Letters to the editor for Nov. 29
Traveling for the holiday is outrageous
I read in The Olympian Nov. 24 that “about 1 million Americans a day packed airports and planes over the weekend even as coronavirus deaths surged across the U.S. and public health experts begged people to stay home...”
This is outrageous. We are running out of hospitals — they are full. Health care workers like our daughter and son-in-law go to work every day risking their lives caring for COVID-19 patients. The more people travel and spread the virus, the more folks will become infected and hospitalized. What if we have so many people infected with COVID that we run out of hospital beds, ICUs, ventilators and essential workers to care for the infected? What then?
A vaccine is coming. Why travel now and risk the health of the traveler and so many others? Why not wait to travel until you are immunized?
Pam Turner, Olympia
Hunger at Evergreen
Students at The Evergreen State College need more assistance when it comes to access to food, especially during COVID-19. Myself and so many of my friends have struggled to get access to food. People who live next to campus don’t have meal plans, but are just as isolated as Evergreen students.
A lot of students don’t have cars, so it’s hard to get to the Thurston County Food Bank and other free/low cost food options. The Evergreen food bank is only once every two weeks for a few hours, has very limited food options and is far away from on-campus housing.
As of fall 2020, Evergreen’s own demographics in its yearly report show that 15% of students have a disability (8.9% documented), 34.8% of students are below the poverty level, and 39.9% of students are low income.
Ideally, there would be several smaller solutions that are an increase of the current resources. This could look like the food pantry not being next to the police station, because it can be very intimidating to students, and it is really far away from on-campus housing. The Evergreen food bank location could be moved to F Lot and increase how often it occurs and its food availability.
One currently available program, called the Hungry Greener Voucher Program, should have information more widely circulated and should be explained in detail to students with details on how to donate extra meals, as well as how to apply online, because it’s actually super easy.
Robin Chapman, Olympia
We need another COVID relief bill
Without a doubt, this pandemic has been hard for all of us. Many people are feeling scared for the future, with a looming threat posed directly by the pandemic and indirectly by the economic hardships we will endure as a result. With the number of unemployed workers soaring and funding for unemployment quickly diminishing, there’s likely to be an uptick in the already overwhelming amount of folks experiencing homelessness.
To curtail this outcome, it’s clear that one of the best things we could do is support the workers of America with another round of stimulus checks to keep families from being evicted or forced into choosing between basic necessities.
Another stimulus bill is in the works, but progress is admittedly slow, with details being fleshed out by parties who have totally different priorities. It’s clear that both sides recognize the importance of helping families and businesses that are struggling in the wake of COVID-19, but the stalemate that we’ve found ourselves in has obviously brought with it much confusion and frustration from the public.
We need our leaders to act soon if we are to avoid another crushing blow to the economy like the one we experienced earlier this year. As a WashPIRG student, I’m calling on citizens to reach out to their elected officials and encourage them to act swiftly and work with each other to protect us. There’s no time to waste. It’s time our public servants stood in solidarity with the American people.
Nick Schmitt, Olympia