Letters to the Editor: Think voting is easy? Talk to students and service workers
Monday, January 5, 2014 • 8:33 a.m.
The University of Tennessee’s student government recently passed an amendment banning the use of cash voting machines. The vote was approved 3-2. The opposition was that the amendment violated the state constitutional right to privacy.
In fact, the amendment violated the right to privacy in Tennessee when it came to how students can use public resources. You may recall on Sept. 10, 2008, the Tennessee Legislature approved the Fair Election Enforcement Act, which allowed the use of student IDs and other student identification cards issued by government agencies and institutions to vote.
You have to be 18 to vote and be in good standing with a federal agency. In Tennessee, all state and county governments use student IDs and I believe students must be in good standing with all of them.
But not only is the right to privacy protected, the right of students to vote has been a civil right since 1891 and the U.S. Constitution guarantees it. All students are entitled to vote. Those who may not or cannot receive an accurate ballot or other ballot-marking devices are entitled to vote.
I encourage both students and parents to pay close attention to news of the referendum campaign. It is worth the effort to educate yourself.
Cody Martin, junior
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Misdiagnosis doesn’t make it right – “I have written and researched extensively about the lack of mental health diagnosis in the medical profession. So I feel qualified to comment about a situation that I never understood and that is a clear violation of the Hippocratic Oath.”
John Paul Jones, professor of psychiatry, wrote in his book “Psychiatric Practice,” “Misdiagnosis is a problem that occurs at every level of diagnosis and should be recognized as such.”
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