries and continue until the day before the November ...