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Show Monday, September 13, 2004 Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Natalie Clemens VIEWPOINT Trading research papers for journals: Students can find relief in writing Writing can do more for students than getting them good grades on midterm and final papers. According to an article in Psychology Today, writing about life experiences can help reduce stress and alleviate some physical symptoms of disease. In a study conducted at North Dakota State University, psychology professors found that in a group of 112 subjects who wrote in a journal for 20 minutes every day, one half of them showed vast improvement in their stress levels after four months. For a college student, carrying a full load of classes can be stressful enough. Couple university courses with also holding down a job and possibly taking care of a family, and stress levels can easily skyrocket. So, stop writing that book report and start writing in a journal or even a short story or letter to the editor. Well, maybe finishing the book report is good idea. Though it may seem like students already write more than 20 minutes a day, the free flow of ideas without the constraints of including transitions, citations and conclusions is liberating and significantly different from writing research papers. Writing down thoughts, feelings or daily plans can relieve tensions built up during a stressful day. Think of writing as a personal therapist, a therapist who doesn't charge upwards of ir $3t) jjer hbiir Writihg ca'ri b£ as helpful with stress' aVfc&efcisrrig,-' sleeping or beating a punching bag. Studies have shown wr-iting can relieve tension and stress. Some studies even suggest writing can boost immune functions and alleviate the physical symptoms of some diseases. If students find themselves grinding their teeth and stressfully up to their ears in research papers, they might want to take a few minutes to sit down and write. -. •, - , ^"^# % I mm ! THE CHECHEN j SEPARATIST j MOVEMENT k PI* Letters to the Editor Bush botched, undermined war on terror George W. Bush's principal argument for re-election is his war on terrorism, but in fact that's one of the principal reasons he should NOT be re-elected. Leading up to 9/11, Bush downgraded his terrorism czar to a sub-cabinet level position and ignored intelligence reports with titles sutih as "bin Laden Determined To Attack Inside United States." After 9/11, he didn't go in for the kill at Tora Bora, allowing bin Laden to escape. Then Bush pursued a war with a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, diverting valuable personnel and resources away from the war on terrorism and bin Laden and, as his father's own national security adviser said it would, inflaming The Signpost Editorial Board the Muslim world; creating thousands Natalie Clemens Maria Villasenor Shane Farver Ryan Howe William Hampton Roy Pyatt Colleen Batchelor Candice Dallin Mo Williams Samuel T. Platt David Adams Devon Crus Georgia Edwards Allison Hess William Hampton Dr. Randy Scott of new terrorists. His disdain for other nations' views, both before and after 9/11, has made it more difficult to get international support in our war on terrorism. And let's not forget that he opposed the creation of a Homeland Security department for nine months, and opposed creatibn /'of We1 '9/11 commission. Simply saying that Bush "misled" us into war in Iraq - while true - does not connect the dots on why that UNDERMINES our war on terrorism. He has botched things up every step of the way, making our nation less safe. - William C. Stosine online reader Iowa No real lesson in cutting up animals vveoer state university "Signpost Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Sports Editor Copy Editor Features Editor Entertainment Editor Business Editor Photo Editor Graphics Editor Online Editdr* Advertising Manager Office Manager Advisior Distribution Publisher Signpost Fax vr Phone: 626-7121 626-7121 626-7641 626-7655 626-7983 626-7659 626-7621 626-7105 626-7624 626-6353 626-7661 626-6358 626-6359 626-7974 626-7499 626-7974 626-6464 626-7401 The Signpost is published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the semester. Subscription is $9 a semester. The first copy of The Signpost is free, each additional copy is $.50. - The Signpost Is a student publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students. Student fees 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 t'he writer's signature. Anonymous letters will not be printed. - The Signpost reserves the right to edit letters for reasons of 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, 84408-2110. % Attn: Editor in Chief, email thesignpost@weber.edu When students at a high school "Participation in Government" class were asked to invite outside speakers to debate controversial issues, I accepted this opportunity to discuss why I believed the school should stop purchasing animal "specimens" for teaching biology, and should instead use lifelike three-dimensional plastic models with removable parts and/or interactive computer programs. I showed the class a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) video, "Classroom Cut-Ups," which depicted, among other abominations, workers at a dissection supply house embalming animals - from cats to crabs - while they were still alive. Frogs are usually dropped into an alcohol solution, which takes about 20 painful minutes to cause death. Accordingto Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine, the formaldehyde used to preserve the animals' bodies can harm people exposed to it. Formaldehyde is a carcinogenic irritant to eyes, skin, throat, lungs and nasal passages. The National Association of Biology Teachers has urged schools to offer alternatives to dissection. I sharerj all this with the students, and asked if their biology class dissection experiences helped them learn biology. Most replied no. One student wondered if it was unethical to dissect fetal pigs that were taken from the bodies of their butchered mothers. They would not have survived anyway. I replied that dissecting fetal pigs was perhaps a lesser evil than killing live animals for dissection, but why dissect any animal? Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer told Dateline • NBC, "in ninth grade, in biology class, we had the usual dissection of fetal pigs, and I took the remains home and I just started branching out to dogs and cats." I suggested to the students that while I trusted their dissection experiences had not demonized them, 1 nevertheless agreed with Adelphi University biology professor George Russell, who wrote that "dissection not only fails to promote reverence for life, but encourages the tendency to blaspheme it" by desensitizing students to cruelty and to the sanctity of life. But most schools and colleges in America continue to emphasize dissection. Educational administrators should listen to what one student told PETA - "I passed geography without leaving my home state, and passed geology without seeing planets collide. It's insulting to argue that students can't understand anatomy unless they stick scissors into a frog's brain." - Joel Freedman New York State Animal Rights Advocates • , public education committee chair • |