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Show CorrectiSnary How to ovoid word murder. * This week's word: Graduation DAVID SELF NEWLIN Opinions editor Oh my dear Lord, it's over! Finally! No more sadistic teachers assigning papers over the break. No more masochistic late nights catching up. The dues have been paid, and now it's smooth sailing through life. Make yourself a nice drink ) \ with an um*\ brella "."; in it, ; and kick j back. : Then let reality wash over you like a tidal wave. Job. Fam- • \ \ N .. .\ , ^ , . ; :/\ ' : , .• \ ' ,\ ily. Postgraduate education. Really, what is this horrible thing called graduation but a lie - or at least it is a lie if we think of "graduation" as the end of something rather than a step on a long journey. In fact, this is almost exactly what graduation means: to divide into degrees or steps. It used to refer to the gradual refining of a substance or element by several iterative steps, a process originating with alchemists seeking to either turn lead into gold, the old alchemical pipe dream, or to find the uni- versal solvent that could dissolve anything. In this sense, when you graduate, it means you have been treated, tempered, and refined into a being fit to meet the vicissitudes of the real world^But perhaps this sense is a little too self-aggrandizing depending on who you ask, only 25 to 28 percent of Amoricans have graduated from some level of college. Is most of the country then supposed to be unprepared for life? I, for one, think they are. Maybe a better way to look at graduation is through the lens of its linguistic origin. In Latin the word "gradus" refers to a level, or degree, and from this we get "grade," a word we are ail-too familiar with. So perhaps graduation just means to have received the grades, to have passed, which is factually the case. You do get a degree, and it is based on grades. But that is just a little boring, and too self-effacing. We all did a bit more than get a grade while at this university, or the cool kids did, anyway. "Gradus" comes from an older word linguists have pieced together through years of research, the Proto-Indo-European "ghredh-," which meant to go, wander, walk, or journey. It didn't refer to some walk in the park either. The sense is more confrontational, like a quest or an ordeal, something that really grinds the gristle. This ancient word remains entrenched in our language in more than just "graduation." An entire array of words that use it: Progress, digress, degree, gradual, and regress, just to name a few. Congress is a particulay favorite, since its original sense, "to fight," gives us a whole new bizarrely awesome take on the later sense of "sexual union." At any rate, all of them retain this idea of never-ending, difficult, but usually worthwhile movement. It is almost trite to say that graduation is just part of an ongoing ordeal, rather than the end - there's a reason the graduation ceremony is called commencement. Still, this is what graduates have done. Wandered through a difficult and trying wilderness, and come out different - perhaps no more refined or perfected - but certainly changed, and hopefully for the better. Photo illustration by JAY ARCANSALIN/UVU Review A better w ANDY SHERWIN Asst. Opinions editor ; „. ;• v - Every year about this time, our humble valley is drowned in idealized prom;ises of $50,000 summers , spent selling alarm systems in Iowa, pest control in Tuscaloosa, or managing the teams doing so. These posters advertise a ridiculous amount of money for having fun partying with your twos, sporting your faMhawks, that you learned to spread I \ the good news of your faith to proselyting the unerring gospel of capitalism:.But don't take Wolverines.. Rathg wing your Ma igusnlb the i ridiculous spend your summe with either the horses money that you may never ^ actually get* •, or their riders, / their handsS, J'. Web on, site inlet's all dicates try really super terd to that do something thatactualh they are'"l^'-W always you know...mattel^ ing for help with "mainValley affords us lJ jd repairs around portunities to vplun^ thd^jjdtii^student outcontribute somethii; communities, community besid fundraisjig, special events, ,000 photography, administration, miles o rships. research, maintaining [their] ourage For examj in Highland Web site, statistics, office Reins is a rai management and volunteer erapy for • that provid' recruitment." You can find children wil isabilities more about Courage Reins and interacthrough ri at their Web site- www.Coures. Previous tion with ageReins.org, or by phone at experienij ith horses ,801^56-8900. is not ne ssary, as sqr 1 Letter to the editor requirements iff Photo illustration by JAY ARCANSALIN/ UVU REVIEW " • • ( ' times, or host an arts and crafts hour. Internships are available. You can reach the Food and Care Coalition at their Web site www. FoodAndCare.org or by 801-373-1825. Finally, the Center for Women and Children in Crisis runs.a domestic tims of domestic and sexual violence. In addition to accepting similar supplies as '; the Food and Care Coalition does, they are also looking for things like clothing, bus tokens, and office supplies. They also accept PayPal donations directly from their site, and-need volunteers to both work in and support their confidentially located shelters. You can reach the Center at their Web site www.cwcic.org or at their office at 801-374-9351. Anyone talking about or protesting the suggestion of - any kind of political change has opportunities to fix things here in our own community. Let's see what we can do this summer. Letters must be turned in on Wednesday by noon in order to be printed in the next edition. We make no guaranteeihat letters will be printed. 1 Letters 300 words or less have a greater chance of being published - anything longer will be edited for content. 1 Please provide an electronic copy regardless of whether or not you wish to submit a hard copy. • All letters become the property of UVU Review as soon as they are submitted. • 1 Anonymous letters are only publishable when the safety or professional status of the letter writer is in jeopardy. 1 iivu.review.opinions® gmail.com Food and Care Coalition in Provo. One of Utah County's primary sources of assistance for the hungry and the homeless, the Food and Care Coalition always needs food itself; canned goods, butter, cold cereal, and other long-lasting products are essential to their work. They also help provide their beneficiaries with hygiene items and toiletries, as well as supplies to maintain their facilities, like paper towels, cleaning supplies, or laundry detergent. The Coalition also needs volunteers to assist with food preparation, serving meals, conducting food drives, pick up - and drop off - donated supplies, and helping with facilities |