St. John\u2019s is undoing what makes it good<\/p>\n
Briarwood: As a double alumnus (B.S., 1975, M.S., 1977), I\u2019m writing in regard to St. John\u2019s University\u2019s decertification of the two faculty unions, ostensibly for \u201cflexibility\u201d and \u201calignment with a Catholic and Vincentian mission.\u201d The bottom line is actually unilateral policy decisions without faculty input into bargaining contracts, focusing on a profit-driven corporatist model.<\/p>\n
Monies are to be allocated to non-educational programs such as basketball, where the men\u2019s head coach earns a $6.5 million annual salary, and a slew of online degree programs in business administration. I see no enhancement of Catholic programs, such as a Ph.D. program in philosophy or a doctorate of sacred theology program. The Institute for Advanced Studies in Catholic Doctrine (circa 1975) is defunct without having received pontifical recognition. Outright scandal plagued the Asian Studies Center with extortion and faux honorary degrees for Taiwanese political and business figures, and the embezzlement and suicide of a university dean with presidential malfeasance. Also, the recent border enforcement institute to assist President Trump\u2019s illegal ICE actions at the university is disgusting.<\/p>\n
This is a Catholic charade for corporatism in modus operandus, and secularism in educational mission, plain and simple. A critical rethinking is in order for the Vincentian founders and sponsors of my alma mater. The motto is \u201cEducatio Christiana Animae Perfectio\u201d (Christian Education Perfects the Soul). Basketball doesn\u2019t! Joseph N. Manago<\/p>\n
More whoppers<\/p>\n
Woods Cross, Utah: Some new and doozy presidential statements for the record: \u201cThe U.S. military is looking forward, actually, to its next conquest.\u201d Yep, hopefully some nation will resist arrest by Police Chief Donald J. Trump, and he can then unleash the military on them. \u201cIf I wasn\u2019t in the White House, Leo wouldn\u2019t be in the Vatican.\u201d I guess Trump is so admired in the Vatican that the cardinals wanted to flatter him by hoisting up the first American pope. \u201cIf I pulled up stakes right now [in Iran], it would take them 20 years to rebuild their country.\u201d I guess that\u2019s the \u201chelp\u201d Trump promised to send to Iranian protestors. Regarding a pilot shot down in Iran, \u201cWe leave no American behind.\u201d Hmm, what about federal employees fired by DOGE, DEI participants, immigrants in process and Obamacare subsidy recipients?<\/p>\n
Kimball Shinkoskey<\/p>\n
Ill-advised visit<\/p>\n
Box Hill, Victoria, Australia: King Charles might be advised to cancel his U.S. travel plan. There\u2019d be the difficulties we all face at the moment, with the war in Iran making some flight paths unusable. There\u2019s also the damage to the view of the monarch. Trump started a war and threatened to bomb a civilization to dust, a true war crime, and thus is not a person to be seen with. There\u2019s also the domestic worries, with the Epstein files still a discussion point in many papers, and further contact with an Epstein associate would not read well. The prior insult to British soldiers \u2014 \u201cThey stayed a little back, a little off the front lines\u201d \u2014 still needs a sincere apology. There\u2019s little to gain from visiting a leader who changes his mind more often than his socks. There\u2019s a lot to lose by association.<\/p>\n
Dennis Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
Head of the snake<\/p>\n
Portsmouth, N.H.: Instead of weeding out all these unqualified cabinet members, why don\u2019t we just go to the main stream and simply impeach Trump? It seems that every day, it\u2019s a new idiot taking the door. Do we really have to wait for November to drain the swamp?<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Smith<\/p>\n
Untouchable abuser<\/p>\n
Dartmouth, Mass.: With each career-ending sexual abuse scandal, it becomes clearer that only Trump has absolute immunity from prosecution, impeachment or forced resignation. A jury of peers, salacious comments, verified photographs and credible testimony have not caused Trump\u2019s imprisonment, felony indictments or the disapproval of his MAGA base. The same constituents who immediately believe victims and clamor for accountability are seemingly deaf or unconcerned about Trump\u2019s score of credible accusers. Sexual abuse is commonly understood to be a crime and morally repugnant. The reaction by millions of Americans to the Epstein abuse of young girls is indicative of the negative reaction to pedophiles or sexual predators, which is why it\u2019s incredible that Trump retains millions of supporters in the face of verified and corroborated sexual allegations during his first administration and seemingly more disclosed and stonewalled during this one.<\/p>\n
Betty Ussach<\/p>\n
Holding out hope<\/p>\n
East Windsor, N.J.: To Voicer Eric Wollman: Regarding the Saturday TV trivia, I could not agree with you more. It was definitely something to look forward to every weekend and will certainly be missed. I\u2019m hoping it was just a one-off and will return. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n
Bob Grill<\/p>\n
Ambiguous<\/p>\n
Manhattan: I could not help noticing the WordWheel puzzle in Monday\u2019s edition. The paper gave the solution as \u201cdeviated.\u201d The solution could actually also be \u201cdetailed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charles Adrian O\u2019Connor<\/p>\n
Eat green<\/p>\n
Manhattan: Earth Day highlights the urgent need for evidence-based solutions to the climate and ecological crises. What most people don\u2019t realize is the biggest impact we can make as individuals starts on our plates. Extensive research shows that animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, biodiversity loss and freshwater depletion. In contrast, plant-based food systems require significantly fewer natural resources and generate lower emissions, making them a more efficient and sustainable way to feed a growing global population. Adopting plant-based meals, even incrementally, can substantially reduce one\u2019s environmental footprint while supporting a more resilient food system. This Earth Day, let\u2019s align our daily choices with the science.<\/p>\n
Nelson Yancy<\/p>\n
Loss of heritage<\/p>\n
White Plains, N.Y.: I grew up in Queens and have always been an avid Mets fan. Even when I married a Bronx boy and moved to Westchester County, I still wore my official Mets jacket despite receiving unwelcome remarks from strangers. Now Bill Madden reports that the team will no longer be having Jewish Heritage Night (\u201cFix it, or fail?<\/a>\u201d April 19). Are the Mets trying to convert me to a Yankees fan? Oy vey!<\/p>\n Randi Bernstein Feigenbaum<\/p>\n Peeping cops<\/p>\n Whitestone: It\u2019s very disturbing when an NYPD sergeant is peeping on female officers in the police station. The deliberately drilled hole through the wall so male officers could ogle females while they got dressed for work or for home was deliberate and outrageous. This is what happens when you\u2019ve lowered the standards of the hiring requirements of the NYPD. This is absolutely disgusting behavior, and these sergeants should all be disciplined. I would love to know what their scores were on the promotional exams.<\/p>\n Gene O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St. John\u2019s is undoing what makes it good Briarwood: As a double alumnus (B.S., 1975, M.S., 1977), I\u2019m…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,264,63,299,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-205849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-county","tag-nyc","tag-opinion","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}