As a college student, I find that my
budget is rather limited, and any sort
of discount, especially for things such
as birth control, is something I greatly
appreciate. Considering the health center
sold it for virtually no money, it was
never a problem for me to obtain this at
a low cost. Unfortunately, for women in
college and also women of low income,
a big legislative “oops” has sent birth
control prices skyrocketing from $10 to
$40-$50 a pack.
On Feb. 8, 2006, Congress signed into
law something called the Deficit Reduction
Act, which includes a provision that
negatively affects university health centers
and some safety-net family planning
providers that are attempting to provide
contraception at an affordable price. This
increase is causing me and other students
like me to make tough choices on how
to get or whether to get birth control.
Not only are students suffering from
this, but so are low-income women who,
unfortunately, are four times more likely
to have an unplanned pregnancy.
Birth control is basic health care
– that’s a no-brainer – and everyone
should have equal access to it. So what
can we do to change this? It’s easy! We
just have to urge Congress to revise
this so we can once again afford birth
control. If you are interested in helping
me and others fight for this to be done,
consider joining VOX (Voices for Planned
Parenthood), the on-campus, pro-choice
and comprehensive sex education group.
-Shannon Le Corre
A football team in Blacksburg makes
sense at Virginia Tech because they are
out in the middle of nowhere and have
nothing else to bring in students other
than their studies.
Believe it or not, I came to VCU
because it did not have a football team;
VCU also has something other than
cows. I never watched a football game in
high school because it bankrupted our
art department. If there was a football
team, how would the school pay for
it? They could charge more money to the
students, or they could take money out
of its educational programs. Why should
students pay thousands of dollars or
give up their learning programs to have
a terrible Division III team? To say that
a football team will generate revenue is
insane. Do you have any idea what it
costs to build a new stadium?
Here is a question for anyone who
still has doubts: Would you rather have
the next Michael Vick come out of our
school? Or maybe we could take down the
signs at Oliver Hall that say, “2002 Nobel
Prize Winner” and replace them with
new ones. Instead of giving scholarships
to people based on how well they can
play football, let’s give more scholarships
to the brilliant students who make VCU
known for its academics. Michael Vick
had a full scholarship to college, but
instead he dropped out to make money
and be a felon. I guess that is the school
spirit we want in our students.
Furthermore, if someone wants to
come to this school because of our sports
team, why should we let them in? They
are just going to drink slovenly and be
obnoxious when games let out. We have
people like that already. If you think the
Party Patrol is tough now, wait until we
have thousands of frat boys emulating
the actions of Marcus Vick when he had
sex with 15-year-old girls and had nine
traffic offenses.
One of the last things VCU needs
is a football team. It is not a college
experience; it is a nightmare. Students
don’t pay to get into the games; they pay
to have the team exist. Plus, members of
the Richmond community would suffer
when fans destroy everything from the
stadium to parking decks.
-Kristopher Goad