OCR Text |
Show r The Daily Utah Chronicle - Tuesday, June 2, 1992 Page Four Opinions The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorials Father figure instructs members how to vote LDS church the LDS Church is asserting its Once again,authority over its Utah members. Last Sunday, LDS authorities instructed stake presidents to encourage church members to vote and contribute funds against betting. This action is the latest in a series of actions . by the LDS Church to keep Utah gambling-freepari-mutu- el Throughout the debates over betting, the LDS Church has acted pari-mutu- el like a father figure for the state of Utah. Much like parents who must make decisions for their immature children, church authorities apparently have a lack of faith in their church members and their ability to make individual choices. Instead, the LDS Church feels it must make decisions for its faithful. While it has every right to do so, the LDS Church, in its paternalistic attempts to preserve the morality of Utah, rejects preserving the individual. rights and integrity of the Fundamentally, individuals have the right to determine their own future through making their own choices. That's precisely the idea behind voting for betting. The November vote allows individuals to decide whether they believe other individuals pari-mutu- Final words of wisdom from John B. is it. This is my last chance This spout off my views about the world in the pages of the Chronicle. For the last month I have been thinking about what I might want to say in my final column. I was going to get all sentimental about my many wonderful experiences during the two years I have been writing for this paper, but I decided I won't put the readers through that. Nobody would read it and I'd probably get nauseated writing it. f John B. Y Wilson el have the right to bet on horses. Although individuals may choose to vote for betting, they may not ever end up placing bets at the race track. However, a vote for parimutuel betting is a vote for individual pari-mutu- el choice. But this appears to be what the LDS Church fears most. It is afraid that given the option of voting and making decisions on their own, church members will vote against the church's stance on gambling. If the fear is so great, perhaps church authorities already realize that all church members don't align with the church on all politicalmoral issues. Non-candi- date presidential noncandidate Ross Perot is a honeymoon with the press, and he hasn't even been elected to office yet (of course, this must be qualified technically he's not even running yet). The press has done a lot of talking about Ross Perot. They've discussed him as an outsider, a nonpolitician and a threat to the traditional party candidates. Yet with all of this talk, the media has yet to press Perot for his stance on even a single issue, nor have they offered criticism of his The responses. Such is not the case with politicians Bill Clinton and George Bush. Although questions about draft dodging, marijuana smoking and adultery plagued Clinton from the beginning, the press continues to hound these issues. Likewise, George Bush has been pressed to explain his inattentiveness to domestic issues. For the press to fairly report the news, it must remember to bitch. about everybody, not just the two mainstream candidates. Chronicle Columnist JTk MFTi ;ffil . Since I'm graduating this decided to share some of I have learned during my undergraduate career here at the U. Next fall I will start working on a master's degree and they tell me that things just won't be the Starter, Geography): Here I learned what people mean when they call a professor a fossil. Never trust a professor if you can smell Geritol on his breath. Biology 101 (General Biology): I still remember the specific details of how a kidney works. And the strange thing is, I actually was able to use that information in real life on two separate occasions. If you ever have a chance to take this class from Dr. Temme, I strongly recommend you do so. He is one of the finest professors on campus. Writing 210: This is where I learned to enjoy writing. I was also sitting in this class when I first got the idea to possibly write for the Chrony. Sociology 101: I learned that not all Marxists (or historical materialists if you prefer) are bad. Chinese 350: This is the class that made me realize how bad the language department sucks. I have never taken another class in that department since. ESS 153 (Elementary Bowling): I same anymore. Here are some of the more useful things I've learned so far. Enjoy. Lib. Ed. 147 (The Biology of Evolution): Here learned to I always double check your grade with the instructor. Professors do make stupid mistakes, and it's up to you to catch them. Geography 160 (World Cultural learned that there is great value in taking a recreational or sports class in the middle of the day. Especially on those days when you have six hours of other Here I classes. 320 (Social Sociology In this class I Psychology): realized that no matter what you do, there are some things you just never figure out. I'm still not sure what was going on most of the time in this class. But I did receive a decent grade, and isn't that what really matters anyway? Letters Breakfast won't be missed Editor: The top three things 1992 graduates most likely won't be missing after June 12: 3. The electronic wannabe chimes on top of the Union, announcing hourly, or so, that all is fine, "When There's Love at Home." (Really, considering today's job market and tuition costs, play why don't you chime-bange"What a Day For a Daydream?") 2. Seeing landscape-typ- e employees watering shrubs and flower patches, rs with costly cellulars and other wireless radios stuffed in their back pockets, while walking to an antiquated classroom where a) the only thing working on the heater is some kind of evaporation valve that drips on your shoes and b) the vines actually grow inside. (Let's be serious: what's so important about a gardener that he or sne ought to be able to reached over some wireless electronic device at all times? Imagine if you will the following wireless communication: Landscape department supervisor: two-wa- Hey Al, we got a bad case of semi-deat- h over here at blue spruce 17 behind the business building. Landscaper dude: Landscape department supervisor (in an urgent tone): Could you come on up here as fast as you possibly could? I think this tree might die if you don't make it up here within two Uh-huh- ... seconds. Landscaper dude: Okie dokie, lemme just finish tickling them pansies down here. And (drum roll) the top thing 1992 graduates definitely won't be missing after June 12: "Breakfast With the President," a courtesy extended to the first 25 or so students who a) happen to be on campus as early as 6 a.m. at a randomly chosen day to read about it 1. in the Chronicle and make it to Gardner hall in time to sign up for the deal. Dagi y, Senior Binggeli communication Sociology 111 Methods & & 112 (Research Statistics): In these classes I came to realize that all of those figures and percentages that professors love to quote are usually a bunch of bunk. You really can make numbers say whatever you want. Women's Studies 379: 1 noticed that not all radical feminists have hairy armpits and despise men. Some of them are pretty nice! Lib. Ed. 270 (The American Race Dilemma): I found out that a lot of college students are unable to rationally discuss an emotion-fille- d topic without letting emotion control their reasoning. And some other assorted- tidbits of knowledge: Selling back your textbooks is not always a good idea, unless you - never plan on taking a related class ever again. The U. bureaucracy can either work for you or against you, and you decide which way it goes. It's good to keep in mind the wisdom of the Rolling Stones, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need." One final note: During the past two years I have come to appreciate different viewpoints and to learn from the wisdom of people who disagree with me. But still, to all of you people who have maliciously criticized, attacked or harassed me, or tried in various manners to defame me, slander me or get me fired, you can all KISS MY ASS!!! LETTER POLICY The Daily Utah Chronicle Business hours: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 581-704- 1 The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes reader response. Please bring typed, double-space- d letters, not exceeding two pages, to 240 Union. Each letter should include your name, major, year in school and telephone number (for verification purposes only). Unsigned letters will not be considered for publication. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters for spelling, grammar and space. ' |