Letters to the Editor — Tenure in Texas, fentanyl, short-term rentals, protecting kids

Tenure important to high quality training

Re: “Invoice seeks to finish tenure — Some Texas professors say the measure would hinder hiring, educational freedom,” Sunday Metro story.

The newest politically motivated scheme to weaken increased training in Texas by making an attempt to remove tenure at our state’s universities is short-sighted. As an emerita full professor with 40 years of expertise in increased training, and former faculty dean of training at three universities, I might be remiss if I didn’t warn the general public that tenure is as vital to the establishment as it’s to the professor.

The tenure course of ensures that an establishment is more likely to retain top-notch expertise or reject these not assembly its customary. An assistant professor employed on the tenure observe should show their value in three classes: analysis, service and instructing. They’re rigorously evaluated yearly.

Tenured professors should additionally undergo post-tenure critiques at intervals, and they are often fired for non-performance or different causes. Tenured college do way more than educate programs. They write grants, analysis and publish. They create new majors, enhance providers for college kids, help with fundraising and contribute to the fame of their establishment.

They’re invested! Texans should not permit divisive politics to deprave and smash the best increased academic system within the nation.

Sheryl Santos-Hatchett, Dallas/Mountain Creek

The place is Abbott’s concern on weapons?

Re: “Abbott: Collectively, we are able to save lives — To avoid wasting extra Texans from fentanyl, laws, legislation enforcement and consciousness have to be pulling in similar course,” by Greg Abbott, Sunday Opinion.

After studying Gov. Greg Abbott’s op-ed about what he’s doing to forestall additional fentanyl deaths, I ponder if the identical concern might have been directed to the Uvalde mass capturing, in addition to different mass shootings in our state.

Fairly than “one capsule robbed Danica of all her goals,” he might have written “one gun robbed 19 kids and a couple of lecturers of their goals.” Whereas he wrote, “Fentanyl is now the main killer of People between 18 and 45,” he might have written “firearms are the main killer of kids 1-19.”

Whereas all deaths from both weapons or fentanyl are tragic, Abbott’s remark about this drug “taking the lives of 4,800 unsuspecting Texans” provides me pause. By this time, I consider most Texans (mother and father and children alike) know, or ought to know, that purchasing medicine off the road carries with it the chance of demise. Academics, mother and father and clergy ought to be bringing that message to all kids and youngsters of their cost.

Hans Voorn, Frisco

One other day, one other capturing

Right here I sit, watching the bloodbath of the day on Sunday night tv. How lengthy earlier than it’s the bloodbath of the hour?

Michael Coldiron, Richardson

Finding out short-term leases foolish

Re: “Quick-term leases examine within the works — Council strikes ahead on naming process pressure, however ban continues to be potential,” Thursday Metro & Enterprise story.

So, a short-term rental examine is within the works. Boy, am I relieved! Now that I do know that Plano has proposed a process pressure to check the issue and make suggestions, I’m assured that this downside that’s now plaguing just about all cities will ultimately have an answer.

Reread that earlier sentence once more, and I’ll wait when you cease laughing.

Activity forces are well-known for spending lots of time discussing issues and so they often both don’t give you an answer or arrive on the answer that has already been proposed by these most significantly affected by the issue being thought-about.

Most cities have ordinances in opposition to working a public enterprise from a residential property. If a short-term rental doesn’t qualify as a public enterprise, I don’t know what does.

Don’t examine this downside. The fitting answer is a ban on short-term leases in residential neighborhoods.

Katherine Creech, Garland

Legislators aren’t defending youngsters

Re: “Decide: Foster youngsters in peril — She says state overuses medicine and doesn’t defend youth from sexual abuse,” Thursday information story.

Our high elected officers in Austin attempt to justify their weird obsession with criminalizing take care of transgender youth as “defending our youngsters.” But, for years on finish, they’ve fought tooth and nail in opposition to primary commonsense enhancements within the grossly underfunded system that’s alleged to take care of hundreds of abused and uncared for kids.

And practically a 12 months after the horrific tragedy at Robb Elementary, there was no significant motion taken to “defend our youngsters” from gun violence. We’d like management in Austin that can focus its consideration and assets on the true points that put our youngsters in danger.

Walt Marston, Dallas

Not all the pieces is optics

Re: “In Tennessee …” by Fred R. Neary, Thursday Letters.

Relating to the remark, “They need to have identified the optics could be unhealthy and seem racially motivated, however vanity and energy trumped common sense.”

Is all the pieces about race, energy and vanity with the left concerning their view of these with whom they disagree?

I contend that the Republican legislators knew how their actions would possibly look, however got here to the conclusion that utilizing bullhorns on the ground of the state home to gin up assist for a problem is just not how civilized individuals are supposed to control. I applaud lawmakers who had the braveness to vote their consciences over optics.

Jack Bailey, Tyler

Freedoms are threatened

I used to be struck by entwining themes within the Sunday opinion and information part. Editorials and letters known as for freedom of the press and famous how threats in opposition to reporters and editors thwart their means to report the information actually.

But there have been articles a few plethora of payments proposed within the Texas Legislature clamping down on cities’ freedom to set their very own legal guidelines as their intimate data of their residents signifies, payments taking away universities’ freedom to make selections about their very own college’s tenures and the open season on residents brought on by the state’s refusal to think about commonsense gun legal guidelines.

Amy Martin, Dallas

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