The Valpo Core Reader (formerly the Freshman Reader: A Magazine of Student Writing) collects and honors excellent writing from Valparaiso University students who have been through the Valpo Core Program the previous year. These essays address a wide variety of texts and topics and include many genres of writing, including argumentative papers, personal narratives, and more. Main themes are drawn from the curriculum of the Core Program, which is arranged according to important aspects of human experience: origins, education, love, leadership and service, work and vocation, and matters of "life and death."
Argument Essays
Today's Trash: Tomorrow's Trouble (1990), Eric Bardenhagen
Liability Insurance: A Liability to Americans (1986), Mark Bayler
Let's Crack Down on Hackers (1984), Fred Benner
Physician-Assisted Suicide: Mercy or Murder? (1994), Sara Bobenmoyer
Adopted Children Have Rights Too (1996), Lisa Dimitroff
The Military as Editors: Crossing the Lines of Censorship (1991), Patti Disparte
"Alternative Futures" (1997), Ryan Doering
Free to Choose (1984), James Donaldson
The Wonder Drug (1983), Rochelle Erhart
Open Adoption (1996), Melissa Fann
Why Apathy is King of My Generation (1996), Jennifer Fett
Is Euthanasia a Crime? (1988), Heather Greenleaf
A Plea from the Deep (1991), Tad Hartmann
Outcome-Based Education: The Problems Behind the Theory (1996), Errin Jeffes
What Shall We Read in Reading Class? (1987), Kathleen A. Kisner
The Battle Over Bilingual Education (1988), Erica Langenegger
Control of the Greenhouse Effect (1989), Matt Lorentson
Nagging in America (1991), Jack Lyons
The Existence of Repressed Memory Syndrome (1996), Carri Massau
Relax, Have Fun, This is Prison (1996), Leslie Medlik
A Proposition for Victory (1993), Rebecca Menis
When to Turn the Television Off (1994), April Metz
We Have Got A Prayer (1996), Victoria Morton
The Euthanasia Controversy (1989), Scott Mueller
True Loving Christians? (1997), Kelly Mullin
Baby Fae: An Experimental Child (1985), Debby Naumann
Immigration (1997), Francisco Nuno
The Co-op Experience (1987), Vicki Panoushek
Record Labeling and the PMRC (1990), Jennifer Parks
Commercials Are Teaching Our Children The Wrong Things (1993), Rachel Pearson
Nuclear Energy and the Future Energy Demands of the United States (1993), Timothy Plath
Their Choice? (1986), Jon Rachiele
Animal Experimentation is Both Useful and Ethical (1994), Allan Rowe
Anorexia as a Harmful Effect of Women Succumbing to Societal Pressures (1997), Angela Seitz
Preschool Academics: Is It Too Much Too Soon? (1990), Katrina Sifferd
Equal Opportunities (1989), Ann Stien
The Right to Die: An Option for the Elderly (1986), Anonymous Submission
Educational Anarchy (1988), Nichole Thursby
Against the Legalization of Drugs (1991), Joe Troyer
The Right to Work Without Smoke (1994), Laura Verdun
A Delicate Balance (1984), Andrea Wagonblast
Handguns in the Home: An Unnecessary Risk (1983), Kim Walesh
Rage and Confusion: The Debate Over Capital Punishment (1996), Melissa M. Wilhelm
The Issue of Gun Control: My Big Bang Theory (1994), Teresa Witte
Children with AIDS: Lepers in the Classroom (1987), Elizabeth Young
Argument and Information Essays
Tourette Sydrome (1992), Debbi Beattie
Refusing an AIDS Patient: The Right Belongs to the Physician (1992), Debra Landbo
Genetic Engineering: Where Does it Stop? (1992), Nada Mlinarevich
The Japanese Equal Employment Opportunity Law of 1985 (1992), Ikuko Sugiura
Birth and Creation Essays
At What Cost? (2007), Evan Akers
Power of Pressure (2008), Sarah Blystra
Falling (2003), Joy Bowker
Learning Through Our Experience (2001), Andrea Bronner
Africa is Calling (2008), Mary Chilcote
God Complex (2006), Emily Cullar
Becoming a Little Woman (2007), Alysse Foster
Conflict Through the Eyes of Genesis, Old Man Coyote, and Genome (2006), Cory Francis
Lust for Life (2008), Mia Goulding
The Desire for Knowledge (2008), Angela Huerta
Dancing Like No One Was Watching (2006), Jenny Johnson
"Brother Against Brother" (2002), Erica Kruger
Nature in Creation Stories (2006), Chris Lentz
The Truth About Smelly People (2005), Emily Peters
The Ethics of Rappaccini (2007), Jacob Roshanmanesh
The Product of a Nightmare (2008), Elizabeth Simons
Self Portrait (2007), Aaron Stevens
The Question of Creation (2007), Kirsten Swanson
Religious Revolution (2008), Theresa Vachon
Becoming Allison Cassidy (2007), Emily Zitnik
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (2004), Diane Zuber
Cause and Effect Essays
The Damage is Done (1987), Anonymous Author
Max, Marty, Paul, and Me (1994), John Bennett
How TV Makes People Hate the Sport of Golf (1992), Jim Boehm
Happily Ever After? (1985), Lora Bulmahn
Fast Food Restaurants: A Healthier Alternative (1989), Suzanne Crabill
The Effect of Feminism on Motherhood (1995), Lea Dalphond
The Consequences of Under-Age Drinking (1994), Craig Fantin
The Hardening of the Body, the Softening of the Soul (1994), Lisa Finnern
Can a Dad be a Homemaker? (1992), Jennifer Hard
It's A Jungle Out There (1991), Mark Hollander
Wordlove (1991), Anne Iverson
"Pictures, Anyone?" (1984), Patricia Jaeger
The Only Child Syndrome (1990), Wade Jones
Spice Up Your Life (1995), Kerri Ann Kielpinski
The Effects of Failure (1992), Kate Kitzmann
Vivid Pictures and Lasting Impressions: Television and Movies in Education (1988), Bonney Leckie
Winning And Everything That Goes With It (1990), Tina Maaske
First Born, Second Born (1990), Maureen Maher
Emancipate the Children! (1989), Sherri McCuddy
The Family Reunion: What Causes Its Demise (1994), Gary L. McMahan
Devastating Effects (1991), Stephanie Nelson
Dollars and Sense (1984), Helene Pappas
They Work Hard for their Money (1987), Paige Prestia
The Dying Olympic Dream (1994), Beckie Ramstack
Honor Code: A Screen Door On A Submarine (1985), Paul Rinehart
Win a Few, Lose a Few (1993), Allison Ring
Setting A Rusty Wheel Into Motion (1991), James E. Saqui Jr.
Dying Love (1993), Tanya Senne
I Can't Drive 55 (1986), David Soderna