SCHOOL ENROLLMENT DECLINES: The Ohio Department of Education reported that enrollment at the state’s public colleges and universities continues to decline. Duh. Of course it is. We just do a miserable — and that’s not too strong of a word — job dealing with real-world issues that make higher education less attractive. Education costs too much. We force students to borrow exorbitant amounts of money to cover that cost, which financially handicaps them for decades. There’s also the push-and-pull between how instructors teach and the expectations of this generation of students. The declines aren’t just the fault of colleges and universities. But they can help themselves with new thinking that creatively examines how to solve the enrollment conundrum. Onboarding improvements, student-administration councils, and superficial changes won’t get it done. I’ll write more about this in the future.
EARLY VOTING: According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, the number of voters requesting early and absentee ballots and the number of early, in-person votes are on the rise. The secretary of state has been keeping a running total of 2018 and 2022 numbers at the same point in the election cycle. So far, 1,076,049 have requested early and absentee votes, a 1.8% increase from 2018 But this is what caught my eye. Already, 135,889 people have voted, an increase of 36.7% (93,763) over 2018. It’s always great when more people go out and vote. Please, just vote.
THE FLU: A new report says that people of color have a greater chance of getting the flu due to a lack of health care and accessibility to medical services. At 40.3%, Dayton has one of the state’s largest Black populations. So why should people in Vandalia, Clayton Moraine, or any other suburb care? Because we have finite medical resources and there is a trickle-down effect. Low-income people tend to visit emergency rooms because they don’t have the money to see a doctor. So how can they afford to go to the far more expensive ER? Because the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986 mandates all ERs treat anyone who walks through their door regardless of their ability to pay. This may seem like a problem that only affects a sliver of society, but that’s where you’re wrong. We all need to do a better job looking behind the data and telling people why a number like this has an impact on us all.
RYAN VS VANCE: This one’s a nail-biter. Pundits believed that Vance, the Republican, would win pretty easily. But Ryan’s unconventional playbook of embracing Trump policies while pushing his everyman persona has kept him firmly in the race. Several polls over the last week show the two tied or separated by just one point, which in the parlance of polling, means either could be up or down three points. Regardless of how this race turns out, Ryan could end up being one of the party’s shining stars because he can identify with a blue-collar constituency Democrats have ignored.
SHAKING MY HEAD: A 19-year-old walks into a St. Louis school and uses an AR-15-style rifle to kill a teacher and a 15-year-old girl. The shooter, killed by police, left behind a note that indicated he had mental health issues. The tragedy barely made the news. I mean, it did the first day, sure. But these shootings have become so commonplace we’ve become desensitized to the slaughter. That should shake us all.
Ray Marcano’s column appears every Sunday in the Dayton Daily News. He can be reached at raymarcanoddn@gmail.com.
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