A necessary translation
As a recent graduate of Yale College, I am appalled that Yale does not provide free translations of its diplomas from Latin to English at the time of Commencement. This has been extremely stressful to me as I try to enroll for a master’s degree at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany. This university will not accept a certified copy of my Yale diploma because it is in Latin. They require an official translation from Latin to English, which I cannot easily or cheaply acquire here in Europe, considering that Latin is an archaic language only used in extremely formal or academic settings. I have had to wait for several weeks for my notarized translation request to be sent to the U.S. and back, and pay $20 for Yale to provide the translation, in addition to postage costs. I suggest that Yale provide a free official English translation of its diplomas at Commencement.
Other institutions with Latin diplomas, including Columbia University of New York, provide graduates with a free diploma at Commencement. It is the least Yale can do, if Yale chooses to continue using Latin as the language for its degrees.
Nathaniel Knapp
Sept. 20
The writer is a 2014 graduate of Davenport College.
The government’s turn
According to Yale Dining’s website, the University is committed to using meat that is “hormone and antibiotic free.” Many people look at that phrase and think about how it is a nice thing for Yale Sustainability: It checks a box, makes the university look marginally better. But in reality, it has a much bigger effect.
Yale’s commitment is one that is being made by restaurants and farmers all around the country to help dissuade the abuse of antibiotics, particularly on factory farms and promote more ethical alternatives. Today 70 percent of all antibiotics used in human medicine in the United States are used on these farms, most of which is used on healthy animals for growth or “prevention” of disease. Unfortunately, our government has failed to stop this misuse on factory farms.
Taking antibiotics day in and day out for diseases that aren’t even affecting an animal is a bad idea. It would be like you or I taking penicillin from birth to avoid ever getting strep throat. Regardless of the reasoning, antibiotic use on farms has contributed significantly to antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistance is a phenomenon sweeping the bacterial diseases of the world. Rather than dying from standard treatment, these killer infections are living, and patients are dying. In fact, 23,000 patients died from antibiotic resistant diseases in 2012. Yale has taken an important step in the fight against antibiotic resistance. It’s time
for the government to take action as well.
Justin Mendoza
Sept. 20
The writer is a student in the School of Public Health.