Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “Letters to the Editor”

Letter to the Editor

We, the Community Health Organizers, constructively disagree with the article, “How to Have a Good Convocation,” published on September 1st in The Sophian. Although we recognize that the article was not meant to be taken seriously, all Smith students have a responsibility to model safe and inclusive practices for living in community, meeting new people, partying, and participating in consensual sexual encounters. This is even more important during a pandemic, to keep everyone safe and healthy. 

Letter to the Editor

Pursuing a higher education is a privilege, particularly for marginalized communities across the nation, which I know firsthand as a Latine student raised in Spanish Harlem.

Letter to the Editor

Spring classes are underway and it's time to purchase required course materials. Unfortunately, 65% of college students will have to make do without some of their assigned textbooks. Others will have to drop classes because the cost of required materials is simply too high. 

Letter to the editor

We are living in a time when our civic duty is becoming more important. As American citizens, we each have the right to participate in our democracy. However, there are 5.78 million eligible voters who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP), showing that there is a need for increased access to voting materials in languages other than English. Under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, districts with 10,000 people (or 5% of the voting age population) who speak a single minority language are required to provide voting information in that language. This often leaves many people who live in less dense populations without accommodations. People who speak English as a second language live all over the U.S. and should have the means to read important information in their native language if they need, or choose, to. According to The Nation, more than 270,000 LEP voters live in 20 of the country’s most hotly contested congressional districts and have no voting accommodations. Expanding access to voting materials to non-native English speakers could swing 20 competitive congressional elections. The diversity of the American population should be reflected in our voting practices and policies if our nation wants to claim to be a true democracy.

Letter to the editor: Exploring environmental stewardship and climate action

Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a deadline for life on the planet should development and industry continue at its current rate. This struck a paralyzing fear in many hearts, despite the clear call to action it was intended to be. Right now, that impulse to shut down must be overridden by intentional decisions to be transformative and active in the service of environment.