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Show o uniiKDim VN0:k KENEW v MgDBflS VIEWPOINT Religious decisions have no place in courtroom The entire nation's justice system is overloaded. In Utah, we are doing our part by adding ridiculous cases to the full dockets. The overturning of a Third District Court ruling by the Utah Court of Appeals Tuesday is only the latest of these situations. The District Court Judge David S. Young had prohibited a divorced Park City woman from moving to Oregon with her children. The judge made his decision on the basis that she would be failing to raise her children in proper Mormon environment. Alicia Larson's ex-husband, Marc, was worried his wife would not maintain the religious education of their children if allowed to leave the state. Young, who is also Mormon, agreed with the children's father. The separation of church and state has been a major issue in this country since its foundation. The notion that a judge could order someone to remain in a specific place because of religion is ludicrous. Religion, and how individuals choose to raise their children within that framework, should never become an issue lor the courts to decide. The differences the Larsons were experiencing should have been worked out between themselves without wasting precious court time and money. Thankfully, the Utah Court of Appeals had the good sense I i overturn the ruling. However, it was not in time for Alicia ! arson to pursue the marriage she was planning and the new life she was all set to establish in Oregon. The judge, according to the appeals court, had failed to take into consideration that even though she no longer sees herself as a Mormon, Alicia Larson continues to ensure her children a re educated as such while in Park City and had checked into I .DS churches in Oregon. This blatant crossover of state's power into religion should never have taken place, and Alicia Larson intends to make sure Young never makes the mistake again. She has filed a complaint against the judge with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission. Religion is a big issue with Utahns. It would be interesting to see if Judge Young would have ruled the same way had he been Catholic, Protestant or Jewish. An injustice was done to all Utahns when the issue of religion was allowed to overtake I he reason and common sense that belong in the courtroom. 'he Signpost 7 1L Recipient of the UPA General Excellence award Editor in chief Managing editor News editor A&E editor Sports editor Asst. sports ed. Copy editor Features editor Campus affairs Photo editor Editor in chief Managing editor News desk Arts desk Sports desk Production Advertising Adviser Fax 626-7121 626-7105 626-7507 626-7105 626-7983 626-6358 626-6359 626-7120 626-7401 Hillary Lundgreen Jennifer King David C. Hill Kimberly Carroll Jared Page Gary Hinds Jeff Haney Rachel Trotter Todd Ray Brian Nicholson Production mngr. Natalie Peay Ad designer Paul Roskelley Ad manager Douglas Perry Asst. ad manager Trent Walker Secretary Georgia Edwards Adviser P. Larry Stahle Publisher Dr. Randy Scott The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. I etters should not exceed 350 words. Letters must include name, address, telephone number, relationship to staff and the signature of the writer. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter. Bring letters to the editorial office in UB 267 or mail to: The Signpost, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah 84408-2110. Attn: Hillary Lundgreen, editor in chief. The Signpost Phone numbers The Signpost is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during Fall, Winter and Spring quarters. Subscription is S9 a quarter. Letters to the editor WSU sports deserve precedence over Utah, BYU To the editor: Mr. Steve Johnson's spirited defense of his friend, sports editor of the Standard-Examiner Randy Hollis (Signpost Jan. 2), left me with one question: what is he learning while attending Weber State University? This WSU student displays an embarrassing lack of reading comprehension skills and compounds his problems by trying to prove that I "have no concept of how a newspaper works." Mr. Johnson listen up. I did indeed take the Ogden Standard-Examiner to task for their minuscule and poorly placed reportage of the WSU club soccer national championships; but in no way did I advocate "putting the rest of Northern Utah's sports on hold," as your letter stated. If you have taken Communications 1 13, you would have learned that "accuracy, fairness and objectivity are the distinct elements that define newswriting ... and separate it from fiction." (Newswriting, Gerald Stone, Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1992) You say that the proper priority for the OgdenStandard-Examiner, "a newspaper that serves Davis, Weber, Morgan and Box Elder counties" is the interests of Brigham Young University and Utah fans. Mr. Johnson: In which of the counties you named are BYU and the U of U located? And if what you say is true, is this not a good reason for eliminating the WSU football program? I stand by my opinion: the Ogden Standard-Examiner should have given priority of placement to the WSU national championship story. Thank you for your suggestion that I find a school tha t doesn't have athletics so I may concentrate on my studies. Since we are in a mood to help each other, I suggest that you spend less time being an athletic supporter and take a course in reading comprehension and Utah geography. Biff Whiting WSU student Don Gale fails to see value in talk radio shows To the editor: Listening to KSL radio recently, I was astounded to hear their editorial com mentator, Don Gale, deliver an essay that was essentially negative regarding talk radio. Among other arguments against any purpose in listening to or participating in it, he listed reasons to disregard or discredit talk radio as follows: That it is produced and listened to by mostly "chronic dissidents," its few listeners are mostly "naysayers"; That the overall effect is "sour grapes" which can have no effect on public thinking; That it is a waste of time, an exercise in futility. His essay disregards that fact that his own commentary is an aspect of talk radio and that KSL radio itself has interesting and informative talk shows hosted by announcers Bob Lee and Doug Wright. In another radio broadcast I heard recently, on KANN, talk radio was referred to by Sen. Bill Armstrong of Colorado as "the town meeting of the 20th century." I am convinced that talk radio had a strong impact on the 1992 general election, being at least partlv instrumental in voting out 124 career politicians out of Congress and, needless to say, a huge impact on the 1994 mid-term election.Since the talk radio hosts have the capability to interview directly those politicians suspected of wrongdoing or to praise those having accomplished some action in favorof theirconstitucnts rather than special interests, they constitute a watchdog for their listening public. Thanks in great measure to them, the American public is ever becoming more aware of the propensity for deceit, graft, waste and corruption of government at all levels. And, to quote George Washington: "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." R.B. Swcn fan South Ogden |