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Show Ml 8 MONDAY, APRIL Education Outside the Classroom IHhnrlh 1 rijyw lJ-rT j didn't learn in the classroom that had the JAMES SEAMAN Wj P1 THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 23, 2001 v? Chronicle Opinion Columnist column of the year, so, couldn't decide what to about. How does one sum up a whole year? Fven worse, an entire undergrad- This is my final I uate career? So I called upon Father Fitzgerald a Catholic priest and an old friend of mine hoping for some advice. Between beers, we managed a rather enlightening conversation: Thanks for meeting me, Padre. 3'vc just got a few things on my mind. How long has it been since your last confession? I'm not here to confess, although it has been a while. Anci, come to think of it, I never asked forgiveness for that incident with the three Hungarian acrobats and the traffic cone. What!? Never mind that. You see, Father, the deadline for my last column is tomorrow and I have writer's block. see. Surely you have plenty to write about, though. Haven't you learned enough in four years at the university that you can share a piece of wisdom? That's the funny thing it's all the lessons I biggest impact. When I was a freshman, I moved to Alaska right after finals. I found out more about myself that summer than in the entire preceding year. It had nothing to do with acade- -' rnics I gutted salmon in a cannery for io hours a day. But I survived on my own. More importantly, I realized I'd better get back to school because a lifetime of manual labor wasn't for me. From that point, I promised never to take college for granted. It's an opportunity that eludes some people, and one that others simply waste. Well you can't write your column about that. People are going to be sick if you reveal the secrets of cannery life. What else have you got? The summer after that I moved to Washington, D.C. I interned for a development firm that contracted with the federal government. Working in the business world was interesting, but few classroom lessons applied. Theory is a beautiful creature in captivity. But let it out of its cage into the real world, and it runs amok. Far more important than the business grind were the friendships I fostered. I worked in an office with people from Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sri Lanka, China, France and Haiti. Not only that, but every morning I rode the Metro from Alexandria to the By the end of the commute, I never failed to be the only white person on the train. The U administration could require io diversity classes, and I wouldn't learn what I Cor-doz- a. discovered in Washington. Sounds fascinating. But you can't write about that, either. After all, you were an intern in Washington, and I've read too much scandalous news about interns there. Besides, that was on the East Coast. You must have learned something here in Salt Lake. And judging from the pace you're setting tonight, I'd say you learned how to drink a beer. True. But I also learned a lot before I was old enough to drink. Just before I turned 20 I started dating this girl, and we stayed together for an entire year. It was really unique because she had a son from a previous relationship. I learned that books could never teach me what experience had taught her. I realized I was ignorant for looking with pity upon every young woman who has a child out of wedlock. She didn't need my help, nor anyone else's. And she was a hell of a lot tougher than I'll ever be. What happened with you two? In the end, it just didn't work. Her son and I were becoming very attached. At the same time, I knew I couldn't fill in as his father. And really, we were from two different worlds. That's something else I learned: We carry these high ideals about love, imagining it's this beautiful force that can unite people, no matter how different their backgrounds. But love can be as fragile as any other emotion. And it's disappointing when, in reality, those notions you held so high never turn out to be -- 5 what ycu thought they were. There's such a difference between fie abstract and the brutally real. More than anything, that's what these last four years tauht me. Things always sound so good in a speech, look so smooth on a page, seem so perfects the mind. But when you actually touch ideas, they're as rough as the reality tref " seek to change. pi Politics is a perfect example. I spent plestjf of undergraduate days working on politifaj campaigns, meeting some of the finest peoL I've ever had the privilege of knowing. even great people couldn't block the ha 3 winds of reality from eroding the sandsnfeg walls of my idealism. For, at the end of tpe day, although you set out to change the in you work in, it's usually the instife-tionm that change you. Geez James, I didn't realize you intended uepicij ute neii uui uj me. iuu re going 10 III us both into alcoholics. Big surprise there we're both Irish. Well, there's no need to carry this baggc around. You realized the world isn't what y wish it to be. You may also find that soi things are better than you imagined. Take your spirituality, for example. Many things have happened in four yeal the Ji-tution- s noi ine ieasi uj wnicn is you losing some ory vol faith. That's understandable, because a phil; ophy book can easily prove that God does exist. But it's just as easy for the experiences see GRADUATION, page a Human Supremacy Editor: - FEATURING LUV APPLE! ENTERTAINMENT! MUSIC! PRIZES! CLIMBING WALL! GIANT SLIDE! JUMBO TOYS! GRADUATION GIFTS FOR SENIORS! FREE FOOD! fit "w FEATURING LUV APPLE! FOOD! CKTtRTASNMEMT! MUSIC! PRIZES! CLIMBING WALL! GIANT SLIDE! JUMBO TOYS! GIFTS EQR SENIORS! 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It is er simply not in her professionals to pretend that animal experimentation is some how beyond scrutiny from non- scientists, yet that is exactly the attitude she conveys with her characterizations OH bplittlintr "o., the protesters. Hixson should keep in minds this: The quality and rigor of sci-- i ence done using animals u entirely independent of hov.i humane or ethical their treat ment is. The job of the scientific community is to judge rcsearcli based on the first consideration. Reconciling those, two quittJ incommensurable consiaera j tions is basically up to us, the ta .self-intere- st u payers......,,. I a Knstien Hixson. works witn lab rats. In her column April 19, she was annoyed by some ani protesters, and then wrote an essentially thoughtless column on the subject of animal experimentation. This, in turn, annoyed me. The idea that some issues are unexpectedly complicated and e All poaas reflect $1,000 matched cash 1,000 down. Certified cars are qualified Hondas. " Accord lease. 15 k,'miperyr35mo..S2.(XXI total out ot pocket residual S8 395 on new Accords (Value Pkg Eiduded) '"Warranty is from date ongmally sold as new Al vetides iubjed to prior sale. Pnces & payments plus tax Dealer retains rebates and incentives i any. All financing 0A.C. Pictures tor illustration only, teafures may vary. Ad OHM Advertising 2001 expires 050101 '"39 i After all. ..you know this guy! It's pure arrogance to thins? that good science grants immu a nity from public scrutiny. If w'J decide to make enough of a stin! about how inhumanely animal are treated in a particular type o experiment, that :, see ARROCANCC, researclffl page i, J Awl i |
