Express toll lanes should be removed
There is no better example of how America has become an oligarchy of, by and for the rich than the express toll lanes which allow the filthy rich to pay to speed up while everybody else must sit in traffic. These express toll lanes are an outrage and an affront to everybody who is not wealthy. It is time to remove these terrible toll lanes and treat every driver equally and not have these toll lanes be just an amenity for the rich. Forcing everybody to sit in traffic in order to make way for the rich is wrong and unfair.
WALTER WATKINS, ATLANTA
HBCUs play an important role
While historically black colleges and universities — like so many other institutions — face economic burdens characterized by less endowment and shrinking sources of funding, it is important to acknowledge the vital role that graduate and undergraduate HBCUs play in educating a diverse workforce.
Since inception, Morehouse School of Medicine has been laser-focused on training the next generation of health professionals that our nation needs. With key public and private partnerships including the state of Georgia, Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, Grady and Emory hospitals among others, MSM is a guiding force in advancing healthy outcomes for urban and rural populations which allows the institution to be a preeminent voice for community-based health.
While all HBCUs, including MSM, would benefit from increased funding, MSM’s current trajectory has never been stronger as we are on a path of 20 percent class expansion. We embrace a leadership role in helping increase STEM applicants from undergraduate HBCUs as we lead the charge with the remaining three HBCU medical schools to help prepare a competitive HBCU applicant pool for health sciences careers.
I appreciate the continuing support and voice that the AJC affords academic institutions throughout the region.
VALERIE MONTGOMERY RICE, PRESIDENT AND DEAN, MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
