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Show = April 8, 2009 fTM _.i. -_.-ii . statesman@aggiemail.uau.edlu, editor@statesman.usu.ec AboutUs OwrView Editor in Chief Arie Kirk Consciously pursue ious tolerance -•- ' ' " • • • ^ : i ^ ^ News Editor Rachel A. Christensen Assistant News Editor Greg Boyles _ I t is no secret the majority of those attending Utah State University belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, and it is for this reason that every student - including those who are not among the majority - must consciously pursue religious tolerance in their day-today lives. ' Despite what some may think, religious tolerance is not forfeiting your beliefs; rather, it is the willingness to accept the reality that others have beliefs different from your own, in addition to becoming educated about the plethora of theological ideas that exist. A member of the LDS faith is no less devout for visiting a Catholic service, just as a member of the Jewish faith is no less devout for becoming educated about Islam. The differences in all of us is what makes an educational institution like Utah State University so exciting. Instead of viewing fellow students' beliefs as challenging your own beliefs, look at it as an educational opportunity. No one is asking you to convert to a different religion, but through openness and understanding the college experience can only be heightened. There is a common belief that, where there is diversity, there will be prejudice and ignorance; and while this may be a sad reality, that should not stifle our efforts to move toward tolerance. We encourage every student on campus to engage in religious tolerance. Instead of inviting a friend to visit your church; ask if you can visit theirs: When you lifeai* a rumor about the belief of another religion, research the facts behind the rumor, instead of perpetuating potentially false information. And most importantly, discourage others from being ignorant. You can be a devout member of your religious group and still open your mind to the idea of other beliefs. However, these efforts will be meaningless if the mind set of those who can not accept religious diversity do not change. Religious diversity is inevitable, but religious intolerance does not have to be. / Statesma Info A Guides Please follow the following suggestions regarding letters and commentaries submitted: Letters should be limited to 350 words and may be edited and condensed for grammar, clarity, good taste or length. Preference will be given to shorter letters. Letters must be topic oriented, on a subject of general interest. Letters directed toward individuals or to hurt an individual or organization may be edited or not printed. No anonymous letters will be published. Writers must sign alt letters and include a phone number or e-mail address for verification. Letters representing groups — or more than one individual — must nave a singular representative clearly stated as author of the letter. Writers must wait 21 days before submitting successive letters — no exceptions. Letters can be hand-delivered or mailed to The Statesman or can be e-mailed. Click on www.utahstatesman.com for more letter guidelines, examples of letters and a submission box. statesman@aggiemaiLusu.edu SHERWGDD RESORT Features Editor Courtnie Packer Assistant Features Editor Amanda Mears Sports Editor Tim Olsen Assistant Sports Editor Paul Kelley Copy Editor Lisa Christensen Quirkiness tops the charts M ost families have That promoted amusing certain quirks, phone sharings. most families Yet, all mothers, when are weird, but I think triggered, can transform mine tops the charts. The into scary, fear-instilling funny thing is that when creatures from the black I was living at home with lagoon. My mother is no my family, I did not really exception. Two instances give their eccentricities come quite vividly and a second thought. It was clearly into my mind. I what I had grown up with; do not think I have ever it was all I knew. Plus, I . seen my mother so upset was (and stiil am) a strong as the two times 1 caused contributing factor to the her to say the swear word overall peculiarity that that she only uses when my family champions. If she is utterly outraged. you think I am exaggeratI cannot bring myself ing, if you think that my to say, or write, this word family cannot possibly because of the painful be as unconventional as associations I have with yours, read on and be it, but I can promise that convinced. if you heard it, you would A phone call between laugh, because it is normally used in a harmless, me and my sister: ~ "Can you get your foot commonplace noun sort to touch your mouth?" of way. It shares the name with a cold cereal. But in she asks. my family, it is the lowest, I try. degrading language that "Nope," I say. "Then it's 50/50," she anyone could ever possibly speak. I know you are announces. "What's 50/50?" I ask. curious, so I will tell you "Of all the people 1 that it rhymes with "luit have surveyed, 50 per- froop." cent can put their foot Whew. Now that that into their mouth," she is taken care of, I will replies. whet your burning curios"Wow! How many ities and share the experipeople have you asked?" ences that provoked my I ask. mother to use such a foul insult toward me. "Four," she. says. "Hm. Well, I wouldn't Experience number go publishing this statisti- one: My mother and 1 cal discovery until you were playing a card game, have tested more sub- Skip-Bo to be exact, and I jects/' 1 reply wisely. placed a card onto a pile That's how most of that she wanted to use. our communication runs. It was a horrible thing Randomly. But directly for me to do. It didn't down to business. No help me advance my own chit-chat, no superficial cards in any way, I only inquiries, we cut to the did it to prevent her from meat of the chase. My playing her card. It was mom likes to share good spiteful and mean, and it quotes that she reads. triggered the abominable Most of them come from word. the current book that she "Fr**t L**p!" spewed keeps on the toilet in the my mother's lips, causbathroom. Unbelievable ing me to forlornly shrink amounts of literature into my chair. have been read in my Let me give you some household on the toilet. background information Sometimes we become so that you can fully realdistracted for hours. For a ize the suffocating gravbrief stint, my mom kept ity of this situation. My a joke book on the toilet. family is notoriously com- petitive, and my mother can especially become passionately outraged in the moment of a game, especially in a card game, and especially if another person has disrupted her long chain of strategic thought in a card game. It has gotten so bad that we limit her participation of Rook and Skip-Bo to her birthday and Mother's Day. Experience number two: I dropped a can of green beans onto my mother's bare foot. As I, in slow motion, watched the can fall to the big toe, I remember thinking inside my head that no good could come from this. No good. Contact occurred. I winced. My mother added an extra biting word to her bitter, coined phrase. "National *ruit *oop!" my mother blurted. National. Not only was I a F**** L***, I was a National F-L. I was an NFL Shudder. The screwy stories are endless, my readers, but I do not want to end on a sour note, so 1 will tell one last pithy, lighthearted familial tale. We have a swing set in our backyard for my one and only nephew, and every time he rides on a certain, specific swing, he decides to sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." We took the pink, rubber tip off of a badminton birdie, glued it to the swing, and officially dubbed it Rudolph. Honestly. Who does that? Us. Melissa Condie is a junior majoring in music education. Comments can be sent to m.condie® aggiemaii usu.edu. Photo Editor Cameron Peterson Assistant Photo Editor Tyler Larson Editorial Board Arie Kirk Rachel A. Christensen Courtnie Packer Tim Olsen Amanda Mears Lisa Christensen About letters Letters should be limited to 350 words. All letters may be shortened, edited or rejected for reasons of good taste, redundancy or volume of similar letters. Letters must be topic oriented. They may not be directed toward individuals. Any letter directed to a specific individual may be edited or not printed. No anonymous letters will be published. Writers must sign all letters and include a phone number or e-mail address as well as a student identification number (none of which is published). Letters will not be printed without this verification. Letters representing groups — or more than one individual — must have a singular representative clearly stated, with all necessary identification information. Writers must wait 21 days before submitting successive letters — no exceptions. Letters can be hand delivered or mailed to The Statesman in theTSC, Room 105, or e-mailed to statesman@cc.usu.edu. |