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Letters To The Editor

Moms for MAPS concerns voiced

To the Journal editor: It’s crucial to engage in open dialogue and consider multiple perspectives when evaluating candidates for public office. School board decisions have lasting impacts on communities, and informed voting is essential to ensure that elected officials represent the community’s diverse values and needs. I feel compelled to address the upcoming school board election and the candidacy of Ashley Mattson, Jenn Tousignant, and Sarah Mills-Gervais, also known as the Moms for MAPS. While community involvement in our schools is undeniably important, I believe that the ...

A modest proposal for educating our children

To the Journal editor: As a former teacher and educational consultant, I am always looking for lesson ideas that develop students’ creativity and higher-level thinking skills while teaching educational content. For example, one of my favorite projects involved middle school students writing plays about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The plays were produced by our local theatre group, using student actors. Some of the plays written by students included: “Field Trip Through History,” “Constitution, Tea, and Justice for All,” and “We the People ... of Mr. Shibby’s ...

Additional consideration for MAPS board

To the Journal editor: On Sept. 21, you published a letter from Robert Anderson, endorsing several nominees for the MAPS Board of Education. As a counter-point to that, I would like to offer the following information about the candidacy of another community member for this very same election to MAPS Board of Education. Nathan Joyal was born and raised in Marquette. He attended MAPS schools for his K-12 education. He is the father of 7 children. His oldest started at NMU this Fall, and his youngest is still in Sandy Knoll. As a parent, he has experience with the majority of the ...

Election and climate change

To the Journal editor: As most citizens are well aware, extreme weather events—heat, drought, fires, and floods—have become all too common. So anyone undecided about who to vote for in the upcoming November election should consider which candidates show knowledge of, and leadership on, climate change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates the concentration of carbon dioxide (which is released when fossil fuels are burned) reached an all time high of 427 parts per million in May 2024 at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. An analysis of the air bubbles ...

Candidates for Congress should debate

To the Journal editor: This year we have seen how consequential debates between political candidates can be. The debate between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, gave voters an unscripted opportunity to see our 81-year-old president and it raised concern about the decline in his physical and cognitive abilities. On Sept. 10, Vice President Kamala Harris debated Donald Trump giving voters an opportunity to compare the two candidates. The contrast was not only between a former prosecutor and a convicted felon, it was also a contrast between a 59-year-old ...

Vote for the party that respects and honors women

To the Journal editor: I can sympathize with those who oppose abortion. I do not believe that any woman considers abortion lightly. But what happens when the government intervenes in a decision that should be between a woman and her doctor? We’ve seen it already, in states where abortion has been outlawed or severely restricted. Women whose fetus is not viable forced to carry it to term. Doctors afraid of losing their license or even being imprisoned forced to make a decision that could imperil the mother’s life. Girls who have been raped forced to go to another state to ...