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Show Q-oftMccDiffi Signpost VIEWPOINT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: her legacy will not be forgotten Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the woman who boldly carried the nation through the shock of the assassination of her husband, John F. Kennedy, died with the ones she loved Thursday night of cancer. She was 64. When Kennedy was elected president in 1960, his wife, who the nation affectionately called Jackie, said she felt "as though I have just turned into a piece of public property. . . it is really frightening to lose your anonymity at 31." However, her class and tenacity set a standard of class for Americans, and for future first ladies, even after unflattering revelations of her husband's presidency were revealed. The idolization of Jackie Kennedy was never tattered nor misplaced: She was, by all means, considered American royalty. And she, in turn, never disappointed her admirers. To them, she will always be the courageous, dark-haired, doe-eyed woman in a stylish pink suit and a pillbox hat. By her own choice, Kennedy Onassis was determined to shun the spotlight a decision that haunted her throughout her life. Constantly hounded by reporters and photographers, she refused to speak to the media. She went 25 years without granting an interview. Mrs. Kennedy also fiercely guarded her children from media scrutiny as well as she could. Justifiably, she was incredibly proud of her children, John Jr., a lawyer, and Caroline, also a lawyer, who bore her three grandchildren. President Clinton said Thursday that Kennedy Onassis was definitely a model of courage and dignity for all Americans and all of the world. More than any other woman of her time or in the history of the United States she captivated our attention and admiration with her intelligence, forthrightness, beauty and grace. She set a standard for the first lady of the United States: First ladies are classy, brave and can endure the countless, seemingly endless, trials. William Manchester, author of "A Death of a President," and a family friend, recalled that she "served this country in an extraordinary way during that long weekend after President Kennedy's assassination. . . she united us again, in grief." Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis will always be remembered as a woman filled with nobility, character, dignity and warmth. She is a woman whose legacy touched a nation. She is a woman who will not be forgotten. The Signpost Recipient of the UPA General Excellence award Editor in chief Managing editor News editor A&E editor Sports editor Copy editor Asst copy editor Features editor Special editions Campus affairs Photo editor Production editor Production Asst Ad designer Ad manager Asst ad manager Secretary Adviser Publisher Jeff Haney Mark Forsberg Jennifer King Tyson Hiatt Jared Page Hillary Schultz Kimberli Longhurst Laurie Albrechtsen Chad Mosher Bryan Stephens Steve Conlin Dawn Webber Paul Roskelley Phil Mickey Jennifer Belnap Todd Wangsgard Laura Jane Hansen P. Larry Stahle Dr. Randy Scott The Signpost Phone numbers Editor in chief Managing editor News desk Arts desk Sports desk Production Advertising Adviser Fax 626-7121 626-7105 626-7507 626-7105 626-7983 626-6358 626-6359 626-7120 626-7401 The Signpost is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during Fall, Winter and Spring quarters. Subscription is $9 a quarter. The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 350 words. Letters must include name, address, phone number, relationship to staff and the signature of the writer. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter. Bring letters to the editorial office in UB 267 or mail to: The Signpost, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah 84408-2110. Attn: Jeff Haney, editor In chief. CLINTON ENP5 ARMS EMBARGO IN BOSNIA CUNTON INVAPES HAITI ?umm on HUMAN Ogden, Utah: Could this be our Paris? This is my last column of the year. I want to thank all of you who have read and for those who felt they needed to respond. Writing is not fun if nobody reads or nobody is affected by what you write. So, again, thanks and I'll be back in the fall with tales from the torrid summer. Please read on. The other night I sat around at a local establishment drinking beer and chatting about life. It was definitely one of the more enjsyable nights I have had in a long time, and possibly one of the more important. While I sat in this local establishment with my friends one a history major, one a social work major, one an English professor, and yet another a communication major we started discussing literature and some of the most important writers ih history. The discussion was eventually scaled down into talking about some of the most important American writers. Names like Hemingway, Carver, Steinbeck, Twain, Vonnegut and Thompson were tossed around. I don't think anyone agreed on one person being the greatest or most influential writer from America, but when I thought about the conversation and some of the names given out I couldn't r - : I if r . I tri As Eye See It Steve Conlin help but think of Paris in the '30s. today. World War II was just starting in Europe, and Paris was alive. There was a social circle that included some amazing names. Names that had not yet made it, but would became historic people writers like Steinbeck, Hemingway, Shaw and Buchwald, photographers like Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, a director named John Huston they were all friends, they all had dreams, they all followed those dreams. Friends, for us, this is our Paris. I said this the other night to my friends I was sitting with and they looked at me like I had just said something either very profound or something really sad. One even said, "This ain't Paris. It's Ogden, Utah." I can't argue with that. But if we are going to make a name for ourselves, then we either go to Paris, or less expensive than that, make this our Paris. I'm not sure the status of Paris I don't know what city young people are hanging out in, plotting their impact on history and if they are going to succeed at it. Is it Paris? Prague? Amsterdam? San Francisco? New York? Ogden? I went to a city in Ire- land named Galway. It's on the west coast of Ireland about the same place as Dublin only on the opposite coast. Anyway, when I walked into town I could feel the excitement in the air. Something great was going to happen in this town, I just didn't know what. For a while I thought it was just me feeling this, but the someone later told me that many people in Europe compare Galway, in its current stage, asTiaving the feel of Paris in the early 1900s. It's an amazing feeling to walk into a place and feel potential greatness in the air. At the same time, that was two years ago, and I haven't heard of anything great coming out of Galway, Ireland, but I haven't really been looking, either.Maybe there will never be another Paris of the '30s. Maybe we will all just have our own Paris-times in our life when specific people influence each other and out of that influence will raise to a level of greatness. Right now, this is my Paris. (Q) uotables "It's not just drinking coffee and eating bon-bons." - Marie Kotter, vice president of student services, on her job as an administrator. |