News-Record.com

Here is a link for those Koala care baby changing tables, they are $180 ea. Perhaps a volume discount is available.

http://www.babychangingstations.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=bcs&Category_Code=BCS-SI

That may not sound like a lot but multiply by how many public restrooms there are at UNC-G. Don't forget mens rooms as we certainly do not want to "discriminate". Wait a minute, once this gets started at UNC-G, others will cry discrimination and want changing tables at their universities. So include the entire UNC system.

How many people would benefit from changing tables at a university? Is it enough to justify more taxpayer expenditures to please Ms. Chamberlain and perhaps a small amount of others?

Many a times I found these tables dirty and preferred to go to the car or somewhere semi-private.

Here is an idea, Ms. Chamberlain could donate a changing table or two to the university near the restrooms she and her daughter frequent most often. They could even put a plaque with her name by it as is often found near donated items like park benches, etc.

I want a new Tahoe.

Perhaps UNCG doesn't want babies on campus?

Change the baby on the professor's desk, that ought to get you what you want.

Great suggestion, Molene. Practical and to the point.

Far better to go to your clean car to change your baby than a nasty public restroom. You are a mom--be resourceful, don't whine. I've even changed an infant in an airplane lavatory on my lap with a changing pad. Of course it helps that I'm one of the tiny people for whom those bathrooms were designed : ) don't think I could have pulled that off if I had been normal-sized.

Seriously, when you have children you are in for a certain amount of inconvenience while they are little--it's what you sign up for when you become a parent. Some places, such as college lectures and grown-up movies, are not designed for small children and parents need to understand that. The childless students are paying the same tuition as the students with children--perhaps they would prefer some other amenities in the restrooms.

"The childless students are paying the same tuition as the students with children--perhaps they would prefer some other amenities in the restrooms."

Condom and tampon dispensers?

I asked this the other day and got no response. Whatever happened to the liberal conservative? Is he in a wheelchair drooling as his great aunt reads scripture to him?

Maybe if they would have had "free
Condom and tampon dispensers" she wouldn't need the changing table.

Molene Gunch, have you never heard the term
"let sleeping dogs lie"?

If you know why Casper, why not I?

Laura, instead of standing there tapping your foot, demanding service, do this: re-engineer your request:

1) Stand out on campus with a petition, get lots of signatures. Shouldn't be too hard with baby in tow.

2) Write a friendly- not petulant- letter and attach it to copies of your petition. Then send the packages to:

Dr. Linda Brady, Chancellor, UNCG;
and
The North Carolina Division of Public Health, Office of Women's and Children's Health.

Then, as a way of paying for the tables, send another package to:

Public Relations Director, Proctor and Gamble, Greensboro, NC.

Put cc's at the bottom of each letter, stating the other recipients of the packages, so they'll know the players involved.

Be proactive, Laura. You'll be amazed at how well it works.

I think this is what Obamamama was refering to . . . change . . . changing . . . changing tables . . .

. . . yeah!

THE LIBERAL CANADIAN has been relegated to the troll bin. He/she only pops up when there is news from the Koz or Huffpo that he/she thinks will tick off the non-drones.

I'm with you Neonic as to the gender of that creep. It was either a sexually frustrated termigant or a real short guy with a real short guy.

As for the worst people in the world? I do believe it's those range roving pin-headed lesbian athletic types with daddy's credit card.

Even lib/con wasn't as bad as those...

Laura, you seem to be a person who doesn't know what a problem might be...

Back when I was raising babies, you know when we had to walk 2 miles in the snow to get to school, there were NO changing tables in public places, and I still managed to raise clean kids.

And I don't really see many reasons to take a baby with you to college.

"And I don't really see many reasons to take a baby with you to college."

Probably the day care costs. I've been out of it for 15 years, what does it cost today for a week in a three star daycare?

Carol Dunn said: "And I don't really see many reasons to take a baby with you to college."

Carol, I think the tip-off is what the LTTE writer (Laura) said:

"I am involved in a lot of activities on campus and ENJOY TAKING MY DAUGHTER WITH ME [emphasis added]."

Guess Laura just doesn't ENJOY the lack of changing tables on campus.

I'm wondering what Laura's major is. I can't imagine too many classes where a baby young enough to be in diapers wouldn't be a distraction in a lecture hall or a laboratory.

Seems like the class that offers extra credit for published LTEs at UNCG has started back up. Check out the ones on Foster Parenting and Lung Cancer.

Good call, ellie. Social work, wasn't it?

A quick search shows that the lung cancer one was published in Durham's paper a couple of days ago, too:

http://tinyurl.com/bgqros

Any of the students monitoring the boards? (We know you are. That's just me being polite.)
Chime in.

Hugh

. . . It costs an arm and a leg . . . and then you have to bang the daycare receptionist after hours to get your kid outta lock up . . . hell on family life I tell ya . . .

"Maybe if they would have had 'free
Condom and tampon dispensers' she wouldn't need the changing table."

...guess we can't talk about a (possibly young) woman and a baby without casting aspersions implying sexual promiscuity....

rah rah, the majority of single men and women between 18-25 are sexually promiscuous, especially so in a university setting.

You can thank these very social work letters (or last year's) for the pleasure of my acquaintance as a friend of mine wrote one last year for her class and wanted me to read some of the funny and ridiculous comments left by yous guys.

hugh, as an 18-25er in a university setting, I'd like to see some stats on that...or at least hear your definition of 'sexually promiscuous.'

The problem I have with the comment is that the letter is about changing tables but the comment implies that Laura needed to get a condom so her baby daddy could wrap it up (and she wouldn't have this problem).

But maybe Laura is married and wanted a child, maybe she's 35, maybe she adopted the kid...we don't know. All we know is that she's got a baby daughter with a poopy diaper and long walk to her car.

First of all, just let me say that i think that she has a good point and that more parents should make this point. Maybe, just maybe if this point was made to more colleges, women and single parents who have children would be more open to further there education.

Second of all, not everyone dislikes having children as much as some of you that have made very rude and condescending comments towards Ms./Mrs. Chamberlin. Who are you to fault her for having and loving her child enough not to just dump her off on a babysitter. Some people havent seen your comments but i have and i personally think that you have no place to tell someone that they should have "used a condom". She may have planned to have children. So please the next you think about letting your mouth run, keep it closed.

I wrote the letter about needing more research for lung cancer. Yes, I am a social work major and yes this was an assignment for class. However, it is not extra credit, we all must submit a letter and get it published. Also, the letter I wrote goes far beyond an assignment for class for me which is another reason why I tried to get it published in as many papers in class. From what I see you bundled my letter and the letter about foster care together as if they are both only social work issues. I may have misconstrued your message but the fact that lung cancer is killing so many people and that there is far less funding for it then other cancers is in no way solely a social work issue. Lung cancer and all cancers affect us all.

On another note, even if these letters are for a class assignment it does not mean that we do not truly believe and stand behind every thing we write, and we definitely do not deserve the derogatory comments.

Timothy, as in my first post I have a beef with the entitlement mentality. Because SHE wants changing tables SHE should have them. Again, think about the cost of this to outfit all public restrooms, female and male, with changing tables. Is it worth the cost to benefit a few?

To call it discrimination is a bit over the top as well.

I love children, have two of my own. My wife and I spent four years between the two of them changing diapers. Carol and mamab understand that you have to use some imagination at times. I changed one kid on top of my knee in a small cubby hole aboard the North Carolina battleship in Wilmington. Didn't think to whine about them not having changing tables. Just do what ya gotta do.

People are too damned whiny these days.

Heather, please tell us about the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009. What does it entail? How much will it cost? The Feds are raising cigarette taxes to pay for more kids to get on govt. insurance in the SCHIP program. Will they raise cigarette taxes more?

While I realize some non-smokers contract lung cancer, aren't the majority of cases due to smoking? Isn't this why lung cancer doesn't get all of the attention (and funding as you mentioned) that other cancers do, because a majority of cases are due to poor lifestyle choices?

BTW, do you think your university (hopefully UNC-CH due to your address) should have all of it's public restrooms outfitted with baby changing tables?

wouldn't be so bad to put a few strategically located tables throughout campus, would it?

Dan, the act would be around $75 million going towards expanding research, focusing on preventative and early detection. There would also be work on smoking cessation programs. I have not seen any information on where the money will come from. My aim with the letter was not to push this act necessarily but to raise awareness about the extreme differences in funding. Very few people know the facts.

Yes, the leading cause of lung cancer is smoking and this is why there is a stigma attached to it which leads to less exposure and funding. However, does one bad decision make your life less valuable? 65% of lung cancer cases are former smokers and people who have never smoked.

Yes, I do live in Chapel Hill but I attend UNCG. I am not a parent so have never thought about there being now changing tables. I can understand the concern with the financial aspect as mentioned before, however, one or two tables on an entire campus is not too much to ask for.

Thanks for the response Heather. A few thoughts:

"There would also be work on smoking cessation programs."

Good luck. I'll assume you are a younger university student, correct me if I'm wrong, but you were likely rather young when the 1998 tobacco settlement passed. As you have an interest in the subject you are also likely to know about the 1998 settlement.

The intent was to spend the money taken from Big Tobacco to spend on medical costs for sick smokers AND smoking prevention programs.

I'm too tired to find nationwide data, but it is widely known that many states took that money and spent it on other things. Here is Kansas for example, it has spent only 1% of their tobacco settlement money on smoking cessation and prevention programs.

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/080308/kan_312960588.shtml

What percentage of lung cancers are from people who never smoked? I used to work in the asbestos abatement industry and am aware of it's exposure to result in lung cancer.

While asbestos exposure is dangerous the chance of contracting lung cancer goes up exponentially when said exposure is combined with smoking.

As for the changing tables, both you and rahrah state that a few tables could be helpful. If that is the case, I would suggest Ms Chamberlin start a fund drive at UNCG and ask others, particularly parents of diaper aged children to contribute to the purchase of a few tables. Seriously.

If there is something you want then take an initiative to get it instead of waiting for govt. to provide it. I know that's old fashioned thinking but hey, that's me.

Heather,
It doesn't appear that anyone has made derogatory comments based on the fact that these are class assignments. On my part, that was merely an observation that happened to be correct.

I think it is great that students are encouraged to write letters. I just think that this particular letter is a bit on the silly side...

"yet will not supply simple necessities to help the cause."

As Dan has said, a baby can be changed without a changing table. The difference between needs and wants needs to be learned.

Suggestion: Carry a blanket with you, put the baby on the floor, change the diaper. Not rocket science, IMO.

As to how or why the letter writer has a baby, I don't think that is anyone's business. However, she says it is her choice to take the baby with her to school activities. Her choice, her problem

Thanks for posting, Heather. How much (not extra) credit is a published LTE worth? Total class grade wise, I'm guessing it's pretty high. 10%?

Dan, first I would like to say that I have a child myself and I have changed diapers in some really odd places but, if you inconvience alot of other people just because of your uncaring views you've taken it too far. UNCG is a pretty fast paced place and if you or anyone else has to change their child's diaper it would be nice to have a good clean place to do it. Some younger children are more prone to illness and there is no need take that chance when having a sick child is even worse than a child that isn't sick.

Secondly, If I am correct UNCG used to be an all womens college and im pretty sure that its natural for women to have children(out of wedlock or not). So, why not spend the little extra money for something that probably should have been there to begin with?

Tim....since when should college campuses be equipped for babies??? Geeeeze...this blows my mind.

Yep the school was The Women's College of the University of North Carolina, good old dubbya Cee...I started there in 1962...all women, no babies. But we sure did get guys by the car loads from area colleges. We had our pick, but I digress.

"why not spend the little extra money"...do you mean that stuff that grows on trees or that stuff the government keeps printing. I would go with the letter about the homeless...why not spend the little extra money where it is NEEDED.