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Show 4 Signpost Friday, May 20, 1983 EdiTORiAl Let the Budweiser Clydesdales appear in the Days of '47 parade Currently under way in Salt Lake City is a controversy over whether or not to allow Anheuser-Busch to enter their famous Budweiser Clydesdales in the annual Days of '47 Parade scheduled for July 24. The parade committee had voted on May 2 to allow the Clydesdales to participate in the parade, but it now appears that if the Clydesdales do compete, they will have to cover up their wagon, so that the name of their product will not be visible. The Budweiser Clydesdales have become an American institution since their inception in 1933. One of the first public appearances by the horses that year was in Salt Lake City at the Days of '47 parade. In the following 50 years, the group has never been asked to go nameless at any event. The request from Salt Lake is a first. Upon hearing about the controversy, one Salt Lake radio personality suggested that they put the Budweiser wagon inside a giant brown paper bag and let the horses pull the wagon down the parade route. The entire thought is a joke. Who does the parade committee think that they will be fooling? Every younster in America know who the Budweiser Clydesdales are. They are known to just about everyone. The parade committee will be protecting no individual's morals by not allowing the name on the wagon. The parade committee has stated that they do not allow advertising in the parade, and that allowing Budweiser to have their name on the wagon amounts to advertising. Maybe it is a form of subtle advertising. Don't Sears, ZCMI, JC Penny and many other businesses sponsor floats in the parade? Are they not advertising in the same fashion as Budweiser would be? If Budweiser cannot have their name on the wagon, then the business floats should not have their names on their floats either. After this controversy, even if Budweiser were to cover up their name on the wagon and participate in the parade, everyone would know who the Clydesdales belong to. Before you know it, they will also want to ban the Clydesdales from television and newspaper commercials for the product in Salt Lake City, especially during the Days of '47. It is good to know that the parade committee is attempting to police the parade in a proper manner and to not allow objectional entries to participate. That is one of the reasons that the committee exists. However, they have gone a bit too far this time. A fair solution would be to welcome the Clydesdales and the Budweiser wagon to participate in the parade without having to place a brown paper bag over the wagon. Hopefully the parade committee will see it the same way. Incidentally, the Budweiser Clydesdales are also scheduled to appear in Ogden during Pioneer Days. Wonder what officials in Ogden will allow? Letters to the Editor Policy The Signpost welcomes Letters to the Editor. Letters should be typed, double spaced and not exceed 250 words. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and the right to refuse to print any letter deemed inappropriate. Each letter must include the name and address of the writer. Letters may be submitted at the Signpost office UB 267. would prayer FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL Be 0K3Y? CONFIPEMflAlLY,,, AFTER THB EXPERIENCE, IVE m IT WITH A SURROGATE MOTHER... Letters... Frivolous spending on Crystal Crest To the Editor: In reviewing the tight money situation across the nation as well as here at Weber State, I am appalled when I see student funds used for frivolous purposes. Bringing in two women whose claim to fame is their beauty, to act as hostesses for an academic awards program, certainly fits into the frivolous category. I was pleased to see that Weber State was finally attempting to have an event to honor outstanding students of the college. For too long these people have gone unrecognized for their achievements. The number of nominees in each category gave credence to the awards and the support that they would receive from the campus community. After hearing comments from the campus community the last few days, these awards have been seriously tainted. I must state that I feel badly for the receipents of the awards. As earlier letters have mentioned, receiving the awards from someone in academia or with other professional qualifications would have lent much more credit to the various awards. The Lander sisters hardly seem qualified to present a scholar of the year award or any of the others for that matter. The frivolousness results when it is learned that $10,000 is being spent to bring Audrey and Judy to Ogden. I am not familiar with too many campus budgets other than my own or that of the Signpost. But, $10,000 would certainly help the cause. Certainly the ASWSC officers could find more effective uses for that amount of money. If they really want to spend the $10,000 they could use one suggestion I heard recently: divide the $10,000 up and give each of the finalists an equal amount. At least then the money would be honoring those who deserve honor. I would hope that in the future the ASWSC officers would consider their fiduciary responsibility to the students of Weber State College. Richard Curtis Signpost Advertising Manager English teacher responds to letter To the Editor: Although the ill-informed letter from a Ms. Shantal Hiatt in the Signpost, Tuesday, May 17, scarcely deserves an answer, since she chose me as the target of her attack, I feel that I should correct some of the gross misstatements and misinformation concerning the Bachelor of Science Degree proposals that were presented to the College Curriculum Committee recently. 1. I am neither the sponsor nor the instigator of these programs which have been initiated largely from outside the English department by students and others who are caught up in various kinds of exigencies to meet the career demands of our times. They are designed for a special kind of student who is interested in applying English skills to business, industry and government jobs. It is not expected that an overwhelming number of students will be attracted to them because of their unusual demands. Their impact on the college is likely to be very slight indeed. 2. As chairman of the English Department Curriculum Committee, it was my assignment to prepare the proposals as directed by the school and department and assist in their presentation to the various committees. I was fulfilling my responsibilities as well as I could in recommending them as responding to the demands and needs indicated above. 3. My friends in the Foreign Language Department, my own department and students know me as a firm and unequivocal supporter ofvthe study of foreign languages. One of the first courses in which I enrolled when I began my college education was a French class and I have continued to study it as frequently as time and energy permit. In her alarm about the standards of Weber State College, Ms. Hiatt is perhaps unaware that the largest numbers of degrees (by an overwhelming amount) given by this college are Bachelor of Science degrees? I would heartily concur that any institution of higher learning purporting to dispense only a liberal arts education ought to award only the B.A. degree. For various strong reasons Weber State College cannot restrict its philosophy and role in this way. Many students like Ms. Hiatt do not understand the complicated machinery of the academic world; obviously her in formation about the committee meeting was second hand. Dr. Nelson's concern, in the main, was about the form and procedure. I doubt that he considered it an act of heroism to save the standards of the college in voting against the proposals since I know of no such requirements in the School of Business. It was a shabby tactic to single me out, associating the attack with my recent award as well, as promoting the proposals alone. There were at least three others besides members of the committee who were speaking in their favor. Incidentally, Ms. Hiatt's fervent study of languages would not-seem to have improved her use of English entirely ("decenting" for "dissenting"?! All in all this juvenile, self-righteous outburst is counter to the things that the humanities seek to foster in encouraging the Bachelor of Arts degree which is a thoughtful, mature and responsible articulation of reasoned, well-informed opinions. It would seem, for all her advocacy of it, she has missed the spirit totally. LaVon B. Carroll, Ph.D. |