A volunteer firefighter, a Coast Guard sergeant and a 911 dispatcher in Bridgeport are the new Westport officers, one of the items in this week s community news
The enjoyment of sexual pleasure can contribute greatly to a person’s happiness. Prostitution, in providing opportunities for such pleasure, should therefore be viewed as an admirable profession that makes a very welcome contribution to human society. Instead, prostitutes are looked down upon, and prostitution is illegal in many countries and most of the United States. Why is this the case? The reason is that many people are in the grip of unsound arguments that lead them to think that prostitution is morally wrong. Rob Lovering’s book is a welcome correction. Not only is it the first book to survey the wide variety of arguments for the immorality of prostitution, it also sets out in an admirably clear and accurate fashion each of the important arguments that have been offered for this view, and then shows convincingly in each case why the argument in question is unsound. (Michael Tooley
Programs Over Profit The University of Vermont s decision to cut at least 23 programs of study due to low enrollment is troubling [Off Message: UVM Announces Plan to Eliminate More Than Two Dozen Academic Programs, December 2]. Administrators and trustees of public universities should go beyond enrollment numbers and consider how small programs support the public interest and enrich the region. For example, UVM s decision to cut the Historic Preservation master s program because it has averaged fewer than five students per year is folly: Isn t the continued preservation of Vermont s historic buildings and artifacts in the public interest? Niche programs such as geology, languages and culture also on the chopping block shouldn t be penalized for being unable to increase enrollment. Assuming that programs have value only if they can recruit more students inappropriately attaches a private corporate model to a public institution.