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Show L UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OPINION !PAGE 10 MONDAY, APRIL 9 , 2001 LE1TERS Keep .c overed in spring TO THE EDITOR: It is once again spring in the dried-up lake bottom of what was once the southern tip of prehistoric Lake Bonneville. Things are again taking their usual course as they have since the first invertebrate got up the nerve and crawled out of the primordial soup and stood on dry land. I have watched with amazement the signs marking the beginnin g of this beauti ful season ; the buds starting to appear and the animals bearing the ir precious young . And , of course, the guys walking around campus with glazed eyes, grunting euphorically as the female species begins peeling away the winter layers, freeing them from the chains of having to use men's soi led imaginations. Yes. that which has remained hidden underneath sweaters and scarves all winter is now, like the spring flowers, coming out of hiding into full bosom ... ! mean blossom ! It is in this season that the battle of keep ing your eyes where they should be reaches its fevered p itch and fashion fights dirty. For ages man has fought and lost thi s batt fe! He has tried everything from covering every inch of her body , to imposing laws, taking vows of chastity , puttin g paper bags over his head to even gouging out his own eyes! Still , we have faile~ women of the world. I propose -the brokering of a peace deal. You save us from ourselves by taming fashion , and we promise to keep our urges on a leash. Here ' s to finding out each others eye color. Have a great spring! . UIC...\t::£. LE1TE·RS Caleb Cooper All sports need space Religion has no place ill school TO THE EDITOR: I think the University Journal is a great way to inform the students on what is happening and what has happened. I feel that it needs to spend more effort on the coverage it gives on the sports. Basketball and footba ll get a lot more coverage than track and some other sports . I know they are the most important and more people are interested in them . but there should be equal coverage for all sports. In the March 26, 2001 issue, softball re~eived a half-page and track received a third of the space along with gymnastics. There are a lot of people on the track team and I feel they deserve more recog nition for a job well done. All sports deserve recognition for their achievements no matter what they have or have not accomplished. When it cov~rs sports, I feel it does a good job. But some sports get all of the attention and others get hardly any. All I wish is equal coverage. Doing this might get a bi gger response from some of the students. Tosha Clove JO-URNAY L SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• (£DAR (ITV. UTAH DIRECTING STAFF ANO OESK PHONE NUMBERS: Editor KamilyM Savage 586-7750 Associate Editors Jessica Blonquist 586-7750 Photo Editor Janelle Re.chert 586-7750 Copy Editor Amberly Robinson S86-1992 Focus Editor Stacee Ch~ds 586-1992 Arts Editor Ashley Adams 865-8443 Sports Editor Jason Enckson 86f>.8443 Camety Lybbert S86-7759 Almanac Editor Jody Johnson 865-8226 Webmaster Russell \Mlliams 586-7750 Ad Manager Cami Per1<ins 586-7758 Adviser La.rry Baker 586-7751 Writing Coa~h Paul Husselbee 865-8556 SENIOR STAFF WRITcRS AND REPORTERS' DESK 586-7757 586-5488 Th~ UnrvefSfl)' Jouma/ rs p<Jbii,ned ..MY Monday and Tlusday of lhe academ,c year by and for the swdenl body of Southffil Ulall Univers,ty U r&eejves adv,semenl lrom ll1e u,..ve,sily adm,,..s1tation and from Ille un,erS1t-; • commurvca on deparonent The v,ew, and opin,on5 •"-P'••••d 11 lhe Jwma/ are !hose of IOdNK!Ual wr ers ano ao no< neceuanty Hlllec:1 IIMI v,ews of tne ,nsuiu!ion, facul)', staff or sUJ<l<lnt body in general. The ...,..gnec1 edllOnal d,reet,y at>o-;e t. 1h11 ol lhe u,.vemty Journal •• a s;,,gte enl>ly Leno<• o, Ille IKlito< must be typ,,d UlCI.Jde u,e name and phone number Ony the name WIii be print-.! Nam,,s wiJ no1 be ""lllheld under any drcurnstanc.u "'1d lhe ed<IOC resen,es l!d,img priv,••· uu,,n must be su0m1ued by S. pm Tlusctays to, ,ndus""' ,n l,londay tcl!llOns, ano by 5 p.m. Mondays for Th<nday adlll005. Gri•vances: Any 1ndN'lduat w.s.ti a gne,,iMlee .agaMlSt Ille JolJmal sl'!OuJd direct sucn problem first lO dV e<IIIOt If unr11solved. t gnevance shQuld then be darec;eed to lhe ad~ser Unlvwo/ty Journal: Olfice.s in sl'.iu Tectv,otogy Buil<ing 01 t Mall at SUU Cl!dafC,ty. U181184720 ""° °""""" FAX (435) 586-5487 E-ma~ address )OU"nal@suu edu ~ .f'RINlEO ON RECYCLED PAPER Pl.EASE RECYCLE THIS COPY. TO THE EDITOR: Since my freshman year I have seen this school go throu gh many changes. Steven Bennion succeeded Gerald R. Sherratt for the presidency in 1997. I started school the following fall. In my opinion, Steven Bennion, although not intentionally, has turned SUU toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Being a non-m ember , I have been on the losing end of the deal. One instance is the faculty hired through Bennion. Although probably qualified, most are LOS. I also attended the dedication for the Physical _ Education Building and made myself leave after the first prayer. I was appalled at the three prayers throughout the i ceremony. The prayers may have been justified through the nonLOS minister on one, but the fact remains that President Bennion is advocating and practicing school prayer in a publ ic un ivers ity . A long w ith this , there was .a speech and dedicatory prayer by Elder David E . Sorenson , a member of the Presidency. of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ. This is a blatant disregard for the non-LOS students. This takes us one step ·closer to being a private LOS school, such as BYU , or Ricks College where Bennion came from . SUU is not a private school, so why do we act like one? Why does SUUSA co-sponsor activities with LOSSA? Why does Moreover I have seen the values the education department have and practices of the LOS church prayer before class? Why does be ing advocated from the Pre sident Bennion start his president and LOS student meetings with a prayer? Why officers. There has t:ieen a "group does he invite the senators to his effort," for lack of a better term, home for dinner and start the from the LOS faculty and evening with a prayer, as quoted students to run SUU the way they from a previous letter a few years want. Run for office and change ago? Why? Because he is under things you might be thinking. But the assumption that there are, or you and I both know that the should be, only LOS member~ at "church vote· will prevail. So I ask, what can be done to SUU activities. I am speaking harshly, but I get activities and practices back want to express my opinions to a politically correct atmoabout the wrong that goes on sphere? I have voiced my here . I am speaking for a concern in the past. to receive minority, but that doesn't mean the same response of. "why don't we are non-existent. Whether I you leave Utah if you are so · believe in God or not, "does no! miserable." I refuse to leave Utah matter because the practice of knowing that things are never religion, in my opinion; and the going to change. Or knowing that opinion of every public university there is no one willing to do in the country, should not be something about things that are allowed. Atheists , agnostics, wrong with this school. What can be done to change Christians. Catholics , Jews , Mormons , Muslims or anyone, . these wrong practices? I don't should not have to sit through want to be discriminated against. prayers and references to God in I may be speaking for a small order to attend a building number of people, but we are not invisible: we are only treated that dedication at school. There is a majority on campu~. way. I encourage everyone who and yes, that is relevant because, no one should be forced to sees this as a problem to speak, conform to the beliefs of others. and those who do not see it as a People who do or do not believe problem, to recognize that not in God should be able to attend everyone is of the same religion. school events and leave with a Not everyone will conform to the positive attitude. This reverts to beliefs and values of one religion. separation of church and state. We shouldn't have to, since this As a student from California, I is a public university. have seen little separation between church and state . Matt Hansen V |