Why Ruth Allen Shouldn’t Get Your Number One Vote
Photo Courtesy of Ruth Ryan Allen
Ruth Ryan Allen is the owner of Paddy’s bar in Cambridge.
November 4, 2019
One of the School Committee candidates running this year is Ruth Ryan Allen, a mother who has been advocating for her two daughters, who both attend Cambridge Public Schools.
She is an advocate for girls sports and has received much recognition from the community. She is running for this Committee spot to help high school students plan the next steps of their life.
She has received many awards while working to make the community better. She also runs the only woman-owned bar in Cambridge, Paddy’s, which has been open for 85 years. Paddy’s also hosts a 5K run every year.
She also runs the only woman-owned bar in Cambridge.
Allen’s proposal for improvement in CPS is the notion that “college is not for everyone.” She believes that while students should be able to go to college if they want to, they should also have the option not to go and still be successful.
In an introduction to her platform for the website the Cambridge Civic, Allen wrote, “Growing up in working-class Cambridge, I saw how unions and trades saved many young men and women. I think now is the perfect time to make this more available and increase the options for our young people.” It is true that there are many jobs that do not need college degrees, however, those jobs pay only around $50,000-$60,000, which is not enough to live in Cambridge. A house costs hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Apartments cost less, but then there’s also basic necessities like food, toiletries, and clothes that you wouldn’t be able to get with your salary. In short, it would be difficult to live in Cambridge with this salary.
We should still have students trying to reach their educational goals.
I think Allen is qualified, but I don’t think her proposal will benefit Cambridge. I think we should still have students trying to reach their educational goals unless college is out of reach or doesn’t have appeal. To some, trades would be an alternative. However, if too many people apply for the same job, then we wouldn’t have a use for most of them, which would leave a lot of people jobless.
Allen does not get my endorsement because I do not like her central proposal; this generation is not living in the same time period that Allen lived in, so many things are changing.
This piece also appears in our October 2019 print edition.
