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op-ed writing guide
Colleges must help returning veterans
by Melvin T. Stith and Marty Whitman
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As the 2008 election draws closer, the fate of our military men and women serving in Iraq continues to be a topic of heated debate between the candidates. While the politicians debate, leaders in higher education must act to open the doors of America's best colleges and universities to veterans.
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Would we have chosen Paterson?
by Grant Reeher
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It may have lasted only a single day, but two weeks ago there was widespread agreement in Albany that David Paterson felt like a breath of fresh air. Part of this feeling was driven by a simple desire to get some distance from Eliot Spitzer, but it was also fueled by the obvious difference in personal and political style between the two men.
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Mississippi's primary illustrates gains of the civil-rights movement
by Nancy Altman and Eric Kingson
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Media pundits have all drawn the wrong conclusion from last week's Democratic primary in Mississippi. The common story line was about an alarming racial divide. Rather, the primary, viewed in historical perspective, reveals our tremendous progress toward realizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of a society where people "will not be judged by the color of their skin" - and we would add gender - "but by the content of their character."
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Why older Americans will support Obama
by Eric Kingson and Nancy Altman
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We're not surprised to hear stories of grandparents joining their grandchildren in supporting Barack Obama's historic quest to be president of the United States. Indeed, as they get to know the candidate better, older Americans are destined to be one of Obama's strongest constituencies! Here's why.
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A few calmatives for seniors' soaring health care costs
by Madonna Harrington Meyer and Pamela Herd
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In many ways, it's a good time to be older than 65 in the United States. While nearly 40 percent of the elderly were poor in the 1960s, Social Security has ensured that just 9 percent of the elderly fell below the poverty line in 2007. But these positive trends conceal a darker reality for many older Americans.
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Getting Away with Murder: Ghadaffi's West African Legacy
by David M. Crane
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While President Muamar Ghadaffi waltzed around the capitals of Europe last month with cynical leaders eager to do business with this political oddity from Libya, it must not be forgotten that he laid waste two countries in West Africa in the 1990s.
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Another moment of truth in Pakistan
by Mehrzad Boroujerdi
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While pundits are busy debating who was responsible for Benazir Bhutto's tragic death, the larger tragedy of Pakistan's political history should not be overlooked.
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The child as war criminal
by David M. Crane
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A child soldier named Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, is about to be tried before the ad hoc military commission in Guantánamo. He is charged with the killing of an American soldier during a firefight in which Khadr himself was seriously wounded. He was 15 at the time. Now, at the age of 20, after years in detention as an "unlawful enemy combatant," Khadr is being tried for what he did as a child.
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Election over, now on to the hard part
by Grant Reeher
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I had the privilege of moderating three of the Onondaga County executive debates, and now that the campaign is over, I want to share some reflections on the winner.
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Happiness and inequality
by Arthur C. Brooks
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Income is just one item of importance in the lives of Americans. There are many others -- from love to faith to happiness -- that we care about, some of them far more. Egalitarians never ask if we suffer from inequality in these areas. If they did, they might be pleasantly surprised.
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A Day at Chautauqua: Justice for a Better World
by David M. Crane
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The delightful weather and the pristine setting belied the importance of the moment. At the century-old Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York, nine of the 12 living international prosecutors, from Nuremberg to the International Criminal Court, met several weeks ago to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Hague Rules of 1907, the cornerstone to the laws of armed conflict that ensure that the law is followed, even in combat.
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The Ennui of Saint Teresa
by Arthur Brooks
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For more than a half century, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was revered for her service to the poorest of the poor, and inspired people by the joy she apparently derived from pure faith and charity. But earlier this year, it was revealed that her faith and happiness may not have been all they seemed. Does Mother Teresa's apparent misery truly expose an inconvenient truth about the happiness of religious people?
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Does free speech end at school entrance?
by Roy S. Gutterman
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As students across America head back to school, they better watch what they say, because the cat's out of the bag with where the new Supreme Court stands on free speech. The Court's June decision in Morse v. Frederick, otherwise known as the "bong hits for Jesus" case, clamps down on speech, even if nobody can figure out what the speech is actually about.
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Our Religious Destiny
by Arthur Brooks
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Recently the presidential campaigns have been turning to talk of the candidates' religious faith. The salience of religion in our presidential politics perplexes Europeans, who generally see religion as a weird relic from the pre-scientific past.
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A just ending
by David M. Crane
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They looked like ordinary Sierra Leoneans that day, sitting side by side in the dock before trial chamber No. 2 at the international war crimes tribunal in West Africa, called the Special Court for Sierra Leone. But they were not.
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Consider not just wounds, but vets' work, too
by Mike Haynie
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While we honor the service of these American heroes, we should also reflect upon the resources and support we owe them when they return home - many of them disabled as a result of their service.
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Falwell and the News Media
by R. Gustav Niebuhr
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Some would bury Jerry Falwell, while others would praise him. I will do neither, but rather note that one of his accomplishments (and I mean that word neutrally) was his ability to raise his public profile
through his keen understanding of the needs of the news media.
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Coping With a Killer's 'Manifesto'
by Joan Deppa
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Discussions of the multimedia "manifesto" mailed to NBC by the Virginia Tech gunman and how it saturated the news media for the next 18 hours have been intense and important, but so far they have sidestepped a serious question: How will the news media handle such missives in the future?
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Overcoming the Iraq Disaster
by Louis Kriesberg
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Unfortunately, the debate about U.S. policy regarding Iraq is focused on whether or not the current military surge will work and whether U.S. troops should be withdrawn by a certain date. Yet, neither a respite won by the military surge nor the predetermined withdrawal of U.S. troops alone will achieve what is desirable for the United States.
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The Danger Downwind
by Charles T. Driscoll Jr.
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In 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency took its first important step toward reducing mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. Its Clear Air Mercury Rule is intended to bring about a 70 percent reduction in mercury emissions over the next 20 years. But the new rule does not require all plants to reduce emissions by the same amount.
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Worth the Weight
by Arthur Brooks
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America is fighting a pitched battle with obesity, and obesity appears to be winning. But before this ruins your morning doughnut, there is a side to America's weightiness that, while not generally discussed, is worth considering: Moderately overweight people tend to be happier than lighter folks.
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A Gallows in Baghdad: International Justice in 2006
by David M. Crane
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During the 20th century, it is estimated that 215 million human beings perished, 135 million at the hands of their own governments. The likes of Saddam Hussein were a scourge upon that century. Importantly, this sad and tragic chapter in history was closed not by force but by the law. Is this a harbinger for the 21st century? Will the standard be that the law will bring down tyrants or will it be something else? The record is mixed, the way uncertain indeed, yet the year 2006 augers well for the future of the rule of law.
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The Red Crystal: A new universal emblem for humanitarian law
by Donna Arzt
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A little-known development in international relations may turn out to be this past year's most symbolic if not most significant step forward in the decades-long impasse called the Arab-Israeli conflict. Last December, the signatory countries of the Geneva Convention adopted a new Protocol III concerning a new humanitarian emblem, the Red Crystal, joining the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems which purportedly represent the "humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence" of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement.
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Economic fairness key issue for 2008
by Grant Reeher
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A national poll conducted before the election by Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs suggests the presence of a group that could factor significantly in future struggles over economic questions. The annual poll reveals a small but steadily growing set of citizens I call "the disaffected," who challenge the American ethos of individualism and opportunity.
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The disaffected are a rising political force
by Grant Reeher
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A national poll concerning inequality, conducted before the election by Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, suggests the presence of a group that could factor significantly in future political struggles over economic questions. The annual poll reveals a small but significant and steadily growing set of citizens I call "the disaffected," who challenge the American ethos of individualism and opportunity.
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Time is right for 'none of the above' on ballot
by Grant Reeher
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Like many of my friends, I struggled earlier this month over how to vote in the comptroller's race. A stronger challenger would have solved the problem for a lot of voters, as would an earlier exposure of Alan Hevesi's misconduct. But our conundrum also could have been avoided with a "none of the above" or NOTA option on the ballot.
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On the media's role in selecting impartial justices
by Keith Bybee
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Last year's long season of Supreme Court nominations and confirmation hearings featured several memorable moments, which made for good viewing and good reading. But did they make for good news coverage? In judging the quality of coverage, I would argue that we should be less concerned with whether the media provide good theater and more concerned with whether media play a constructive role in the judicial selection process.
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Helping Americans and Fixing FEMA
by David M. Crane
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The double blow of the hurricanes Katrina and Rita highlighted several things last year. First is that our federal, state, and local responders were not ready. There is a close and hard look ongoing at all levels at this failure so we can fix the response system. This ongoing evaluation and review should also look at how best we can provide needed relief efficiently, effectively, as well as fast. I'm not sure it is being given the attention it is due.
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How Colleges Can Encourage Female Composers
by Eileen Strempel
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If classical music during the 20th and 21st centuries has become increasingly invisible, as reflected in such depressing tomes as Joseph Horowitz's Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall (Norton, 2005), then surely the contributions of female composers are so puny as to be nearly undetectable.
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School Finance: Weighting for Adequacy
by Ross Rubenstein
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A report released in June by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute sheds much-needed light on a problem that has been largely overlooked in the debates over school finance: funding inequities between schools rather than districts. It highlights the shameful fact that while schools serving the greatest concentrations of needy children require more resources to help students reach high levels of performance, these schools often receive fewer resources or, at the very least, insufficiently higher levels of funding.
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Multiculturalism, Universalism, and the 21st Century Academy
by Chancellor Nancy Cantor
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Two years ago I attended a conference of presidents in which among the many panel discussions on American Competitiveness ("The World is Flat" ), Federal Science Funding, The Future of the Humanities, and the like, was one panel entitled: "What Keeps Presidents and Chancellors Up at Night?" Expecting to hear a great deal about the arms race in intercollegiate athletics -- absolutely a genuine concern -- I was rather surprised to hear instead about multiculturalism and what might be called its associated "culture wars."
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Campaigns see more money from small donors
by Grant Reeher
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Last month the U.S. Supreme Court continued its 30-year march of unfortunate interpretations of the First Amendment concerning money in campaigns.
Consistent with its original ruling in 1976 in Buckley v. Valeo, the court ruled in Randall v. Sorrell that Vermont's effort to limit the amount of money spent on state campaigns was unconstitutional. But it also took a further step and struck down the limits on individual contributions to candidates because they were thought to be too low. This move does not bode well for reformers concerned about private money's effects on politics.
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Losing the Moral High Ground: The US and the Rule of Law
by David M. Crane
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Almost 40 years ago, the Peers Commission investigating the tragedy
of the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War found that the chain
of command had failed to ensure America's fighting men and women adhered
to the law of war. Some of the chain of command was held accountable,
mainly for trying to cover up the massacre. In his 2004 report investigating
the facts surrounding the Abu Ghraib prison torture allegations in Iraq, former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger pointedly said there had been a failure of leadership. To date, that chain of command is yet to be held completely accountable.
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He Who Whines First Laughs Last
by Arthur C. Brooks
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There is actually no evidence that political conservatives are especially rigid or grim as adults. On the contrary, the best data available show that conservatives have a clear edge over liberals in terms of happiness and emotional fortitude.
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Taking Public Scholarship Seriously
by Chancellor Nancy Cantor
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Scholars and artists at colleges and universities are increasingly engaging in public scholarship. Leaving their campuses to collaborate with their communities, they explore such multidisciplinary issues as citizenship and patriotism, ethnicity and language, space and place, and the cultural dimensions of health and religion. They are creating innovative methods and vocabularies for scholarship using cutting-edge technology, pursuing novel kinds of creative work, and integrating research with adventurous new teaching strategies. But will those faculty members be promoted and rewarded at tenure time for their efforts?
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Going Global? Go All the Way
by Melvin T. Stith
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As business schools, are we adapting our programs aggressively enough to reflect these changes in the industry? I don’t think so. Many schools are introducing a course or study focus in globalization, announcing a partnership, or adding a student exchange. But to a large extent, business school administrators and faculty are reluctant to make globalization a fundamental part of their programs.
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Time to examine deliberative polling
by Grant Reeher
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The idea behind the deliberative poll is that since most of us don't have the time or inclination to engage in lengthy face-to-face deliberations on policy questions, and furthermore, since we simply can't do so in a large community or across a state, we need to create real but realizable surrogate experiences.
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Albany: The ride is always bumpy
by Jeffrey Stonecash
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With the budget deadline in Albany just past, we are again reminded of the alleged woes of New York state. The reaction is generally that "the political process in Albany is broken." "New York has the most dysfunctional legislature in the nation." The widespread conclusion appears to be that something has gone seriously awry in New York's political process and we badly need to reform the whole mess. The institution that is supposed to serve democracy, the legislature, is failing us and we can be saved only by somehow reforming the process. To listen to some, it is a miracle the state survives this.
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Handing over Charles Taylor: it's time
by David M. Crane
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It has been two and a half years now since Taylor left Liberia, stripped of his political power by the indictment. To date, despite tremendous international pressure, and a request by the new Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to hand Taylor over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, President Obasanjo of Nigeria has refused to do so.
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Land acquisition means a great deal to Senecas
by Robert Odawi Porter
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The recent criticism in the Buffalo News of the Seneca Nation's land purchases in Buffalo and Niagara Falls misses an important point about Seneca history - that we were once the original owners of the land. From day one in our history with the European settlers, we have fought efforts to take our lands and eliminate us as a distinct people.
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Why Museums Trump Churches
by Arthur C. Brooks
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The U.S. is extraordinarily generous. In 2003, Americans donated a quarter-trillion to charities and churches, approximately $180 billion of which came from private individuals. They give far more, per person, than citizens of any other developed country.The good that comes from American charity is unmistakable. This money represents a large part of the support for the 1.6 million nonprofit organizations in the U.S.
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Openness aided budget in New York
by By Grant Reeher
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For a change, political pundits are dissecting what went right in Albany. The budget accomplishment should not be underappreciated- not only did the Legislature and the governor produce a budget on time, they produced one three months before the deadline of any other state.
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A Vote for Confidence in College Presidents
by Kenneth A. Shaw
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The recent no-confidence resolution by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University has attracted widespread media attention and discussion throughout academe. Beyond the facts at Harvard, however, are a series of questions about how we resolve governance disputes in higher education today.
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End the Silence About Domestic Violence
by Barry L. Wells
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Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States, affecting one in every four women-a staggering statistic that annually equals all muggings, car accidents, and rapes combined. Domestic violence goes by many names--spousal and partner abuse, battering, or relationship violence-- and occurs when one person in a relationship uses force to cause physical, verbal, sexual, or emotional injury to the other person in the relationship.
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The multiple tragedies of Terri Schiavo
by Kathy Faber-Langendoen and Samuel Gorovitz
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The multiply tragic story of Terri Schiavo is no longer primarily about Terri Schiavo. It is about all of us. A terrible event, years ago, destroyed her cerebral cortex; she is irreversibly incapable of consciousness. Yet she has become important to our private lives and our lives as citizens.
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Lyons: Horror and hope at Red Lake Nation
by Scott Richard Lyons
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There's an old Ojibwe saying: Gego baapiineminaken gidaabinoojiiyug. Never laugh at your children. That motto invokes a sacred Anishinaabe value: manaaji'idiwin, or deep respect. We are to respect others, no matter how young or weak or strange, in part because what goes around eventually comes around. This especially holds true for children. Not only because they have power - as elders will tell you, the only person who ever tricked the Trickster was a child - but also because that child will one day be an adult.
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Melvin T. Stith and Marty Whitman: "Colleges must help returning veterans"
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