Money isn’t everything in elections

Devin Ellis’ Aug. 31 guest column, “Students must vote” is right about the power of the student vote. Delegate candidates win with only roughly 4,000 votes, and with the stiff competition in this race, that amount could very well be lower.

Yet, writing my campaign off automatically is naive and shortsighted. I have been very active in attending community events and going door-to-door throughout the district and have created a very dedicated and organized campaign team. My campaign might not be the most funded, but money is only one facet of any campaign. This is a democracy; I hope it has not come to the point where only those with money and inside connections can win elections.

In addition, I would like to point out I do have a track record in Maryland politics. I worked for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Division of Community Services in 2004 and, more recently, I worked in Annapolis for Del. Herman Taylor during the past legislative session. During my time in Annapolis I worked extensively on Taylor’s prenatal supplement bill (HB 507) and played an integral part in its passage.

These days it seems partisan politics and old boy networks dominate local politics despite failing policies and poor legislation (electricity deregulation ring a bell?). It is time for fresh blood. I will bring a new perspective down to Annapolis and I will represent an increasingly ignored group of citizens, including us University of Maryland students.

I encourage everyone to vote in the upcoming election. I also encourage everyone to consider voting for me as your delegate and to visit my website at www.jonblack.org and to contact me at 410-599-4064, 301-935-5052 or jon@jonblack.org.

Jon Black

Senior

Philosophy

Mandatory athletic fee immoral in light of already high costs of education

In President Mote’s Sept. 1 guest column, “After naming the field, it’s still Byrd Stadium” he claims, “The athletic program is not supported by the state.” While, I suppose, this statement is technically true, it disingenuously suggests that the Athletics Department is self-supporting.

The university extracts $355 a year from full-time students and $119 a year from part-time and graduate students in the form of the mandatory athletic fee. I feel that this is immoral. In view of the obvious fact that it costs too much to attend college, eliminating this fee would be a step in the right direction.

Peter Wolfe

Professor of Mathematics

Plan B article incorrectly describes the dynamic of drug

I was disappointed with the lack of fact checking about Plan B in The Diamondback’s Aug. 30 article “Plan B’s popularity skyrockets.” The statement that “the drug is designed to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb” is inaccurate. Plan B is nothing more than a high dose of oral contraceptives, and is designed to do the same things that all birth control pills do. It is designed to prevent ovulation and fertilization.

A quick trip to the website for Plan B (www.go2planb.com) would have told you exactly that, and I am very disheartened to see that The Diamondback would take the words of an obviously biased anti-choice group as to what any drug is designed to do, and then present it as fact.

Eleanor Dayhoff-Brannigan

Senior Officer

Terps for Choice