Letter to a Editor/Public Official Proposals

I have come up with a couple ideas for the letter to the editor/public official assignment:

The first is to write a letter to Nancy Cantor regarding the article, “Syracuse’s Slide”, from The Chronicle. I would tell her that I agree with a lot of what the article says. Although, she has good intentions in helping the city of Syracuse or providing more opportunities to minorities and disadvantaged students, she cannot do so by hurting the university. Over the past decade, Syracuse University has seen its prestige and national rankings drop significantly.(Syracuse's Ranking in 2011 by US News) The article also talks about how Cantor is using tuition money to fund different projects around the city of Syracuse and not enough toward improving academic programs on campus. I would tell her that the $50,000 I am paying each year should go toward enhancing my education and my future.


My second idea is to write a letter to the editor about American Indian health issues. I read an article from the Post Standard called, “Public Health Expert: American Indians cannot be ignored in discussions of ethnic health disparities.” The article says that American Indians are more prone to diseases such as diabetes, tuberculosis, and alcoholism due to inadequate health services. Since American Indians are less than two percent of the American population, their health issues are often ignored by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I don’t know too much about this topic so I will have to look into it and do some research. I may be able to somehow link this to the local Onondaga reservation.(Stats on American Indian Health)

My third idea is to write to New York State's Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, Joe Martens, regarding hydrofracking in Central New York. Hydrofracking is the mining of natural gas in shale around the Finger Lakes region. I want to bring to his attention that drilling can have adverse effects to the local community as well as the environment. The Finger Lakes are the major water source for central New Yorkers. If fracking fluids wound up in the lakes, it would be catastrophic for local citizens. I would talk about how fracking would disrupt the environment and local fish and animal habitats. I would also say how New York State is using outdated rules and regulations for drilling.

PLEASE COMMENT, ANY FEEDBACK WILL BE HELPFUL, THANKS!