Pitt must ensure academic freedom

I was appalled to read that the University of Pittsburgh is taking a $4.2M grant from the Charles Koch Foundation (Oct. 12, “Pitt Reveals Plans for $4.2M Grant”).

Did any one at Pitt read “Dark Money” by Jane Mayer? If not, please at least read pages 447 to 450 that detail how the Charles Koch Foundation gave money to Florida State University and West Virginia University and 283 other four-year colleges and universities. The foundation used its influence over the universities to change teachings, especially in the field of economics.

I hope that Pitt has second thoughts about this grant and doesn’t tie the hands of the academics. There is a lot to be said about academic freedom. GRETCHEN FULLER

Pleasant Hills

Restore Olijnyk

Barbara Luderowski and Michael Olijnyk transformed a vacant, boarded-up eyesore of a building into a world renowned museum — the Mattress Factory.

In the process, they also provided a spark for the revitalization of a neighborhood that had fallen victim to urban blight, crime, drugs and the resulting flight of home owners from the area. The decline of what was a once vibrant, self-sustaining neighborhood prior to the mid-1960s looked irreversible to most of the local residents, of whom I was one. But Ms. Luderowski’s vision and that of her partner, Mr. Olijnyk, not only provided the neighborhood with a centerpiece, it provided the impetus for people to move back to the neighborhood, purchase properties and pour much needed capital into the neighborhood.

The Mexican War Streets area is once again a popular, fashionable place to live, and the resulting increase in property values has brought additional tax dollars to both the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

Where are our civic leaders — who have benefited from the increased tax revenue generated by the revitalization of this once-again proud neighborhood — as the Mattress Factory board of directors has succumbed to political correctness and unjustly made a scapegoat of one of the visionaries? Mr. Olijnyk was partly responsible for the development of the Mattress Factory and the resulting redevelopment of the area.

The mayor and City Council, along with the county executive, should be using whatever means available to encourage the Mattress Factory board to reverse the wrong it has committed and return Mr. Oliyjnik to his position as executive director of the Mattress Factory.

RICH MARASTI

McKees Rocks

Save our oceans

This past summer, I took a trip to one of America’s most beautiful national parks, Acadia National Park, located on the pristine sea shore of Maine. I came to the park to have an experience in nature but as I walked along the seashore, around every turn and hidden in the crevice of the rocks was plastic waste washed up by the high tide.

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This brought my attention to the true amount of plastic floating in our oceans. Even this protected seashore wasn’t safe from the relentless onslaught of single-use plastic waste. Plastic bags alone kill an estimated 100,000 marine animals annually, and by the year 2050, the amount of plastic in our oceans, by mass, will be equal to the number of fish we have swimming on our beautiful blue world.

Things need to change, and need to change now. As a senior in college, I don’t want the rest of my life to be choked out by the waste of our mistakes, so I am pleading with our state representatives to pass the Zero Waste Pennsylvania bill package.

CHRIS BUCHLEITNER

South Side