Opinions - The Eastern Echo

How Kwame Kilpatrick gambled away Detroit's money

By James Tatum · Monday, Sept. 22, 2014

On July 18, 2013, Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy after decades of social and industrial decline.

Hitting children not the right way to discipline

By James Tatum · Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014

Adrian Peterson’s criminal indictment on child abuse charges has created another debate around violence, but in comparison with the reaction to Ray Rice’s suspension from the National Football League, people have decide that his actions are far more acceptable.

Predicting Detroit’s future: The beginning

By Prof. John G. Fike · Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014

As Judge Steven W. Rhodes of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ponders how best to make Detroit’s debt manageable and restore urgently needed city services, it is appropriate to look ahead to see what the future might hold for the city and its people.

Domestic violence: Why stay?

By Lamaria Reed · Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014

An estimated 42.4 million women in the U.S. have experienced rape or physical violence by an

COLUMN: Assault should not be treated differently for athletes

By Al Willman · Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014

This past week was an absolute nightmare for the National Football League and its commissioner Roger Goodell. It started Monday when a video surfaced of Ray Rice - who was indicted in March when he knocked out his wife Jenay, who was his fiancée at the time, in the elevator of a New Jersey hotel – physically knocking her out.

Nonprofits make strong business partners

By Prof. John G. Fike · Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014

In my last column, I suggested that business enterprise is not a suitable partner for governmentagencies delivering public services. My argument was that Big Business is oriented toward money, shareholders, hierarchy and authority.

Natural hair: Is it appropriate?

By Lamaria Reed · Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014

Afros, twist-outs, dread locks and flat twist have become increasingly popular within the last couple of years, primarily in the black community.

Have racial slurs lost their power?

By Lamaria Reed · Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014

“If you can say it, then why can’t I say?” This question has been posed to me on many different occasions, when people from different races hear black Americans using select terms in their vocabulary.

Change now or suffer later

By John G. Fike · Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014

A hotly debated topic these days is whether we can change human behavior in time to avert climate catastrophe. But let’s look first at why we say “catastrophe.” Isn’t that a little strong?

Lobbyists, big business are bad for government

By John G. Fike · Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014

Ronald Reagan got a lot of things wrong. But one of his more outstanding errors was to suggest that “government is the problem.” As with many utterances from Republicans these days, he got it backwards: politicians in bed with corporate managers and wealthy billionaires make business the problem. This is not a new problem.

Why we shouldn't buy textbooks from Amazon

By John G. Fike · Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014

In my last column, I discussed how some corporations are managed solely to be attractive to shareholders. They don’t take into consideration the interests of a much broader range of stakeholders.

Art or Assets?

By James Tatum · Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014

When the Delaware Art Museum sold William Holman Hunt’s “Isabella and the Pot of Basil” they earned $4.25 million as well as the opprobrium of the art community. The Association of Art Museum Directors formally sanctioned the museum in June, and instructed its fellow members not to lend artwork to the Delaware Art Museum.

SPORTS COLUMN: EMU needs to add Demarius Reed to the Ring of Honor at Rynearson Stadium, retire his jersey

By Al Willman · Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014

The Eastern Michigan University athletic department announced Tuesday in a story on its website that construction on “The Factory” – the nickname it gave to Rynearson Stadium – was complete.There’s only one thing wrong – it’s not.

Detroit and the DIA

By James Tatum · Tuesday, July 22, 2014

A testament to the complexity of Detroit’s bankruptcy has been how many people have written about the matter incorrectly. Namely, on the proposition that the Detroit Institute of Arts sell its collection in order to settle the city’s debts.

Coleman Young didn’t destroy Detroit

By James Tatum · Monday, June 23, 2014

Former Mayor Coleman A. Young is not an unimpeachable character in Detroit’s story, nor is he the antagonist he’s often been made out to be.

Celebacy could be the new sexy

By Olivia Jackson · Monday, June 23, 2014

Since the early decades of the 20th century, women have evolved from being meek, soft spoken and being private about what intimate things they have done with their husbands. In today’s generation of the “new woman,” they have been put into a category of being overly and openly sexy, not knowing their worth and defiling their temple.

COLUMN: Putting The Factory in perspective

By Al Willman · Sunday, June 22, 2014

Thursday’s announcement by Heather Lyke, Eastern Michigan University Vice President and Director of Athletics and football coach Chris Creighton of the installation of grey turf at Rynearson Stadium (henceforth called “The Factory”) has already sparked a great deal of discussion on social media – most of it negative.

Restorative justice helps teach students

By James Tatum · Monday, June 16, 2014

For most of this decade, and the previous decade, punishment in schools has not only been considered separate from criminal justice policy, but has also been all about retribution: suspension, expulsion, demerits, etc.

Past the Tipping Point

By Nino Monea · Monday, June 9, 2014

Quentin Tarantino is one of Hollywood’s most eclectic auteurs. He made his directorial debut with his 1992 classic Reservoir Dogs. The film begins with a philosophical discussion around a breakfast table where Steve Buscemi’s character is explaining the absurdities that are inherent in the rules of tipping across the country.

Change we can believe in

By Nino Monea · Monday, June 2, 2014

Two of the most pressing public policy problems facing the country are soaring national debt and rampant environmental degradation. For years, solutions have proved elusive. But what if I told you that there was a way to ameliorate both of these concerns with no real cost to anyone, and make your life a little simpler to boot? The answer is straightforward: Eliminate small coins.