Letters to the Editor: Why not offer microcredentials to student athletes?

UT should offer microcredentials

to athletes with pro prospects

Re: May 6 article, "UT to offer more options."

Microcredentials would be a golden ticket for those who want to work in the STEM world. I advocate something similar for college athletes who hope to go pro.

A one- or two-year program could include courses in financial planning, career options, sports-related PR management, contractual terms and definitions. It could also include health care , applied math, nutrition and sports theory.. A course or two in English literature and American and world history would be a plus. Students who participate in intramural sports but are seeking a standard four- or five-year degree, or advanced degree, could opt into these classes as electives.

Students seeking a professional sports certificate would leave college with knowledge they can use as they make important life decisions. For students, colleges and pro-team management, it's a win-win-win.

Jean Callary, Austin

SCOTUS opinion says 'abortion' not in

Constitution; what about other rights?

The leaked Supreme Court opinion written by Justice Alito should terrify all Americans who want to live in a free country.

I'm only a layman, but from what I understand, one of Alito's arguments is that the word "abortion" is not included in the Constitution, and therefore it cannot be a constitutional right.

How many other rights are not specifically mentioned in the founding document? How about a woman's right to vote? Of parents to make decisions regarding how they raise their children? How about gay marriage, or interracial marriage? What about contraception? What about travel, for heaven's sake? There's nothing in the Constitution that guarantees any of these rights.

Even though Alito says that this opinion "concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right," it's easy to see how zealots will seek to expand their control far beyond just abortion.

So much for "the land of the free."

Bruce Jones, Austin

Who will care for the children who

are conceived from rape or incest?

Many women who are forced to have babies after rape or incest will put the babies up for adoption.

Who will establish facilities to care for babies conceived from rape and incest? Who will adopt a baby who may be the product of rape or incest? Who will help these children when they get old enough to know about their origins?

Have politicians and activists thought about these things?

Linda Todd Evans, Georgetown

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin American-Statesman Letters to the Editor: May 12, 2022