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Show editorial Editor in chief: Heather R. Stallings Phone: 626-7121 SENATE HEARINGS OK flllLF WAR ILLNESS YOMTUIMKVnil WERt EXPOSED TO ) I IRAQI CHEMICAL WEAPONS? i IMP? s downsizing in your future? At this point in my school career I have two unpaid positions in the communication department, where I work for free in the hope ofhoning my skills before entering the workforce. What I would really like, just like everyone else I assume, is a job where I get paid regardless of whether or not I show up. Or even if they paid me to not show up my ego and bank account are both tough enough to handle the impact Very few people are fortunate' enough to obtain a sinecure position where there are no demands, and attendance unlike many professors' classes on a voluntary basis. If I had an M.D., a little cadaver experience, and a friend in the state corrections department, I could get a job as thestate-corrections-high-something-or-omer-medical-muckity-muck-officer, consequently pulling down about a S 1 50,000 per annum(more or less than a grand a day for showing up, do you think?) I could have four other part-time jobs and just make a killing. Or, since I don 't have those thingsand am currently earning my bachelor's degree, Icouldgetelectedtoa postion where I didn't have to show up but still received benefits suiting the position. Hopefully it Aaron Barnard "The bald truth" would be a job where my actions-or lack thereof-couldn'taffectanyoneelses' prosperity or happiness. I could sleep in with impunity and not have to attend bothersome meetings, or worry over troublesome votes. A position in student representation might be just the thing; where are the applications? Is this sounding familiar? Are these phenonomena symptomatic of the times, do you think, or possibly demographics, or unclear responsibility boundaries as befitting ill-worded job descriptions? Aren't people who are able to wrangle these quasi-scams entitled to the perks inherent in them? Are they truly wrong, or just misunderstood? Is it, in the final analysis, society's fault? And where the hell do I get a job where I don't have to show up but still get paid? As an individual's worth to the total sum of an organization's assets is evalu ated, many people are due for a shock: downsizing is in their future. "Downsizing" doesn't take inches off your waist or vacuum seal leftover pork chops in happy , con venient packages, but itdoes take ineffectual staffoff the double-overtime list and trim pork-belly expenditures. It is a process that is usually misappl ied when it is appl ied at all , though, so must be approached with caution. But it can save your organization. If the personnel is really necessary, it is. usually apparent as everything is received, accounted for, produced, performed and signed by them. Necessary personnel is a pretty obvious category. (Hint; NEVER fire the secretaries.) Unnecessary personnel include the guy who sleeps through meetings, die lady who shops with catalogs while on the clock, and the manager who has no idea or control over what is happening in hisher department. The folks who only show up on payday are good bets, too, as are the ones whocan ' t find, much less use, the most basic equipment essential to their function. It is often necessary to get an exorcist to be fully rid of some deadwood, but well worth the spiritual investment (the priest wants $50 a whack, for his 40 1 K). letter to the editor Apalled university students not permitted to defend themselves I am writing in response to the article captioned "Campuses unite to keep concealed weapons out." I find it appalling that ordinary law abiding citizens and university students ought not be permitted to defend themselves. Those in favor of keeping concealed weapons out of universities suggest that the Article 1 , Section 6 of the Utah Constitution is misplaced, is an aberration of mentally deficient citizens, and those who voted for the amendment in the 1984 general election arc misfits. This amendment reads as follows: The individual right of the people to keep and bear arms for security and defense of self, family, others, property, or the state, as well as for other lawful purposes shall not be infringed; but nothing herein shall prevent the legislature from defining the lawful use of arms. I am sorry, b,-t the majority of the citizens of Utah disagree with keeping concealed weapons off campuses. The current Utah Constitution, and the various legislative enactments in the Utah Code presume that law abiding citizens and university students will exercise prudence and caution especially when it comes to defense of self and family. To date, this presumption has been well founded. Those in favor of keeping concealed weapons out of universities also suggest that law abiding Utah citizcnsahduhivcrsHy's(udbnts can-' not be trusted to act with prudence and caution when it comes to defending themselves and their family on the grounds of a hospital, a school, a business or a church. In fact, followed to its logical extreme, those in favor suggest that the law abiding Utah citizens and university students have no legitimate right to self-defense or defense of family on these identified premises; and that they should willingly sacrifice themselves, family and others who should be near to the whims of anyone bent on their destruction. This is so because current SB"27 has no provisions for either the owner or the operator of the identified facilities to provide for the protection of any Utah citizens or university ' ' " See Apalled page 5 Bankers are out for our financial freedom It's unsettling to see bankers attempting to severely limit their competition and decide for honest, hard-working citizens where their money will go. Recently, bankers have been lobbying the courts in an effort to get an order requiring credit unions to expel 10 million members. This order would leave consumers only banks and savings and loans institutions to turn to for financial services. Bankers have already succeeded in limiting credit union membership. In their zeal for profits, bankers are overlooking consumers' basic rights. By trying to limit consumer access, banks are denying Americans the right to free choice and are attempting to eliminate their competitors. Their actions blatantly disregard Americans' basic freedom of choice. As hard-working citizens, we have the right to choose where to "bank" and with whom we make our financial decisions. One million Utahns, roughly half of the state's citizens, use credit unions. Letting a relative few decide where the majorities' money will go is grossly against the values and principles our country was founded on. In their efforts to seem fair, bankers are complaining that credit unions are unfair competition. Credit unions receive an income tax deduction, a fact bankers use to aid their claims to unfairness. What bankers don't tell consumers is credit unions are non-profit organizations, whose board and committee mem- ' bers are volunteers and do not receive pay for their work. This I l is a stark contrast to for-profit banks, whose shareholders receive large profits. The non-profit status earns credit unions their income tax exemptions. They do, however, pay property and sales taxes, just like everyone else. Bankers also fail to mention their current consumer market share. Utah banks have 73 percent of the consumer loan market in the state; Utah credit unions have only 23 percent. This hardly seems an unfair advantage for banks. Despite their tax-exempt status, credit unions are not hurting banks profits. In the second quarter of this year alone, banks posted near record-breaking profits of $3.8 billion. Those profits went to shareholders, not back to bank customers in the form of lower loan interest rates and higher savings interest rates, which is what would happen at a credit union. At a national level, banks' assets grew over $300 billion in 1995. That's more than the total assets in U.S. credit unions combined. In Utah, banks' assets in 1995 totaled 81.9 percent, while credit union assets had dropped one percentage point to 15.5 percent. Credit unions hardly pose a threat to banks in Utah or across the nation. Banks are actually gaining consumer market share. What bankers are really trying to do is limit consumers' access to credit unions and nullifying their competition by bombarding Congress and the courts with demands to force credit unions to expel current members. This action denies Americans, and half the state of Utah, their right to freedom of choice, a value our country was founded on, but banks trample on. opinion by Colleen K. Hales, The Signpost oline editor tela'' LaA Recipient of the UPA General Excellence award Editor in chief Managing editor News editor Campus affairs editor A&E editor Assign, editor Sports editor Copy editor Features editor Graphics editor Photo editor 4 ; Toastbone editor Production mngr. Advertising mngr. Online editor Secretary Adviser Publisher Signpost fax Heather R. Stallings Taylor S. Fielding Mellyn L. Cole Leona Christensen Melinda Taylor Melissa Karren Brandon Rodak Lisa M. Jensen Heather Wallentine Broc Porter Frank Dankwa Melissa Boothe Derrick Andersen Emily Berry Colleen K. Hales Georgia Edwards Dr. Sheree Josephson Dr. Randy Scott 626-7121 626-7105 626-7105 626-7507 626-7507 626-7983 626-7983 626-7105 626-7507 626-6358 626-6358 626-6358 626-6358 626-6359 626-6358 626-7974 626-6164 626-6464 626-7401 The Signpost is published Monday. Wednesday and Friday during fall, winter, and spring quarters. Subscription is $9 a quarter. TheSignpostiso studentpublication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students. Student fees fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Sgnpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include name, address, telephone number, relationship to staff and the writer's signature. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and Itoel and also rerOCtt-10ri-lhtt rift ir t ... . ..oiuocim uui lyiener. 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