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Show I v - 1 I II I I - I. - Editorials Foram The judge and the pot gap by Lou Perkins The reaction to Judge Donald Ginsburgs admission that he smoked marijuana a few ; times in the 1960s and 70s was more astonishing than the fact itself. That such an admission should have been the fatal blow to Judge Ginsburgs nomination shows there is a disturbing generation gap in Washington, and perhaps elsewhere. The fact that a smoked dope during his college days at Cornell or the University of Chicago, or even as a faculty member at Harvard, comes as no shock to us. t Editor Jennifer Killian Managing Editor Ginny Gale ld Business Manager Julie Fullmer Advertising Manager Laura Reeves Contributing Writers CaraCahoon Karen Charnholm Tawn M. Dewey Myriam Hernandez Tricia Martinez Lou Perkins Laura Reeves Pit Bull Mauls Four Girl. The child is in serious condition with head and neck injuries ... Year-Ol- d Vicious Dog Attacks Child! A pit bull terrier today attacked a young boy playing in the neighboring yard... News stories such as these have given rise to a recent surge in popular opinion against the pit bull terrier. The rampant misperceptions concerning these animals need to be addressed. This will aid in preventing incidents like the preceding examples, and, hopefully, will save many of the dogs lives as well. N. L. Spackman Randy Sullivant so-call- ed v Faculty Adviser Scott Cairns d One of the most misunderstandings of the pit bull is as basic as the name. There is no breed called a pit bull. The American Kennel Club recognizes several breeds which are often erroneously labeled pit bulls. These are the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and the Bull Terrier (white or colored). Other breeds such as Bulldogs and even Boston Terriers have been mistakenly lumped in this category. are' created from these Many mixed-breed- s distinct breeds mentioned, but anyone claiming to own a registered pit bull is either ig- wide-sprea- The Forum of Westminster College of Salt Lake City will be published and distributed approximately every other Tuesday throughout the academic year by the Associated Students of Westminster College. The newspapers address is 1840 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84105. The Forum is an award-winnin- g member of the Rocky Mountain v Collegiate Press Association. e Typesetting and printing by Printing, 2280 So. 600 West, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115. The Forum welcomes letters from students and other readers. Submissions must be signed and include the authors telephone number (telephone numbers will Hof-fin- be used only to verify the authenticity of letters). Submissions must also avoid the use of profanity and libel. Lengths may not exceed three typed, double-space- d pages with lines 50 character spaces wide. Deliver letters directly to the Forum office (under the door if necessary) in the basement of Shaw Center by 3 p.m. on Tuesday one week before the date of publication, or mail them to the Forum office at the above address. Please be concise and to the point in your LAKE D to having smoked marijuana at least once. The percentage is probably much higher in places like Ithaca and Cambridge, two of the towns O R where Judge Ginsburg hung out. If having ever tried marijuana is going to be a fatal character flaw for nominees to public office, most of an entire generation will find itself barred from the courts, the Congress and the White House. SOCCER 8 WEEK SESSIONS LEAGUES OF But Judge Ginsburgs experience, unpleasant though it was for him, may already be changing the way politicans look at the issue. That two leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination can now admit their youthful use of marijuana shows they dont consider such an admission a political suicide note. Candidates for public office should be judged on their abilities, their experience and their positions on issues of public concern not on their occasional use of a widely used, though illegal, substance years ago. MENS A, B, C, A OVER 30 WOMENS OPEN, C, A OVER 30 CO-E- BOYS, GIRLS UNDER 19, 16, 14, 12, 10 $300 PER TEAM $50 DEPOSIT $250 WOMENS S35 PER INDIVIDUAL $10 DEP 486-908- 6 1222 East 2100 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84106 Put owineirs9 not dogs9 to sleep by Erick Scheen Kristie Sowards - The wheezy senators and others who clutched at their hearts were either engaging in political theatrics or never noticed the 60s and 70s, hard as that may be to swallow.' They also neglected to pay attention to government surveys d of Americans showing that about between 37 of the and 47 admit currently ages one-thir- Photo Director Karla Joost SALT norant or lying. The only possibility would be that the individual had imported an American Pit Bull Terrier from Great Britain. The United Kennel Club does recognize such a category of animals. They are not a true breed in ability to reproduce themselves, or continuity in conformation, but rather a group of dogs with similar characteristics. The second great falsehood concerning these terriers is that they are all vicious from birth. This is patently untrue. Having a long background in dog training and dog shows puts me in contact with many different d breeds of dogs. As an statement, I can say Ive never seen a terrier from this category that was vicious, not. even. a grumpy one! As a matter of fact, the only injuries I sustained in a 10 year career of work: ing with dogs were both from American Cocker Spaniels. The reason for this discrepancy is obvious to anyone who deals with dogs. The difference lies in the owner. If any animal is abused, neglected, beaten andor trained to fight to the death, they will do it. Irrespective of breed or sex, any dog can be conditioned to be vicious. across-the-boar- ' On the other hand, any animal who is treated gently," with carg and respect, and trained to be obedient, will react in kind. -- -- Even animals with an in-br- ed aggressiveness can be conditioned out of the tendency. The second belief leads to the final result. that the pit bull is naturally aggressive, that they are often seo lected bypeople with images of themselves, merely to support the theory. This leads to fighting of the dogs and their training as guard dogs, rather than being loved as loyal pets. What these people fail to realize is that the aggressiveness is a recessive trait. It does not surface often, or even at all, until either the selective breeding for' the trait is reintroduced, or the trait is brought out by conditioning. In addition, almost any dog with the loyalty of these terriers will protect their terSo many people believe over-mach- . . ritory untrained. to Due to the lack of education relating these issues, we have reached todays situation. The animals involved in accusations of viciousness are normally euthenized immediately, while their owners go free. The dog is certainly the victim as much as the human creature he happens to bite. It is not the dogs fault, it is the humans fault. The owners should stand trial for th death or injury of the people their dogs at tack. After all, the owner loaded, primed and cocked the weapon. The person just happened to be in the way when the weapon went off. Leamiim is vital for all ages by Karen Charnholm, whether we should be involved in protecting countries from communism. The Beatles are still popular. Though not assassinated, .our countrys president is considered by many to be as good as dead. And some protests on campus today come close to the far-awa- y Ive always said I would go back to college. It wasnt a desperate longing. It wasnt as if my life was lacking, and I was just living for the day when my ambition would be realized. But I knew at some point, when the timing was right, I would complete this goal I had set for myself. In the meantime, life happened. As 22 years slipped by, I admit I was beginning to sound like the little boy that cried wolf. No- body believed me anymore. comment that the day I My mother-in-law- s thought I was ready to return, I would be too old to care about that dream anymore, probably spurred me on more than anything. I Some days when Im not really enjoying a class I say to myself, No wonder. Your only motivation in being here is to prove your mother-in-lawrong. I knew college in the 80s would be much different than when I was there in the early letters. 60s. I was well aware the Beatles wouldnt be Opinions expressed on the the most listened to musical group, and camForum editorial pages are those of pus riots wouldnt be prevalent. There would the writers and are not to be be no lamenting over our presidents recent construed as the opinions of the assassination, and no debate on whether we should be involved in Vietnam or not. Associated Students of WestIt was a little surprising, therefore, to find minster College or of the college Bout a lot hasnt changed even two decades administration, faculty .or staff. There. is. still .much, controversy over 1987-Issue Dec. 1, 1. w classification of riots. Every generation of college students seems have certain classifications. There is always a certain percentage right out of high school, away from home for the first time, and wanting to experience it all. This looks as difficult to do and maintain a decent GPA today, as it was back then. There are also more serious students, and those who work regular jobs and squeeze classes in somehow. The main difference in student demographics today is the great number of students, like me, who have returned to college later in life to finish or obtain an additional degree. to Weeks go by when Im pleased with classes and my progress. Then Ill hit a phase when I feel like Im playing school. Im writing articles for a grade, instead of for a worthwhile cause like I did for PTA. Im studying philosophy because its required, not because Inj excited about checking out systems for guiding life. Im learning the history of computers, when I could be using that time on my word processor at home. Assignments I thought were worthless at 18 because I was sure I would never use them in life, now seem worthless because Ive already used them in life. This sense of purposelessness is soon outweighed, however, by remembering all I have gained by returning to college. It has been a real for me. It keeps me in touch with whats happening now, and helps me relate to what my own teenagers are experiencing at high school and college. More importantly, it keeps me in the lifelong process of learning. When this goal is complete. Im looking forward to yet another opportunity of growth. Theres no rush. For I agree with Pablo Picassos statement, It takes a long time to become young." Although it is comforting attending a colstulege with so many other dents, there are gentle reminders that Im truly from a different generation. Comments and opinions expressed by traditional students sometimes make me wonder if Im the only one on campus who thinks deer hunting is o.k., but killing unborn babies isnt. Am I the only one who enjoys eating red meat, but not sushi? Am I the only one who believes marriage is great and not vice versa? Maybe Robert is a cop-ou- t, Frost was right when he said, Education is the ability to listen to almost everything without losing your temper or your eye-open- er . al Fo'rtim 7 |