OCR Text |
Show Tuesday, August 7, 1990 Editorial THE SIGNPOST Hopefully, By Necia Palmer Editor in chief of The Signpost There's been talk about putting the job of nabbing speeders in the clutches of a machine, Photocop. Since people can't seem to slow down in the spirit of safety consciousness, it is good that high technology can be utilized by the law to get the job done. Especially during weekday mornings when students are making that mad dash to class after sleeping in, Photocop will be an efficient way to cut down on speeding maniacs. The biggest reason for that effectiveness is due to the fact that speeders won't be able to see or pick up the laser beam like they can radar beams. Therefore, the machine becomes a deterrent. You know it is there, but you don't know where. You don't even know it was there until a few days later when the ticket arrives in the mail. A ticket is stapled to a photo of you driving your car with the speed Barry case shows responsibility is a key By Dinah Eng Copyright 1990. USA TODAY Apple College Information Network "What gets me about the Marion Barry trial is his saying he's sorry now," says Bart. "It means something if you say it before you're caught, but not as much if you say it afterwards. "I'm not totally convinced he's not going to do drugs anymore. I think he still hasn't accepted responsibility for what he's done. It's been several years since I quit doing drugs, and I'm still struggling with the things I did." My friend Bart and I sat in a Washington, D.C., restaurant, talking about the drug and perjury trial of the city's mayor, Marion Barry. The case, expected to go to the jury this week, has stirred both anger and sadness nationwide as witness after witness has testified about Barry's cocaine habit. Defense attorneys have not tried to address Barry's addiction as much as they've insinuated that the federal government doggedly pursued the mayor because of a racist campaign to discredit black public officials. Such tactics ignore what this trial is all about. WASHINGTON PISTRICT OF Photocop will inspire responsibility you were traveling, the date, and the time printed on it. But what if you weren't driving your car? What if you had lent it to, say, your brother? Should the points just racked up be sent to your insurance company? What about road conditions? What about needing to pass someone on a two lane highway? Can the machine make those judgements? Now add that the Constitution guarantees each of us due process of law, including the right to face our accuser. How can an accused speeder go up against a machine if he wants to plead "not guilty?" These are a few of the problems posed by Photocop.'Tf I get one, I'd fight it first," said Trooper Jeff Graviet. "I'm not a big fan of it." However, Chief Doyle Talbot of the Layton Police Department, said these are the reasons Photocop hasn't been installed yet. They need to work out how to deal with these questions. Yet he feels that with the advanced technology, there is "actually more material evidence) to protect the accused person." Drug addiction has become so pervasive in our society that there are few whose lives have not been touched in some way by drugs. And the problem is not going to disappear as long as we deny responsibility for its existence. Bart, which is not my friend's real name, began smoking marijuana in 1979 when he joined the Army, and within two months was experimenting with LSD. Over the course of his three-year hitch, he tried speed, heroin and cocaine as well. "It helped me escape all my problems," says Bart. "When I was a child, my father left when I was in the fourth or fifth grade. My mother left us when I was in eighth grade, and we went to live with our grandparents. "Then my grandfather died, and we went back with my mother, who had remarried. Then my stepfather went to prison. Something inside me snapped, and I joined the Army. The guys who got me started on marijuana turned out to be the biggest drug dealers in the unit. But when those guys took me under their wing, it felt good. For the first time in my life, someone cared about me." Having someone care is the key. The nature of all addictions is fear MY ; ii I Video tapes, radar, photographs and policemen who will operate Photocop by laptop computers will be combined to more accurately create what actually happened in a speedng fear that we will never have or be enough in our lives to matter. Some of us cope by throwing ourselves into work or hobbies. Some of us eat too much, drink too much or smoke cigarettes. Some of us choose destructive relationships, all in the search for love and acceptance. For those who choose substance abuse, the path of escape becomes a prison in which the body eventually overdoes and dies, or the human being inside must come to terms with the reality of the vorld that says, "There is no escape that way." For Bart, reality hit one day after he began selling drugs to support his own habit. "I was actually thinking about how I could kill someone to avoid being caught dealing," says Bart. "But I thought about taking someone's life, and maybe not going to heaven. I don't know what happens after you die, but I do think everyone in his heart really wants to be good, and I didn't want to kill somebody. "When I left the Army, that was it. I asked my family for help and I quit cold turkey. It tookt wo to three years for me to get a real clear head again. I was groggy all the time, but I never had a craving that I couldn't THEY'VE BEN 5P6UIN6 IT UK THAT , SINCE BARRV5 BKWMArVOR, offense. On Highway 89, this is definitely needed. One life lost is too many lives lost. "I drive up there HWY 89 at 55 m.p.h. and get eaten alive," said Talbot. Unfortunately, too many to the cure reason out. I knew that I couldn't control it if I started again, and for me, I knew there'd be no second chance." Bart's recovery was remarkable, and I can't help but think that the cure was his taking total responsibility for his actions and resolving to change his life. And having the support of people who cared around him. We can do many things for other people we can listen, hold their hands and be sympathetic to their problems. But we cannot create happiness and well-being for others by helping them avoid the consequences of their actions. Drug addiction doesn't have to lead to death or sleepless nights filled with fear. It is an opportunity for all of us to look at ourselves, the way we treat others and work on creating what we really want in the world around us. Instead of a path for escape, addiction can become a path for awakening if we take full responsibility for the choices we make. The Signpost Staff EdltoMn-chlef Necka Palmer Managing editor Paul B. Johnson News editor Christine Rasmussen Sports editor Karen Packham Arts & Entertainment editor C. Mark Howard Special Editions editor Debbie Boman Production manager Jay V. Jackson Asst. production manager Justin C. Scott Photo editor Qulnn Jacobson Cartoonist James Stroeckl Ads Manager Brandl Johnson Secretary Unda McGee Advisor P- Larry Stahle The Signpost is a weekly publication during summer quarter. people know from experience how literally true that is. The problem is real, people drive too fast. Now, maybe they will stop trying to outsmart a cop and start slowing down. Loiter to the editor policy , ,$he Signpost, welcomes letters to the editor, Letters jnuxt be typed and should not exceed 300 words. For lengthier jKsposiiioa, arrangements may be made with, the diUr in t:I,ict Iitte jsm include name, address, phone jsUiuWr, ruUtjonHhip to WSC i.e. student, staff; Ogden resident, etc) and the signature, of the writer, letters without this information mill not be printed. The Signpost reserve the ri$U edit for reasons of space and libel jid reserves the right to refttse to print any letter. i rm7A Hte wm m s |