Politics, Moderate
/Politics
Concerns About the Current State of College Football
The College Football Playoff committee's recent decision to deny undefeated ACC champion Florida State a chance to play for a national title sent shockwaves of disbelief that escalated to anger among FSU alums and fans.
During the inception of the CFP nine years ago, it was always believed that an undefeated Power 5 conference champ would ...Read more
Appeals Court Decision on Voting Rights Is a Step Backward
As I was reading about the current legal challenges regarding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, I, and I'm sure many others, immediately thought about the triumphant Selma to Montgomery March in Alabama 58 years ago.
Over 2,000 civil rights marchers led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his wife Coretta, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and a young ...Read more
Being Thankful for God's Detours in Life
The subject of detours has been on my mind since this year's fall semester of school began. A major section of a rural highway that I take during my morning drive from Columbus, Ohio to Ohio State University's Lima campus has been shut down since August. When I got an email at the end of summer break from our university public safety supervisor ...Read more
Meeting Students Where They Are Post-COVID
This week, my associate dean at Ohio State University's Lima campus sent the faculty a reprint of an earlier Chronicle of Higher Education story on students' demands for flexibility post-COVID. For those of us who missed the original article in February, it was an interesting and informative read. Chronicle senior writer Beckie Supiano focused ...Read more
Churches Teaching Black History Have a Unique Opportunity
At the end of October, NPR reposted a story that featured an interview with Sharon Riley, the pastor of Orlando, Florida's Agape Perfecting Praise and Worship Center. In response to Florida banning AP African American History and the state placing restrictions on how Black history is taught in public schools, Riley is providing master classes ...Read more
Meta Lawsuit Ignites Discussion of Social Media's Mental Health Impact on Youth
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, Inc., is being sued by a bipartisan group of 42 attorneys general who are alleging that the algorithms and notifications on its social media platforms are addictive and have greatly contributed to the mental health crisis of our nation's young people. Thirty-three of the attorneys general filed a federal suit ...Read more
The Testimony of a Dear Friend Who Overcame Stage 2 Breast Cancer
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month is winding down in October, one of my closest friends, Shawmeen Henderson, is on the cusp of a very special anniversary. Shawmeen works as a program quality specialist at the Huckleberry House in Columbus, Ohio, a crisis center that helps troubled youth, and next year she will celebrate a decade of being cancer ...Read more
Looking for Hope Amidst a Public Education Crisis
The October report from the National Center for Education Statistics revealed some serious concerns regarding the 2023-24 academic year, as more than 1,300 K-12 schools across the country are still struggling due to the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The data collection was completed in mid-August, and two primary findings were that 45%...Read more
'The Creator' Interprets Where the Proliferation of AI Could Take Us
The recently released sci-fi action movie "The Creator" has drawn mixed reviews from critics, although 76% of fans gave it a thumbs-up on Rotten Tomatoes. Since its previews, I had this film on my schedule to view due to following how artificial intelligence has been depicted in pop culture and reading current AI headlines regarding robotic ...Read more
The Coach Prime Effect: Deion Sanders' Field Ministry
Deion Sanders has rumbled through the college football landscape this season with the power and tenacity of a Buffalo stampede. In his first Power 5 coaching gig at the University of Colorado Boulder, Sanders has brought back the kind of excitement that was rampant on the Boulder campus during the '90s before the Bowl Championship Series era.
...Read more
A Wonderful Soul-Stirring Fall Revival
Toward the end of September, I was especially looking forward to the appreciation services for my pastor, Overseer S.D. Carter, of Vision of Breath with Life Ministries in Columbus, Ohio. September is always a busy time of the year for me due to the fall semester at Ohio State University's Lima campus when incoming freshmen are bursting with ...Read more
Sharp Rise in Poverty Requires a Call to Action
Census Bureau data released earlier this month showed an increase in the number of Americans who are living in poverty, and one of the most disturbing findings is that the percentage of children living in households that struggle to provide their essential needs doubled. Using the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which calculates the economic ...Read more
Fresh off Her US Open Win, Coco Gauff Exhibits True Humbleness as a Champion
When Coco Gauff won this year's U.S. Open women's singles title at just 19 years of age, there were immediate comparisons to Serena Williams, who took home her first U.S. Open trophy when she 17 in 1999. With Gauff's star soaring in women's tennis, we can view her triumph as a passing of the mantle since Williams retired last year. Also, looking...Read more