College students should not forget about the “home” front. Many of us know the U.S. economy has been very unstable.

Corporations, especially manufacturers, are downsizing, filling for bankruptcy or closing down, causing the unemployment rate to rise steadily. Even in my hometown, several corporations and factories have either closed or filed for chapter 11 bankruptcies, resulting in thousands of hard workers out of work and out of hope. Numerous closings resulted from manufacturer’s past customers purchasing cheaper goods over seas. Making matters worse, one of my hometown’s and Ohio’s last steel manufacturers, WCI Steele Inc., filed for chapter eleven bankruptcy last month, laying off hundreds of workers. Ohio U.S. Rep. Timothy Ryan, stated on local news stations that 3 million jobs have been lost and approximately 2.4 million jobs were from manufacturing.

Being a junior at B.G.S.U., I know college students occasionally forget about problems back home, getting wrapped up in living the “college life.” But there is something we can do to help our family and friends here in Toledo, our hometowns and the economy as a whole.

There is a tax bill, called The Job Protection Act of 2003, being written in the United States Senate that will cut corporate taxes by ten percent if they keep productivity within the United States.

Keeping production within our county’s borders will result in companies and jobs reopening. By now, you may be wondering what students can do. For the bill to pass, 218 representatives need to vote yes and right now there are only 145 signatures on the bill. I encourage you all to write letters to your area’s representatives urging them to push for the bill to be passed as soon as possible. Even though we are away from home, it is still our responsibility to improve our families’ communities in any way that we can.

LATOYA L. LOGAN

STUDENT