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Show THUNDERBIRD HOLBDAV GIVING IS A NECESSITY holiday season is a time when the importance of good health, and most especially, the that come with giving are at a yearlong high. Nevertheless, there are some individuals and families who will go through the season of good cheer with little to be cheerful about because they lack the basics of life: a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat and adequate clothes to protect them during the cold months of winter. For these people, Christmas and New Years can be the crudest of days. Such conditions are not absent from Cedar City. Some children will have to wear the same pair of Converse sneakers that they wore last winter, parents will struggle to pay Decembers rent and last months Utah Power bill and families will eat macaroni and cheese while only dreaming of the traditional basted turkey that most of us take for granted. Fortunately Cedar City people have taken some action. For instance, citizens demonstrated an admirable willingness to impart their prosperity when local dens and troops of the Boy Scouts of America collected canned foods in neighborhoods throughout the city and beyond. The scouts then delivered their gleanings to the Care and Share Shelter in Cedar City. Such efforts to lighten the burden of members of our community do not start and stop with the Boy Scouts. Cedar City has a legion of other individuals who have donated many hours of spare time to raise money that will lend special meaning to what would, for some, be a dreary holiday. For example, the Utah National Guard has for over 35 years used a Soldiers for Santa campaign to help provide gifts for children in need. If you know of a family that would benefit from this service provided by guardsmen, contact the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce. The Cedar City Chapter of the Elks has also provided for local families during the holidays. The Elks have been giving food baskets for over 30 years to families. The Elks report that each year the number of families increases. As we bask in our abundance and bounty, let us all contribute something that is ours be it time, money, clothing or food to individuals, families or organizations that are in need of assistance. Opportunities abound and people await our willingness to give. The THE NEXT EDITION OF THE THUNDERBIRD WILL BE PUBLISHED ON JAN. 6, 1992. THE THUNDERBIRD SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY CEDAR CITY, UTAH Editor Kathleen Clove Arts Editor Cheris Tucker Managing Editor Natalie Coombs Production Manager Rachelle Sherratt Opinion Director Dennis Freire Copy Editor Jennifer Moriey Advertising Representative Tony Dail Photo Editor Eric Roderick Staff Production Head Lynn Dennett Sports Editor Jay Hinton Faculty Adviser Larry Baker The Thunderbird is published each Monday and Thursday of the academic year by and for the student body of Southern Utah University and is not affiliated with the University's department of communication The views and opinions expressed in The Jhunderbtrd are those of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the institution, faculty, staff or student body in general The unsigned editonal directly above is the opinion of The Thunderbvd as a single entity Letters to the editor must be typed and include the name and phone number Only the name will be printed Names will not be withheld under any circumstances and the editor reserves editing privileges Letters must be submitted by noon Fridays for Monday editions, 5pm Tuesdays for Thursday editions Grievances: Any individual with a grievance against The Thunderbird should direct such problem first to the editor If unresolved, that grievance should then be directed to the adviser If still 0 unresolved, the grievance should be directed to the SUU Publications Council, The Thunderbird offices in SUU Technology Building 003 Mad at SUU Box 9384, Cedar City, FAX 586 5487 UT 84720 Phone (801) 586 7758, access Culture includes more than classics Access is a recurring column through which members of the campus community may address themselves to topics of concern and interest. Todays column is by Lynn S. Dennett, a publications specialist at SUU and staff production head for The Thunderbird A basic goal for most students is to learn what they can about a chosen discipline. In the process of learning, the students sometimes broaden their minds; they become cultured. Unfortunately, the definition of cultured seems to be becoming increasingly snobbish. I refer to those who decide someone is cultured if they read a certain author or if they know every tocatta J.S. Bach composed. A form of prejudice comes about through people persecuting others because they dont follow the same philosophies or disciplines. Even in the hallowed halls of education surrounding SUU, criticism is leveled at those who choose not to follow a certain discipline in their life vocation. In the pages of The Thunderbird, columnists rage1 on about the ignorance of gas station attendants who;hav the audacity to not know who Faulkner is, or they rail on those who complain about the lack of cultural diversity in the Cedar City area. Who gave these columnists, obviously employing an elitest philosophy, the right to decide someone is cultured only if they follow the classics of literature, art or music? In the 60s, variety was the spice of life. Concert goers could attend Woodstock and see Sly and the Family Stone and then be blown away by the psychedelia of the Jimi Hendrix group. jams at clubs were the norm, with instrumentalists from many different groups, each adding their particular style, from jazz to hard rock, to the songs. It was a time for musical sharing, learning from the ideas shared by the other players. Unfortunately, the elitist view of what it means to be cultured has prevailed, spreading from academia All-nig- to society in general. I had the opportunity to work at a local music store for a time while attending SUU. One time a lady came into the store in search of a classical music tape. She was preparing an LDS Relief Society lesson on what kind of music children and adolescents should listen to on Sunday. Well, being as the store didnt stock classical music, I pointed out the many tapes that LDS songwriters such as Lex de Azevado and Carol Lynn Pearson were producing as an alternative to current rock and pop songs. However, I lost the sale because, It has to be classical. Her elitest attitude prevented her from the alternatives possible and realizing unfortunately, she propagated that attitude through her lesson. Let us not limit our potential education by absurd ideas that to be cultured we have to limit our learning to the classics. I dont wish to criticize the classics. I like Bach, and although lately I prefer Rimsky-Korsako- v Led also I but Resdess to listen Heart, Tchaichovsky, Zeppelin and Lee Ritenour. I have read Hemingway, I like Dickens and I read Peter Straub novels as well. The classics have their place in society, but I will not listen to them or read them exclusively. Webster defined culture as an acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities and broad aspects of science as distinguished from vocational and technical skills. Assuming that fine arts means exclusively Beethoven or Hemingway is rather elitist. a I prefer a quote from Jawaharlal Nehru as definition. He said, Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit. Let us not limit our potential education by absurd ideas that to be cultured we have to limit our learning to the classics. |