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Show Editorial iid-.-:j.:..-j'nf- -rtiw'--i:"-- ? h f Vi'-iitVin-irir-iTr-fi Tnn"inff arMm J Editor in Chief: Tanna Barry Phone: 626-7121 & VIEWPOINT I v x I r i I - J I r i : ' t I V VJVJ u u v a While the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games may have been fun, it seems as if their purpose may have been lost on some. Sadly, but truly enough, the old catchphrase, "Money makes the world go round" may as well have been another Olympic quote. This was continually demonstrated throughout the Olympics and not just during televised coverage. A walk throughout the heart of the Games, Olympic Square, provided the prime example of what the other focus of the Games actually was a two-week long advertisement festival. At first glance it could have appeared to a visitor to be the "Coca-Cola Olympic Square," that is until one stepped into the "Latest that AT&T has to sell Lounge" or the "Hallmark Medals Plaza." While the idea behind the Games is to bring countries together in peaceful and friendly competition, and it is undeniable that there has to be some sort of funding to do it, a line should be drawn when the sponsors overshadow the purpose of the Games. Granted, if companies are going to pay the type of money necessary to sponsor such a large event, they should receive some sort of compensation. However, airing commercials during the time people have gathered at the medals plaza was not only inappropriate but was overkill. The commercials were primarily Hallmark, which not only provided free roses to those at the Medals Plaza but also gave away a free card to everyone exiting the plaza. The medals ceremonies should have primarily celebrated the culmination of the time and hard work invested by athletes and their families, volunteers and organizers, and even those who have worked hard to be able to attend the games. This was not a time to advertise greeting cards. However, Hallmark was not the only offender. Coca-Cola and AT&T also contributed to this overshadowing of the Games. While both sponsors had a monopoly over the services of beverages and communications respectively, they also went overboard in trying to remind those enjoying the Olympic spirit of who it was that brought that Olympic spirit to them. While countries were gathered together to celebrate the Games, sponsosrs were busy trying to advertisments on them. Those who- stopped off in the AT&T lounge received a complimentary map of Olympic Square, but taking up just as much room on the map as the layout of the square, was advertising for AT&T products. The irony of it was that the map was given to people after walking through the lounge, which featured the latest in what the company was offering. Overall, it looks as if the only losers in the Olympic Games were the sponsors for trying to beat out the athletes in their own corporate competition. By Devon Cms news editor The Signpost Editor in Chief Tanna Barry 626-7121 Managing editor Jose Carvajal 626-7614 News editor Devon Crus 626-7655 Campus affairs editor Casey Cummings 626-7659 Sports editor Jarrod Hiatt 626-7983 Copy editor Linda Cammack 626-7507 Features editor Heather Wheatley 626-6358 A&E editor Mike Mitchell 626-7105 Business editor Carolyn Losee 626-7624 Graphics editor Brian Hugo 626-7661 Photo editor Brandy Lee 626-6358 Advertising Manager Jeremy Dustm 626-6359 Online editor Adam Reynolds 626-7105 Secretary Georgia Edwards 626-7974 Adviser Allison Hess 626-6164 Publisher Ty Sanders 626-6558 Signpost fax 626-7401 The Signpost is published every Monday. Wednesday, and Friday during the semester. Subscription is S9 a semester The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students Student tees partially fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor Letters must include name, address, telephone number and the writer's signature Anonymous letters will not be printed. Tne Signpost reserves the right to edit letters for reasons ol space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter Letters should not exceed 350 words Bring letters to the editorial office in SUB 267. mail to: The Signpost. Weber State University, Ogden. Utah 84408-21 10. Attn Tanna Barry or e-mail tannabarry e mail weber edu M III &ih ' ; J 1 'u-'i5i,!. ifS'-l.JtrJ. t Did Miss Cleo see it coming? By Tanya Barrientos KRT campus writer Back in August I tried to call Miss Cleo. I wanted to talk with her about a bad moon rising. Mysterious sources, channeled through the Associated Press, had informed me that the television-commercial psychic with the Jamaican accent as strong as island rum was about to face serious legal problems. The State of Missouri was sore about the way she was peddling her sixth sense to the public, and it filed a lawsuit calling her a fraud. Maybe she saw it coming, and that's why she was out every time I phoned. Maybe she could feel the wicked mojo emanating from the Show Me State and sensed there was bigger trouble on the horizon. If she did, she was right. Now the feds are after the two companies the allegedly clairvoyant Miss C shi lis for. They say Psychic Readers Network Inc. and Access Resources Services Inc. cheat people out of their hard-earned cash. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that investigators could not only peer into the phone-in fortune-teller's crystal ball but could also take a close look at the companies' business practices. That ruling came after the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit alleging that the firms scam callers into paying for services she advertises as being free, harass patrons by repeatedly calling them at home, bill folks for things they never bought and threaten to report them to collection goons when they argue. Of course, the head of the companies, Peter Stolz, says the feds are wrong. Oh, sure, some callers have complained (the commission puts the number at 2,000), but he says that's how it goes in the realm of the unknown. "To say we are being deceptive is just plain wrong," Stolz said, adding that "99.999 percent of customers are happy with the service." With Frida's preliminary injunction, the companies have agreed to take the mystery out of their pricing by telling callers up front what a glimpse into the future will cost them. The injunction will be in place until the court rules on the suit's allegations. So, you think it's curtains for Cleo? Open your mind. She already has a slick lawyer. I predict that she'll get an even slicker Hollywood agent, and that her planets will realign. She couldn't have asked for better publicity. After a few pesky court appearances and the negotiation of a hefty fine or two, she'll be free to pursue her true calling: mega-stardom.My Magic 8 Ball says her chances are good. She'll read Letterman's palm, then do Leno's chart. She'll trade in her turban for silky designer robes, and before we know it she'll be starring in her own TV show. Think I'm crazy? Look at John Edward. On his syndicated show, "Crossing Over," he supposedly speaks with the dead. For an hour every morning, he stands in the center of a softly lit studio and makes people in his audience weep as he tells them that dearly departed Grandma, or Uncle Ted, or little sister Tess, still remembers how much they love chocolate cake, and by the way, isn't it time to buy a new car? All I'm saying is there's a market. Miss C should use her down time to study Edward carefully. He's a master of making skepticism work for him. He has invited journalists to watch him channel, and according to their reports his readings miss as often as they hit. Still, through the magic of editing, he has become a daytime TV star. Florida authorities want Miss Cleo to prove she really is a renowned seer from Jamaica. That's her cue: All she needs is a sheepskin from the Shaman Community College in Kingston and it's goodbye, bad luck. Want to know what Edward's psychic credentials are? He was a ballroom-dancing instructor. Hey. Miss Cleo. give me a call and I'll be. happy to give you more advice, for the low. low price of S4.99 a minute. Today in history 1897 Britain recognizes U.S. authority over Western Hemisphere Great Britain agrees to U.S. arbitration in a border dispute between Venezuela anil British Guiana, defusing a dangerous U. S. -British diplomatic crisis. In I S4 I. gold was discovered in eastern British Guiana, intensifying a long-standing boundary dispute between Britain and Veneuela. 1922 Supreme Court defends women's voting rights In Washington. D.C.. the 1 9th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. proiding for female suffrage, is unanimously declared constitutional by the members of the U.S. Supreme Court. 1973 AIM occupation of Wounded Knee begins On the Pine Ridge Reserv ation in South Dakota, some 200 Sioux Native Americans, led by members of the Anier ican Indian Movement (AIM), occupy Wounded Knee, the siiiht of the infamous I S90 massacre ot 300 Sioux by the U.S. Seventh Caalry. The AIM members, some of them armed, took 1 1 residents of the historic Oglala Sioux settlement hostage as local authorities and federal agents descended on the reset s ation. |