Age of the Loan Drones

Artvoice’s 12/20 cover story, “The Age of the Loan Drones,” neglects one very important fact when talking about its main character, a student who owes approximately $150,000 in loan debt. The student in question attended Argosy University, which is an educational chain store owned by for-profit Education Management Corporation of Pittsburgh. The Phoenix Argosy University campus in question is one of 81 EMC facilities that together claim 96,000 customers or students. EMC’s Argosy brand, which was formed in 2001, doesn’t seem to command the same respect from employers as do traditional, established, respected institutions of higher education that employ accomplished, tenure-track professors to teach classes on comprehensive research campuses.

While our student was amassing his $150,000 debt, EMC’s stock price has almost doubled. EMC is successful according to the measures employed by an advanced corporate capitalist economy. So are its competitors, such as Apollo Group’s University of Phoenix and Western International University. Our student is more than simply the victim of increasing educational costs. He is the victim of a predatory model of privitized education that by law must place the interests of private investors ahead of students or service to communities and academic disciplines.

Michael I. Niman

Buffalo

[Editor’s note: Mike Niman is a columnist for this paper.]

A Modest Proposal

Two perennial topics for debate in Buffalo are: Should Buffalo have a casino? And who will buy the Bills when Ralph Wilson dies?

I am not a supporter of casinos in this city, and I do not count myself as a big Bills fan, but I have an idea. The problem with finding a buyer for the Bills is that it is going to cost a lot to buy the team and there are not that many “deep pockets” in Buffalo. Who’s got the money?

The Senecas do. Whether you are for or against casinos, the reality is that there is going to be a downtown Buffalo casino, and it will make a lot of money. The Senecas just turned over $100 million to the state, as a share of their profits for one year. So, why not make a pitch for them to buy the Bills? They could afford it, and it is the type of prestige enterprise that might make the average Buffalonian feel much more positive toward them.

It would be necessary to create a “Chinese wall” between the gambling operation and the football team, but that should not be hard to do. This could turn out to be a win-win situation.

People in Buffalo don’t like to face the hard, cold reality that this city could lose its beloved Bills. Here is the chance to be preemptive. Keep the Bills in Buffalo. Besides, wouldn’t it be ironic if a team named after the legendary “Indian fighter” Buffalo Bill were owned by Indians?

Eileen O’Brien

Buffalo

year of eating dangerously

Consumer Reports got things rolling by reporting that 83 percent of all raw chickens harbor campylobacter or salmonella, leading causes of foodborne disease. Spring and summer brought 20 recalls of 30 million pounds of ground beef contaminated with lethal E. coli. All through the year, two dozen scientific reports, including a mammoth one by the World Cancer Research Fund, linked meat and dairy consumption with elevated risk of colon, stomach, pancreatic, prostate, breast, uterine and ovarian cancers.

A dozen more reports linked meat and dairy with obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. A survey of 30,000 children by the National Center for Health Statistics indicated an alarming rise in high blood pressure, a precursor to heart attack and stroke.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s The 11th Hour reminded us that, according to the UN, animal agriculture accounts for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions—more than automobiles.

The dawn of the new year is a great time to explore the rich variety of veggie burgers, dogs, deli slices, heat-and-eat dinners and soy-based milk, cheese and ice cream in our local supermarket, as well as the traditional vegetables, nuts, grains and fruits. It’s the one new year’s resolution that’s easy and fun to keep.

Blaine Hamilton

Buffalo

Corrections: In our Last Minute Gift Guide (“Ready for Winter, Sport?” Artvoice v6n50), we incorrectly stated that Mansfield Coach & Cutter offers winter sleigh rides, a service they stopped offering two years ago. For those still interested in sleigh rides, you can call Eden Carriage Company at 860-5396.

Three weeks ago, in our review of Bel Cibo restaurant (“Beautiful Food,” Artvoice v6n49), we failed to mention proprietor Marty Palame’s co-owner, Buck Kaber. We regret both errors.

In last week’s article on Wolf Blitzer’s dangerous insipidness (“I Have News for You, Wolf,” Artvoice v6n52), we let slip two misidentifications: Michael Dukakis was questioned in the 1988 debate by CNN’s Bernard Shaw, and obviously not by Bernie Sanders, the congressman from Vermont; and the CNN reporter identified as Rich Chavez was in fact Rick Sanchez.