New Trine program recalls an earlier age

The more things change, the more they remain the same. After reading Manchester University President Stacy Young’s announcement about the new, accelerated degree programs in applied accounting and applied business management (Five questions, Jan. 12), I wanted to bring back some history from Tri State (now Trine) College and Indiana Tech.

After World War II there was a demand for engineering grads. To answer this need, Tri State and Indiana Tech had 27-month engineering curriculums. As a Tri State alum, I am more familiar with that program.

If a person wanted to go to school every quarter, including the summer, he or she could complete a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 27 months. This was a full civil, mechanical, electrical or aeronautical engineering degree and had all the technical content.

There was a high demand, partly because of shortages, but also because of the high level of education being provided. Industry was always on campus recruiting and placing well-qualified engineers.

As an Angola High grad, I was well aware of some of the families that moved to Angola. Several of my classmates were the sons and daughters of Tri State students who typically had served in the military before coming to the Angola area to attend college, were older and quite mature.

In the latter 1960s the schools expanded to a four-year curriculum that included more liberal arts and other courses to supplement the technical side.

So, as the Bob Dylan song says, “the times they are a changin’. “ But maybe not so much.

Michael L. Noll

Fort Wayne

Braun, Banks inject politics into tragedy

Gov. Mike Braun and Sen. Jim Banks took to Facebook following the horrific Feb. 3 crash that killed four in Jay County to blame Democrats and “illegal” immigrants, respectively.

The driver, Bekzhan Beishekeev, is a Kyrgyz national who entered the country on a CBP One App during the Biden administration, which arguably did not make him “illegal.” Presumably he failed to comply with CBP One App requirements (or was caught in Trump administration changes to status) because he was turned over to ICE on an immigration warrant.

He was driving for a trucking company whose vehicles have had safety problems with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. While it is fair to criticize the CBP One App, about 20% of the long-haul semi drivers in this country are foreign born (mostly from Mexico, Central America and Asia).

Just as in agriculture, immigrants cover for labor shortages in an occupation with difficult working conditions and relatively low pay, leading to high burnout rates. Among non-citizen drivers, the category into which Beishekeev fell is nondomiciled CDL holders. During the first half of 2025, such drivers were involved in five of the 1,600 fatal semi truck crashes in the United States.

The Feb. 3 crash was a tragedy and points out the need for greater regulation of the trucking industry. Braun and Banks’ statements are political theater of no benefit to the safety of Indiana residents.

Terry Nilles

Fort Wayne

Constitutional threats cloud anniversary

This summer marks our country’s 250th anniversary.

The present administration is constantly reinterpreting the Constitution’s original wording. The president is dismantling departments and agencies. Key positions have been filled by people with no experience. The only requirement is unwavering loyalty. The president has the complete loyalty of the Republican House and Senate. He has resisted following certain court orders.

That ends separation of powers. He is removing all guardrails to keep him in line. He is flooding our city streets with armed forces. That is a form of occupation. This is all being done to give the president ultimate rule. Many would call this authoritarian; I agree.

All of this goes against our Constitution, except in their interpretation. He is going so far as to disregard International law.

All of this follows the blueprint in Project 2025. Will we continue to interpret the Constitution as we have for almost 250 years, or will we begin to live under the Constitution 2.0? If we continue to allow this administration to make its own rules, our Constitution will be considered worthless.

Will our original Constitution make it to 250 years as our official guideline to freedom?

Brent McBride

Fort Wayne

Election funding fixes gaining momentum

January 2026 marked the anniversaries of two consequential U.S. Supreme Court decisions: Buckley v Valeo (Jan. 30, 1976), and Citizens United (Jan. 21, 2010).

Fifty years ago, the court in Buckley ruled that “money is speech” under the First Amendment. This led to the Citizens United decision, which established “corporate personhood.” Remember hearing “Corporations are people, my friend!” at a 2012 presidential campaign event?

Today, most would agree that our voices are drowned out by the much louder voices of big money influencing elections. One might even want to give up on the idea of “one person, one vote.”

There is hope, however. A bipartisan effort is underway to amend the U.S. Constitution to fix this problem. It’s called the “For Our Freedom” Amendment, and 23 state legislatures are ready to ratify it.

In support, state Sens. Travis Holdman and Dr. Tyler Johnson authored Senate Resolution 5, which “[urges] Congress to propose an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to establish that campaign and election spending may be regulated.” It passed the Senate Committee on Elections unanimously.

Please take some time to thank them for this important work.

David Stringfellow

Thornton, Colorado

Civilian killing will speed MAGA’s demise

I was born in 1950. In my lifetime, there have been four sentinel events that completely changed public perception of our government’s policies.

March 9, 1954: Joe McCarthy was arguably the most powerful man in the nation, ruining careers, causing suicides by accusing celebrities and people in the media of being communists. He had broad public support. But on that day in ’54 Edward R. Murrow made his first broadcast exposing McCarthy. By Dec. 2, 1954, McCarthy was censured by the Senate,. Disgraced, he drank himself to death.

March 7, 1965: “Bloody Sunday” — the police brutality at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, against Black Americans was seen live across the nation. People were shocked. It marked a turning point on segregation and Jim Crow. The Voting Rights Act was passed on Aug. 6, 1965.

Feb. 27, 1968: Walter Cronkite (the most trusted man in America) came out against the War in Vietnam. Public sentiment on the war changed overnight. President Lyndon B. Johnson withdrew from running for a second term two weeks later, and America began its drawdown the next year.

Jan. 24, 2026: The killing of Alex Pretti. Public support of ICE, Donald Trump and MAGA has plummeted. I think that day neutered Trump and MAGA, and will lead to their being assigned to the dustbin of history. Trump will be remembered as the worst, most corrupt, most evil president in history.

Steven Smith

Fort Wayne