Letters: Penn State women’s hockey deserves respect, support; Selling national security

Penn State women’s hockey deserves respect, support

Penn State women’s hockey went the distance and made us proud!

The narrative that Penn State women’s hockey lost in a “heartbreaker” in the Frozen Four semifinals misses the point and does our women athletes a disservice.

Penn State women’s hockey didn’t lose. They went the distance.

In their first-ever Frozen Four appearance, they fought the returning champions to a draw and took them into overtime. They proved their heart, their passion and their skill. They deserve the respect and support of our community as elite athletes who have made Penn State proud.

Penn State women’s hockey had a magical season. They showed up and played hard — even as this community failed to show up. For most of the season, they played to a mostly empty arena, and still the team persevered.

In an interview with the Daily Collegian, Tessa Janecke described how the passionate crowd at the Frozen Four semifinals was one of the best atmospheres she’d ever played in.

The only “heartbreaker” in this story is that she only got that true Penn State crowd experience during her last time on the ice as a Penn Stater, when our women’s hockey team deserved that energy every single game.

Women athletes deserve respect. They deserve fans. They deserve media coverage, institutional support and the time, attention and respect of the communities they play for.

Let’s show up for women’s sports. Let’s celebrate what Penn State women’s hockey accomplished this year. Next season, let’s fill Pegula for every game.

Crystal Lee Garrett and Michel Lee Garrett, State College

Selling national security

It’s no longer enough to say this administration blurs ethical lines. It’s erasing them.

While ordinary Americans struggle with rising costs, those closest to power continue to profit. Consider Jared Kushner: While serving as a chief Middle East negotiator, he was also seeking to raise $5 billion for his private equity firm from governments in that region. That’s not a gray area. It’s a blatant conflict of interest — once unthinkable.

And he’s not alone. From Don Jr. and Eric’s drone venture to Stephen Miller’s private prison investments, the pattern is clear: Proximity to power is a business model.

Now it takes a darker turn.

A recent fundraising appeal offers donors access to “private national security briefings,” promising the “inside scoop” on threats facing America — wrapped in urgency and exclusivity.

And if these promised “briefings” never materialize — as watchdogs suggest — then this isn’t just dangerous, it’s deceptive. Either way, it’s unacceptable.

Let’s not sanitize this: Selling access to national security insights to paying supporters isn’t just inappropriate — it’s dangerous.

And it gets worse. The appeal reportedly invokes the image of fallen U.S. service members to drive donations. Using sacrifice as a marketing tool isn’t just insensitive — it’s morally indefensible.

War isn’t a brand. National security isn’t a subscription service. Intelligence — real or implied — must never be a donor perk.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about whether we still recognize a line between public duty and private gain — and whether we’re willing to defend it.

Some lines, once crossed, don’t come back.

James Serene, State College

War isn’t the solution we need

Americans are facing many serious problems:

• An affordability crisis: High prices for food, housing and utilities

• A health care crisis: Unaffordable insurance and rural hospital closures

• A weakened safety net: Millions cut from SNAP and Medicaid

• Rising inequality

• Tariffs that function as taxes, paid by small businesses and consumers

• Unreleased Epstein files and continued lack of accountability for child sex predators

• Overly aggressive immigration enforcement that ensnares citizens and legal immigrants

• Detention centers with dangerous conditions leading to illness and death

And what is President Trump doing to solve the problems? Trying to distract us.

Instead of fixing domestic problems, the President has taken us to war. This isn’t what Americans want. It’s not what Americans voted for.

Linda Westrick, Boalsburg