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Show DAILY THE THE CHROHI CLE 9 S V I CHRONICLE UTAH E W Doesn't Protect Anyone October, the federal Family: Educational Privacy Act cial approach to a very profound problem. amended to iilow public More Importantly than its access to the results of student ineffectiveness at solving a seridisciplinary action j hld. on ous problem, though, is its negative consequences. campus. . People who have been tried, As the lav stands now, .the names of students who commit convicted and duly punished for violent offenses on college camany offens? shoUd be allowed puses aire- avaikbie to anyone the "cpporvuflitjr to rehabilitate who Is interested. themselves privately and not The 'jos(tionvthaf hps come ta'ce any of ih$ "public embarup now. though, is whether or rassment that public disclosure '' not last falFs amendment a'sc Smay eucourige." If the original punishment for requires colltges to make available the names of students who , their crimes was not "severe .arc caught in drug: and alcohol enough that is a separate issue, ' violations. it is definitely not something : The legality of this kind of any university should try to endeavor by.. any university to influence. . embark on suth an orgy cf disThe loophole in the law that closure is not what's important. this amendment opened up is What's important is the potenjust as intolerable. It may be tial success or ineffectivpossible for universities to make enessof It and the invasion of drug and alcohol violations available to the public also. If privacy that it may condone. The fact is, it doesn't accomthey .begin to do so, they will be taking a very invasive also plish anything. seem it appealAlthough may step into the lives of students able some and know to to be occasional indiscretions whose ing to find oat IT there is someone could sow become public inforwith a violent past Living in their mation. And although their parents residences, hew that information will actually empower them ; may alsc.see some benefit in the to protect themselves is aabigu-- " increased amount ' of control y as. they could direct over their chilSuch paranoia will do nothing dren with such information, it to actually inhibit the violent would do nothing to curb any and sexual crimes that occur on profound problems their kids may be dealing with. college campuses. It is a superfi In - , , . , " , - LETTER . TO THE , , EDITOR Greek Row's History Protects It Editor: Reading the front page articles in Monday's and Tuesday's papers about the neighbors' complaints about the greeks, I became quite concerned. Looking at this issue only frustrates me. Back in the summer of 1995, my family and I became homeless while living in Salt Lake City because of neighbors making petty com' plaints. I will testify that the cause of this was not my familys fault due to the Americans with Disabilities Act, but that is beside the point of this letter. I am not a member of a fraternity, although I would love to be when I can afford the cost, but I do associate with the members and fear for them. When my family became homeless, we found out the hard way about laws with a conflict of interest in this state. Laws such as the "nuisance law" can and do easily evict people from their places of residence for no cause at all. This is where my fear is generated. I have heard of several situations where the city or see GREEKS, page 6 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 ai 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 or will not be published A Stereotype's Only Flaws Are the Words It Uses CHRIS YEATES Chronicle Opinion Columnist TTTi the hell is Jesse? There are likely to be numerous, worthwhile events taking place about the campus, but it's dif ficult to concentrate on anything but sidewalk chalk as of late. I mope from one class to the next, unable to enjoy the dull slabs of concrete below me because someone has taken it upon him or herself to scratch "Do you agree with Jesse?" 101 times with obnoxious fluorescent chalk all over the ground. So I spent most of the week unable to remove my eyes from the unable to ground, the girls happily enjoy showing off their new w 10 cfSplld Spring-Break-bak- ed tans, unable to correct ly navigate myself to ray classesunable to do anything, in fact I fell to my knees and confessed to the sky that I could not agree with Jesse because I did not know who he was. I wasn't even sure Jesse was a person. Perhaps this Jesse was an acronym for something sinister. J.E.S.S.E. In a highly dramatized panic I picked up The Daily Utah Chronicle. Thank God for The Chronicle. Not only did it reveal that Jesse is the figurehead of Campus Crusade for Christ's campaign (as if the allitera- - tion itself wasn't enough!), but the Opinion section revealed yet another letter to the editor proclaiming that all the controversies were derived from the columnists' inability to "accept fpeople as individuals." It resounded of a dozen other letters protesting the offensiveness of stereotyping. People do in fact break free of their stereotypes. Take, for instance, a small little affair that happened last month in Fayetteville, Ga., during a basketball game. The referee, after bickering a bit with the coach, pulled 'out a knife and stabbed him. The referee a Baptist minister by day was arrested; meanwhile the coach a county Marshall by day required seventeen stitches. So these two dimwits don't exactly fit the stereotype of law enforcement agents and ministers. Still, they nonetheless contributed to the d fanatics who take athletstereotype of ics way too seriously. God, I love sports. There's nothing like a little healthy competition to make a few people stab one another. Stereotypes get a bad rep. Generalizations are consistently bombarded with an onslaught of unwarranted criticism. Most of this criticism stems from dense proponents of diversity, fervent freaks who think that somehow the use of stereotypes andor generalizations destroys an individual. They neglect to notice that generalizations are incredibly useful, that a stereotype is in fact the punchline of a perpetual joke told by the minions who prove it. Language is, in fact, by its very nature composed only of generalizations. Every word we have has a conceptual meaning and connotation without which we would have no capacity for t human communication. Is this getting too vague? Well, people adamantly claim not to be geeks, But punks, perverts, yuppies, dolts or the truth is, since these words exist, and since we do in fact use them, there are concepts behind them And the concepts the words are designed to express are, unfortunately or not, derived from real life. femi-Nazi- s. God, I love sports. There's nothing like a little healthy competition to make a few people stab one another. wild-eye- i CHRONICLE OPINION EDITOR SCOTT LEWIS Granted, some stereotypes are downright stupid. "Homosexuals are dirty" or "George W. is going to be a good president" are good examples. Other stereotypes, on the other hand, remain tried and true (e.g. "All bachelors are unmarried" g or "Members of the NRA are gun-totin- lunatics") Seriously, though, anyone with more than half a brain knows that no one person is the ideal version of 3ny stereotype. On the other hand, as opposed to denying or being downright defensive when one is stereotyped, might it not be smarter for that person simply to inspect what aspects of that stereotype he embodies or how she continues to perpetuate it? Yes. Most people do not want to be considered frat boys, merely .Mormons or jocks, jerks, hookers, hussies or assholes. But these words themselves would not exist if people in no way pertained to them. It's not entirely unlikely that if everyone continues to deny that they are "this" or "that" we'll soon have either a futile language or a world devoid of any group diversity. Embrace your bad image. I'm often referred to as a jerk. I could be trite and ask, "Why do you say I'm a jerk? Furthermore, what is a jerk? I mean really? What do you mean when you say 'jerk'?" Or I could be a bit more honest and admit that, yep, I'm a jerk. And being a jerk is exactly how I am diverse from people who are optimistic sentimental schmucks. I have a stereotype, and this makes me diverse. Regarding the bad press the Opinion columnists get from the reading public, I'm really very curious as to what the reproachcrs would like us to write about. Every week, as we struggle in vain to create a little controversy or provoke a little thought, we'd be open to suggestions. In fact, for my column next week, I'll write about whatever topic anyone wants assuming, that it is, at the very least, interesting enough to warrant a few words. I don't think I could write about pumpkins. Nothing to say. Nonetheless, if I get an email asking me to write about pumpkins, I'll do my best. So for those of you who are tired of reading the old" or think us opinion colum"same nists "just ain't talking about anything relevant," please send me an email. I'll be happy to speak disparagingly on any topic I receive. Chris welcomes feedback at: cyeateschroni-cle.utah.ed- u or send a letter to the editor to: t old-sa- anti-Mormo- LETTERSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU 581-704- 1 |