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Show N MONDAY 112 7 Daily Utah Chronicle THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW Extending the positive messages of Martin Luther King Jr. Week week marks the 20th of Martin Luther King Week and its respective celebrations at the U. It is a time for students to reflect on and extend King's positive messages on campus. Organizers have once again put together a variety of events to take place all week long in celebration and remembrance of King and his remarkable contributions to both the Civil Rights Movement and to the general American public. Events include an exhibit in the Union Ballroom, a community service project, the showing of several feature films and a keynote address by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. Still, while most students have been taught who King was and what he stood for, his lessons seem to go unlearned by a disturbingly large percentage of individuals on This campus. There is a tendency on the part of some to take Martin Luther King Jr. Week lightly at the U due to the low number of black individuals on campus. As the predominant race at the U is white, some make the incorrect assumption that those lessons King taught cannot be applied here. This is a gross error. The egalitarian teachings of King extend beyond the color of skin, and though his major contributions may have been primarily concerned with black individuals, it would be ignorant and unwise to assume the importance of the man stops at the race line. "A Beyond the civil rights gains that King is best known for, he made positive steps forward in the battle for workers' rights, among other achievements. His resistance also taught the American people an important lesson in how to affect change in a positive non-viole- ) - nt manner. Indeed, King was always a champion of equal opportunity, justice and fairness. This brings us back to another pressing issue at the U: the diversification of the student body. Black students comprise such a small percentage of students, it is almost hard to believe. While overt efforts have been made to increase the percentage of minority students on campus and the U has made several laudable efforts black students have often been the exception rather than the rule. Simply, there has been an insufficient amount of energy put into full diversification that diversification which moves to include all races and ethnicities. If the U wishes to become a school where equality, respect and unity those things for which King fought so valiantly are defining characteristics of its student body, it is going to need to diversify wholly, not selectively. During this week of celebration, it is advisable for both students and officials to make a concerted effort to practice acceptance and respect for all people. It is always needed. 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, religion, creed, gender, appearance or sexual orientation will be edited or will not be published. .itl'"'' l if J Corporate &Pmrc& Gets LETTER TO V 'J.. 'i f ? I s trim THE EDITOR There's more to news than news Editor The Daily Utah Chronicle offers the basic elements of any collegiate journalistic endeavor: news, opinioneditorial a smattering of world events and sports. This should suffice for most of the inquisitive and intellectual needs of its circulation, shouldn't it? I'm not so sure. Historically, universities have been nourishing havens for creative artists of all media, and for the most part, the U is no different. The Union does a marvelous job of showcasing student works in the small gallery it maintains, especially the works of student painters and sculptors. Other forms of fine art, such as ballet and theater, have a strong presence throughout the university, drawing hundreds of spectators. In short, any student given to more traditional creative expression would find it difficult not to find a place to showcase his or her art on campus. That is, any student except the aspiring poet. Poetry is one of the most fundamental and alluring media of art. It crystallizes the meanings of our words into their purest states. If we neglect the role that poetry plays in empowering us to tailor our language to its most succinct existence, then we will be bred to accept the murky truth of the extraneous. The German poet Rilke said, "Things aren't all so tangible or sayable as people would have us believe; most experiences are they happen in a space that no word has ever entered, and more unsayable than all other things are works of art, those mysterious existences, whose life endures beyond our own small, transitory existences." The Chronicle offers the perfect venue for the aspiring artist to be heard. Some would argue that there are other settings more suited toward this function, but this is exactly my point. The truly great works found in academic quarterly publications and similar circulations tend only to be read by other poets never making their way to a campus community that so desperately needs to absorb them. If The Chronicle ever opens its doors to endorse the aesthetic pleasures of the works of aspiring poets, I hereby warn the editor that he or she will need a more sizeable inbox. These aspiring artists are out there and so is their audience. Brandon Dickersor. Alumnus The dangerous gamble with mad cow disease It's time to take a stand in the beef debate for the Ethical Treatment (PETA) is right: If to eat meat, you're taking a chance at contracting illnesses and diseases like salmonella, E. coli, high blood pressure, strokes, heart disease and cancer. And now it's even more dangerous if you choose to eat meat, you're also gambling with mad cow disease. People The recent events regarding this subject are making people realize that more must be done to protect the American people. It is truly tragic that approximately 5,000 people die each year from food borne illnesses in this country. In many ways, the mad cow potential mirrors the corporate crimes discovered a few months ago. Millions were affected by the unforseen scandals. The Department of n Justice arrested a people, launched a few investigations and asked corporate executives to write a letter proclaiming honesty. It appeared as though something half-doze- was being done to solve the problem and the issue quickly became old news. And yet, to this day, there has not been any systematic legal strategy to truly address the injustice or to prevent it from occurring again. What's more, the media stopped reporting on or investigating the issue. Similarly, the American mad cow potential has been presented in a way that makes it look like something has been done to protect the American people. Dozens of National Cattlemen's Beef Association and USDA representatives and their associated "experts" are now making statements in the corporate media about how the consumption of beef is "safe." But how safe is it, really? On Aug. 7, 2003, the Deseret Morning News reported that, according to the Trust for America's Health, "Despite the surge in animal-born- e diseases threatening Americans, the country lacks a concerted national program to feed to ruminants.'" Even if all of the prohibited items are labeled, he believes, that doesn't mean that factory farms will stop using them as f Ik.. Jason Hardy Chronicle Opinion Columnist prevent and control these illnesses, which can impact humans, animals and food, in the United States and abroad." The 1997 USDA regulation commonly referred to as a "feed ban" was an implicit announcement that more must be done. But, according to John Stauber, investigative writer and director of the Center for Media and Democracy, the 1997 regulation is not really a "feed ban" at all, but a "labeling requirement that cattle, meat and bones be labeled, 'Do not feed for cattle. The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, reviewed the "feed ban" in January 2002. Their report states that the Food and Drug Administration (charged with enforcing the ban) has "not acted promptly to compel firms to keep prohibited proteins out of cattle feed and to label animal feed that cannot be fed to cattle." Noncompliant factory farms were not "reinspected for two or more years." When found noncompliant several times, "no enforcement action had occurred." Finally, five years after the ban took effect, the "FDA acknowledges that it has not yet identified and inspected all firms subject to the ban." The report concludes that "federal actions do not sufficiently ensure that all animals BSE-infect- or products are kept out" of the food supply. In short, even if the "feed ban" really protected consumers, it is not enforced. The USDA has recently taken a step in the right direction. However, these important but few regulatory changes simply do not go far enough. Fortunately, there is a difference between this situation and corporate crime: We individuals can act. We can choose not to eat meat. Medical science reveals in greater detail every day that choosing a vegan lifestyle is the simplest and most effective preventative medicine for food borne illnesses and diseases. Although the likelihood of a mad cow outbreak is in this country is undetermined, one thing is for sure: For you and your family, vegetarianism is your best bet at staying heart-relate- d healthy. letterschronicle.utah.eda Celebrity coverage is out 0! hani Pay attention to newsworthy events tried to think of a topic this column, I perused some news broadcasts and Internet news sources, hoping something would catch my interest. I figured that I would probably write something about the recent power outages, the search for a new university president or maybe Pete Rose's attempt to get into the baseball hall of fame. You As I know-somet- hing newsworthy. However, it didn't take long for me to realize that the most frequently reported news item of last week was not the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Rather, the topic that appeared most often was a certain infamous marriage. I'm not talking about pseudo news, tabloid television programs like "Entertainment Tonight" and "Access Hollywood." Legitimate news programs were expounding on the Mr. and Mrs. Britney scandal as if it were of some consequence. ur What's next Tom Brokaw ending his newscasts with little tidbits on Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz? Why is the American public so obsessed with celebrities? In the course of my daily commute, I can get news about J. Lo and Ben in practically the same breath as the weather report. We aren't ever going to meet them and yet we still know everything about them. The reason for this is that some people just like to live vicariously through others. When we were little kids, we were told we could do anything we put our minds to. After that came e American idea of the the e man (or woman) rising from essentially nothing to become essentially everything. The fact is, it's not an accurate portrayal of real life. Not that this true-blu- self-mad- time and place isn't a super-dupto live, but as Simon consistently points out on "American Idol," not everyone is cut out for fame and er ability. They dangle the promised prizes of money, fiancees or record in history books as "the greatest generation." What will history record about us? The fact that we That's all well and good, if you take it for what it's worth and nothing more. However, more than 13 million of us tuned in to watch the season premiere of "The Simple Life" knowing that there was no cash prize involved. It was not a contest for money or romance. There would be no matches made in heaven, complete with final episode proposals. No one was going to have a dream come true and get a modeling deal or a record label. So why all the viewers? Was the desire to watch two girls with no particular claim to fame (aside from know more about Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore than we do about weapons of mass destruction? The fact that our divorce rate is more than 50 percent, but we can still watch Nick Lachcy and Jessica I Simpson's first year of marriage in rerun form? Let's face it: There's a reason a local news broadcast would feci the need to cover the weekend exploits of America's pop princess. They aren't selling anything we're not buying. Wc need to start caring more about our own lives and real world problems than the various exploits of people we don't even know. We need to simply turn off the tube and stop paying attention. In other words, until Britney marries your little brother, you shouldn't give a crap. letters ' ch; onicle. Utah, eiia deals. RuthAnne Frost . Chronicle Opinion Columnist fortune. In fact, next to nobody is. In the course of accepting that notion, a lot of people get caught up in the lives of all those who did manage to achieve their wildest dreams. If they're rich, successful, talented or even just shocking, we want to know all about them. Consider the recent trend in entertainment toward "unscripted drama" or reality TV. Programs pit contestants against each other in contests of brains, wit or athletic paternity, if that counts) preg-tecows and steal birdhouses really enough to entertain 13 million people? st Yeah, it was. Sounds like voyeurism to me. Our grandparents went down . '. |
