The March 9 editorial “Cracking down on graduation speeches won’t solve the problem on campus” highlighted New York University as an example of the unhelpful attitude of some universities regarding student speech.
NYU’s efforts to control the narrative at its graduation ceremonies come after one of its students, Logan Rozos, used last year’s graduation stage to condemn U.S. involvement in Israel’s war in Gaza, which the student labeled a genocide. The university has since announced that graduation speeches will now be pre-recorded and screened to prevent a recurrence.
But NYU isn’t the only institution where campus dialogue has been limited.
As a student at St. John’s University, I’ve seen firsthand how students react to control of political speech. After St. John’s student government denied official club status to a Turning Point USA chapter earlier this school year, St. John’s received national backlash.
That kind of attention can backfire on an institution and bring much more institutional scrutiny than a student’s graduation speech gone rogue. Agreeing or disagreeing with Turning Point’s agenda doesn’t matter. If universities want to keep their reputations intact, they should allow for a diversity of opinions to be heard across campus.
Jack Bulik, New York
How to teach critical thinking
Regarding the March 8 Metro article “Va. aims to ban schools from teaching Jan. 6 was peaceful”:
The Virginia legislature’s plan to ban certain classroom discussions about Jan. 6, 2021, is shortsighted. Rather than restricting ideas, Virginia should teach students how to critically evaluate them.
Students could learn far more by examining examples and drawing their own conclusions on whether an event is “peaceful.” Consider the difference: a march that remains orderly is peaceful; one that blocks traffic or defaces property is less so; a protest that turns violent or destructive is not peaceful at all.
Analyzing such distinctions in a classroom — guided by facts, context and reasoning — would give young people the civic tools they’ll need long after graduation. Encouraging open inquiry prepares them to weigh evidence and form independent opinions.
If Virginia truly wants responsible citizens, it should invest in teaching analysis, not banning discussion.
Steve Henry, Springfield
Invest in infrastructure
The collapse of the Potomac Interceptor is more than a local emergency — it is a national warning about the state of America’s aging water infrastructure. Though DC Water’s temporary bypass through the C&O Canal has contained most of the flow, full repairs may take close to 10 months, and hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater have already entered the river.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, capital investment needs for wastewater and stormwater in 2024 were $99 billion, whereas $30 billion was actually spent in the sector — meaning only about 30 percent of needs were met. If we continue at this pace, that gap will exceed $690 billion by 2044.
We are not investing anywhere close to the rate of deterioration. We need to fund multiyear programs so utilities can plan, hire and deliver. Communities must also modernize the way they build and maintain buried infrastructure. That means accelerating risk‑based renewal of critical interceptors and transmission mains; adopting modern materials that resist corrosion; expanding construction methods that minimize disruption and speed up repairs; and pre‑designing bypass connections, surge capacity and contingency routes so utilities are not improvising under crisis conditions.
The Potomac will eventually recover. But unless we commit to modernizing the nation’s underground infrastructure, another spill is inevitable. We can choose to fix the problem now, or we can pay much more later.
Greg Bohn, Columbus, Ohio
The writer is vice president of engineering at Advanced Drainage Systems.
Another way to war-proof your budget
Regarding Michelle Singletary’s March 8 The Color of Money column, “How to war-proof your budget as gas prices rise”:
An answer not explored in Singletary’s upstanding advice for curbing budgetary expenses is donating your car to the Sierra Club and relying on public transit. You can take her advice on implementing a search for the cheapest gas, but I chose to get rid of my old car months before the war with Iran began. We are now a one-car family. Driving a car entails many expenses, including rising gas prices and unending vehicle maintenance. We can overcome environmental degradation by purchasing an electric car, but using transit when possible is the equitable choice and ends much of the budgetary dilemma.
Gail B. Landy, Gaithersburg
Post Opinions wants to know: How soon do you bring up politics when getting to know someone? Is a first date too soon? Share your response, and it might be published as a letter to the editor.
The post Universities should let students speak appeared first on Washington Post.
