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Show DAILY THE CHRONICLE UTAH ) 6000 8QU iKaHaasifAHaMMaMKMlliiaiii nil THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW nUUi 111 A Blatant Display -- ",.o7 of Disrespect "7 While Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidate Jim Math-eso- n did not know about the event and could not have attended anyway because of a scheduling conflict, others including Gov. Mike. Leavitt, Sen. Orrin Hatch, candidates for the Utah State Senate and Legislature, and "the Utah State Board of Regents which oversees education declined higher ASUlTs invitation. U President J. Bernard Machen also did not attend, sending Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David Pershing in his place. Their disinterested attitude and blatant apathy are not .only ironic,' given their stereotypical perceptions of young voters, but are also a slap in die face to Utah students. They consistently pay lip service to the idea that they are for improved education in the state, yet when they have a prime opportunity to do something about it, suddenly they cannot find enough conviction in their hollow rhetoric to convince them to attend a simple political candidates in Utah I are ever inclined to wonder JLwhy young voters are so casualor even outright apathetic about voting, maybe they ought to take a good look in the mirror. Perhaps then they might experience an epiphany one that would tell them that it is possible that Utah's young voters don't care about politicians because politicians appear not to care about them. The Associated Students of the University of Utah sponsored a rally on Tuesday to discuss the various issues surrounding higher education in the state including a proposed tuition hike, ASUU extended invitations to the various candidates for political office, encouraging them to not only attend the rally, but to speak to Utah students and relate their own personal ideas regarding how to improve higher education in Utah. And while people like Derek Smith, Republican candidate for Utah's 2nd Congressional District, Scott Howell, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, and Democrat Bill Orton, a gubernatorial candidate, did show up, the overall attendance was, in a word, disappointi-f ASUU convinced 300 students to show up to the A. Ray Olpin University Union Ballroom, but could not get a similar commitment from the vast majority of those politicians who would seek to represent said students. ,(0 1 no vinsa KcaA Mf6KTm A"V-- LETTER TO HvJ Z ANX MX AU, TO AK.E iP" T&sJT c TO THE EDITOR A Message B ehind the Smiles Editor: Imagine being seated at an immense table laden with disgusting, harmful, and foul food. Having eaten more than your fill, you repeatedly ask to be excused. Each request is denied by your host, who instead fills your plate again with the offensive meal. You may become, angry that a host would treat a guest jn such a manner. Had you been served instead of fed, thr&'4nger would have no justifica- rally. ng- I !" fl Consequently, for any of those individuals to ever again question, the devotion of any voting bloc is both hypocritical and laughable. Their failure to live up to their empty promises is certainly not sufficient justification for U students to disregard the democratic process and fail to vote in the upcoming elections. However, it certainly makes it easy to see why we might become so Inclined. tion. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual orientation will be edited er will not be published " ' '' '3; ! . This situation mirrors my own experience with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints, and while I sense it is also that of many others, I speak only for myself. However, I do wish to speak. The university's academic setting is consistently used by members of the LDS Church as a proper forum for religious expression, so objection to religious criticism here is rightfully unwelcome. It is interesting that my farcical words in a letter to the editor (which would perhaps have received a hearty chuckle if the name of a church authority had been appended) were met with angry letters aimed at accusing me of, yes, anger. I think the reason satire is more effective than rhetoric that it eschews fighting fire with fire, which results in an ideological game based only upon defensive moves and reactionary stances. Instead, satire reveals the emptiness of the very arguments it proposes. But my favorite aspect of satire is that it is a device which simply does not work unless it's interesting: The possibility of actually cloning jesus and the existence of the Web site www.clonejesus.com are intriguing topics, and my knowledge of Mormon doctrine unlike that of many other churches, yields no opposition to the undertaking. By claiming the position of one and only true Christian system, hasn't the LDS Church already in effect is copyrighted Christ? Reactionary letters claim that criticism cf Mormon dogma is prejudice comparable to racism or homophobia. This argument may hold true for those who view their spirituality as inherent and immutable. see SATERE, page 7 Bush Knows Quick Smutwihs:Dant Solve Much V same time was during the second debate when he said that reading is the next civil right. A much deeper statement than one might think at first KADE S. ROLFSON fix ; I ''W vol Chronicle Opinion Columnist glance. Many politicians shy away from the m or al! those who picked George stumbling fool, can I offer you a little salt and pepper as you gobble down your W. Bush as a bumbling, foot? BSCtlOn education issue because it's a long-tersolution whose effects are and not measurable right Performance of students can be away. measured during the terms of a governor or president. But the most positive results usually can't be measured during a politician's term, in fact, it would take a lifetime to measure them if it was possible to measure them at all. With that in mind, I've watched with fascination as the state of Utah was energized by the "Utah Students Not only did Dubya per- form very well during the debates, the lead in the polls he's picked up following them indicates that he did well enough for many to think he won. That's actually not so far- - fetched, Dubya said some rather interesting things during the debates like trusting people and wanting government to reflect trust in them, like touting his record of being able to get Republicans and Democrats to work together in the state of Texas. But what captured my imagination, earning my vote and my loyalty at the Deserve More" campaign which finally caused legislators who have been ambivalent about education to cave in and give Utah schools their due. I've also watched with excitement as education has not just become a issue at the national level, but has become the issue this election cycle. Maybe people are finally starting to not just realize, but care, that educa hot-butto- hot-butt- CHRONICLE OPINION EDITOR n tion is the engine that drives peoples' future success. Perhaps average Americans finally realize that in order for their kids to do better than they did, they need to have an education. Not only does education, or lack thereof affect everybody, its effects are felt most profoundly by minorities who live in neighborhoods with some of the d and lowest performing schools. How could people be held down more effectively than, by not being given the tools to succeed in today's day and age? Everything we say and do about civil rights and levelling the playing field in this country needs to happen where the playing field first becomes uneven in elementary, middle and secondary schools. It appears that Dubya realizes this. If one looks at his record in the state of Texas one can see exactly what has happened as a result of his education reform there. According to the National Education Goals Panel, Texas is one of two states that has made the greatest progress in education, net just overall, least-funde- GEORGE W. BUSH see BUSH, page SCOTT LEWIS 7 LETTERSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU 581-704- 1 |