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Show Editorials I 'Editor's Column election Many government problems election arise from inflexibility election by Kimberly McKinnon Forum staff writer In an ideal society government works for the benefit of all. Yet, as everyone knows, our country is far from ideal. Lately, it seems one of our major problems stems not from the deficit, the rise of violence, or even a poor economy, but from the absolute and total inflexibility of our local and national by Liz Peterson l,t Forum Editor Congratulations. Today is the day you can finally stop seeing TV commercials of Bob Benwith Pinocchio, close-up- s netts face and bicycle stories. You will no longer be plagued by political billboards, flyers, newspaper ads and campaign phone calls. The potatoc thing can end, as can not inhalaccusations of ing, wedding sabotaging, and billionaire jokes. By tomorrow it will be dead and gone. The media can beat the voting results into the ground, but you will no longer have to worry about being persuaded. It will be final at last. And finally you will hear people talk about something besides who and what to vote for. Ive been yearning for a different conversation topic for months now. Its all Ive heard at school, at restaurants, at bars and even supermarkets. Politics are a major concern, and I am by no means apathetic, but there has been no refuge from it for far too long now. No escape. Has it really ever been this bad? Has there always been messiness comparable to that created by Ross Perot and Bo Gritz and Shirl Zitting? Ive been so confused. Maybe before I was just too young to notice, and then during the last election year I was out of the country. There I could ignore what was going in the United States without risking ostracism. That would never do here, especially not while attending college. Ignorance is not bliss at Westminster, I would be excluded from virtually eveiy conversation. Remember last year at this time when you could sit down in the morning with a hot cup of joe, leaf through the paper and see ads mostly about Nordstroms shoe sales and the articles on the first and second pages were filled with good crime stories? It all seems so distant now. How can we help but suffer from election-yea- r withdrawals? When things return to normal it will seem so foreign. Im wondering what will happen to fill all of the holes in television air time with the demise of campaign commercials. Oh, thats right exit elections, enter Christmas onslaught. Where does it end? Ho ho ho! draft-dodgin- g, old-fashion- ed Page 2 fonitn governments. I recently experienced the unyielding nature of our laws. I was involved in a vehicle-pedestria- n accident when I ran over a teenagers foot after she stepped in front of me while I was turning a comer. This docs sound bad, but the accident was not legally my fault Basically, it was just one of those things that happened; unfortunately, it happened to me. Although the accident upset me, I did recover. I was recovering, that is, until I talked to the insurance agent who was handling the case. She explained that although the accident was not my fault, my insurance company was obliged to offer compensation to the pedestrian. Apparently there is a n law in Utah that says in a accident, the vehicles insurance must pay for damages inflicted on the pedestrian. The law does not take into account the nature of the accident. As in my case, it docs not matter if the sheriff at the scene tells me it was not my fault A law which probably started out with good intentions does not take the individual circumstances of any case into account. Consequently, an that could accident that was not my fault results in my have happened to anyone which are car insurance rates, already high, forced even higher. Several weeks ago the adamant disposition of Salt Lake City local government was illustrated in the citys determination to paint ' over a local artists wall mural. The story is well known, so I will not reiterate the details. The point that made people angry and gave the story attention in the first place is simple. Local government was and is still unwilling to look at the mural as a unique case; rather, officials insist on obstinately trying to view it as just another example of graffiti. On a national level, the inflexibility of vehicle-pedestria- Westminster instructors are a breed of their own by Trevor Mavin Forum staff writer In three and a half years at Westminster College Ive been extremely impressed with the quality and eccentricity of the instructors. With over 100 semester hours completed, I can honestly say the majority of my professors have been excellent. My friends who attend other institutions of higher learning are always amazed when I say Ive only had a couple of bad professors during my college career. The average for most colleges seems to be one professor in every 10 that students really respect. Ive actually had numerous professors who Id consider inspirations in my life. Of course I can only speak about the professors Ive had, but the quality of educators at this college is amazing to me. In addition to their intellect and professionalism, their characters are especially impressive. My first class at this college was philosophy with Dr. Michael Popich, the embodiment of eccentricity. Theres no doubt that Popich is a brilliant man, but whats really fascinating about him is his persona. He saunters into the room five minutes late with his Coke-bottl- e glasses and untamed hair, looking as if hes still a little ripped from the night before. Popich goes on to scribble a line of illegible figures across the chalkboard and then begins lecturing about numerical philosophy, losing the entire class in the process. Honestly, I was lost about half the time in that class, but I was fascinated with the way Dr. Popich managed to get more chalk on his clotfiing than he did on the chalkboard. By the end of class he looked like November 3, 1992 an abstract piece of philosophical performance art. How about Joy Woolf? She was the bestlooking woman I saw during my entire freshman year. Imagine my shock when a statuesque blonde wandered into my Spanish class and announced she was the teacher. Id been expecting a short guy named Pepe in a sombrero.' Woolf teaches Spanish through personal involvement and she managed to help keep Bambi and me out of trouble in Mexico. Have you ever met a more passionate man than Ty Harrison? I swear he bursts into tears every time he sees a golf course. He may make you wonder if hed eaten on too many wild mushrooms, and his office looks like a hazard area, but this man really knows his biology. Is Coach Tom Steinke amazing or what? With his Sinatra haircut and the body of a hunk, you can bet this man has found the fountain of youth and he just wont admit it. Hes the only jock Ive ever liked in my life. I hope Im in that kind of shape when Im his age. How much patience does it take to lead architecture students through beginning English? Ask Dr. Susan Gunter, a dedicated and brilliant woman, who gives great personalized feedback. She can lecture and laugh simultaneously. Dr. Gunter even liked my paper on legalizing marijuana. What a woman! Want to meet the hippest man on earth? Take a class from Mark Jones. I thought he was the most popular student on campus until I took his class. He has a ponytail, wears rustic Levis and sprinkles his lecture with a little profanity to make sure youre listening. Jones is so cool that students fol- 20-year-- government is obvious. The gridlocked Congress is a direct result of the politicians being persistently bullheaded. However, another more dramatic example of an unbending government was seen in the second presidential debate. A question on free trade gave Bush the opportunity to slam Clinton on what he perceived to be Clintons waffling on the issues. Clinton responded that he believed in compromise, looking at both sides of the issue. No matter who you were ready to vote for after seeing the debate, the point made was valid. Sure, Bush holds the record for the most standing vetoes of any president, but what has he accomplished? Government, and society at large, cannot function without concession. Although it seems as if our government is growing more and more inflexible, I am an optimist Perhaps, with a new batch of elected officials, our government will begin to belong more to negotiation and less to obstinacy. In fact, until our government begins to practice what we all learned in kindergarten, the future will grow increasingly bleak. Forum Editor: Elizabeth Peterson Copy Editor: Donald Nunn Production Manager: Katy Byrom Photo Editor: Temmie Fleming Business Manager: Donald Nunn Staff Writers: William Athey, Katy B yrom .Judy Connor, T inaMarie Corey, Tamera Evans, Christy Fender, Ann Gambrino, Calvin Harrington, Dawn Kennally , Jake Kilgrow, Trevor Mavin , Kimberly McKinnon, Douglas Murray, David Neislcr, Donald Nunn, Blessing Ream, Kathryn Smith, Mike Weaver Photo Staff: Temmie Fleming, Robin Larsen, Mike Weaver, Heather Bush, Liz Peterson, Alex Ferguson Faculty Advisor: Dr. Fred Fogo The Forum is published every Tuesday. The address is 1840 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84105. The Forum editorial staff encourages letters from students (include major), faculty and all other readers. Submissions must be sent to Converse Hall, room 205, no later than 3 p.m., the week prior to publication. Due to limited space availability, Forum editors reserve the right to edit all copy submitted. Opinions expressed on the editorial or commentary pages are those of the. writers and are not to be construed as those of the Forum, Associated S tudents of Westminster College, the College administration, faculty or staff. Mail subscriptions are $20 per year. low him around between classes. He looks like the Pied Piper with a Marlboro. Susan Cottier has probably led the fullest life. of anybody Ive ever met. Her classes are such a blast that theyre over Continued on page 4 |