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Show U N V t R T lOURNAL PACE .O' nt ! 7 Monday, August 29. 2005 L EDITOR Marc Dotson, 586-548- 8 Journal invites collaboration of free speech After a summer respite, the University Journal staff is thankful to be back and publishing. We look forward to the coming year and the opportunity we have to work together in the pursuit of higher education. Welcome back returning students and greetings to our new classmates and readers we wish all good luck with upcoming studies and activities. As the new school year begins, the University Journal would like to revisit its purpose and how it involves each of us as members of the community at SUU. The University Journal is a d newspaper. As such, its first priority is to provide a lab whereby student journalists can gain the practical experience needed to develop into professionals. Adjoining the mission of producing ethical journalists is the quest to provide a quality and objective news source for students, faculty, staff, administration and the campus community at large. As part of that effort, the Opinion Page serves an important and unique role. While the majority of the newspaper seeks as best it can to inform in an unbiased manner, the Opinion Page serves as an open forum where anyone on campus or in the community has the opportunity to practice their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and the press. This is a page for debate, discussion and academic enrichment. Some individuals in the past may have been deterred from submitting letters to the editor or open access columns because of the number of articles on the opinion page authored by Journal staff members. In this issue we have sought to exemplify how the page should operate a place of discussion on campus issues by a diverse collection of community members. WTe hope that together we as a campus community will d submissions. help fill this space with relevant, Except for articles that are libelous or that attack an individual, instead of that individuals ideas, the Journal is committed to publishing everything received. The additional space at www.suujournal.com will be used as needed to complement finite print space. Letters to the editor should be between 250 and 300 words. Open access columns are roughly 500 words and include a mug shot and contact details for readers to be able to reach the author. Even though all the information isnt printed, every letter or column must come with the author's name, phone number and address. In addition, students must include their major, class standing and hometown. Letters and columns can be brought into the Journal or submitted tojournalsuu.edu. While the Journal will help with grammar and article structure upon request, articles dont have to be edited solely by the Journal. Freedom of speech and the press is promised to all, not just to journalists. SUU is known for providing opportunities in practical experience, for the kind of education resulting from the application of learning. We invite students and the surrounding community to take advantage of the opportunity to practice informed citizenship and to speak out on relevant issues, to use the space provided to discuss and learn. After all is said and done, this is the students newspaper. Let the campus community be heard. student-operate- student-centere- d, issue-base- The opinions expressed above are the collective perspective of the University Journal editorial board. The editorial board meets every Monday at 11 a.m. and Thursday at 3 p.m. in room 176C of the Sharwan Smith Center. lOURNAL HUWOTMMHWUWTmiMMITTHmW 0 Associate Editor - Campus News Vale Whrte Associate Editor - City News Rachel Glidden Associate Editor Opini l Marc Dotson Dear SUU Student: As the new academic year begins, we sense the huge potential for student growth and accomplishment that accompanies your return to campus. You, like all other students, have dreams and aspirations, some obvious and some more private. Southern Utah University has proven to be a tremendous springboard to success for students who stay current in their studies and who choose to contribute to campus and community If you are new on our campus, we welcome you and recognize your many accomplishments in high school. Remember, however, that you have left your support group(s) from high school and that it is important that you find a new coimection(s) at the university. If you dont make connections here, you may find yourself unhappy and detached. You are needed here, and we invite you to take the risks necessary to find involvement opportunities of your choice. The campus student activities program is designed to provide positive social experiences for all students. Organize your time to include activities with other students and faculty members. These experiences will strengthen your educational experience. Dont be afraid to take the risks associated with involvement. Every student has an intrinsic desire to be connected. You are a future leader at the university. Your presence is important to us. How will you make the campus and the larger world a better place to live? What will be your contribution as a student at Southern Utah University? life. As you embark upon your activities of the new year, I urge you to make class attendance a high priority. Dont ever miss a chance to meet with your classmates and absorb all you can from your professors. Rather than studying in isolation, try working with others on homework assignments, establishing study groups to enhance academic progress. You will assist others in their studies as you learn from your associations with others. Beyond the classroom, it is crucial that you find meaningful ways to contribute to others. Have you considered joining a club or organization that will complement your education? You may have already found employment on campus or in the community. This is an important of all working students say that working connection, and thre has a positive effect on their overall satisfaction with university life. Have you considered volunteering for a worthy cause? The campus Service & Learning Center is a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities, and students who do volunteer work have slightly higher grades than those who dont Volunteers also receive social perks, achieving contacts and friendships that enhance their quality of life. Letters members cf these groups to riiare their opinions in the Journal should be a high priority goal for the year ahead I look forward to reading what people have to say about life at SUU, and I will certainly offer my thoughts on issues as the occasion Balance created in diverse view s arises Thank you Everyone, as the saying goes, is entitled to their opinion. The opinion being expressed may find its place along a continuum stretching from well researched fact and logic, to wild rumors and irrational rants and raves. However, when someone goes to the effort to express their opinion by writing to a newspaper, that personal point of view now becomes a matter of public record Depending on the opinions an editor selects to print, we readers also form our own point of view and "opinion about the newspaper. We may feel the newspaper is based or fair or has its own agenda based solely on what appears on the Opinion Page. I think the University Journal would be serving its readers well if the Opinion Page made a concerted effort to reflect diverse points of view. Of course space is always Bill Byrnes is the College & Visual Arts dean. consideration, Opportunity for student voices student entering As a fourth-yea- r my senior year, I have read many opinion columns Im not going to lie. There have been plenty cf opinion articles from the last three years that I stopped reading after getting past the first few paragraphs Im not saying that I didnt value the opinion being shared, but my idea cf a student papers opinion column revolves around the concept cf student issues While I enjoyed a particular editorial about one student's frustration to find the perfect sport for himself while he was a child, I couldnt help but wonder what does this have to do with anything. The Journal has dene very well to make the opinion page open to all students to submit to that I would hope that students tliis year use it for the greatness that it could be Instead of talking about whether BaUnan or Superman is better, why not discuss the ever-risin- g tuition but desirable. 586-548- 8 of Performing wherever possible, multipie points cf view are a ?a!Ei DIRECTING STAFF AND DESK PHONE NUMBERS: 586-775- Dean shares formula for success In our university setting the students, faculty, staff, administration and members cf the communi ty forma core constituency. Attempting to find some reasonable balance of opportunities for UNIVERSITY Editor Carli Warr 0 Dad Neal Cox is the dean of students and an associate vice president. He can be reached at coxsitu.edu. or student fees? Why not discuss the clubs youre involved in or the teachers you have? As Clubs & Student Invohement Vice President and member of the Executive Council, I am anxiously involved in hearing tire students voice and finding out wlut the students care about at SUU The Journals Opinion Page is just one way that not only I can hear students views, but the entire campus can hear them too and begin to form their own opinions on the matter The opinion columns I enjoy the most are the ones that prompt other students to write their own opinions and submit it to the Journal. There have been many issues that have come up on the Opinion Page that springs three, four and even five articles after it I want to challenge ary cf you students who have read this opinion artide to the end to get your voice out there; it only takes 250 to 300 words Rochelle Brewer is the SUUSA Clubs & Student Involvement Vice President. School progresses through expression The University Journal has posed the fol'owing question to me: What would you like to see on the opinion page? It didnt take much rumination for me to niaHze that I get to write an opinion editorial on opinion editorials How cool is that? We have the opportunity to attend, support and teach at a wonderful university that is just starting to find out what being a university means. That evolution is slow and eventful, fraught with academic and financial challenges We also live in a woxld that is ever shrinking andyet ever splitting apart with diverse religious, financial and political philosophies As a center of learning, and with our right to free speech, it is our right and perhaps our duty to speak our minds on any and all issues However, here is the kicker. As Jim Rome would say, Have a take and dont suck If you have a take on an issue, be it a campus, local, regional, national or international issue, present your opinion with an argument that is well thought out and written in such a way that even your detractors have to give you credit for your savvy and eloquent rant I love a opinion even if I vehemently disagree with the well-writt- take. People who deliver opinions based entirely on emotion and anger rarely sway anyone to their way of thinking Higher education is all about lively debate and the exchange cf ideas The University Journal is an excellent place for that forum to take place. So, in my opinion, write on! KevinRobinson is anassociate professor of elementary education and the Faculty Senate What is your plan to benefit most from college? 586-775- 9 586-548- 8 Accent Editor Abby Palmer. Sports Editor Darren Vaughan, Photo Editor Chrislina Meter, 2 Web Editor Jared Rose, Copy Chief Michael Nielson, Asst Copy Ashley Lanqshxi, Asst. Copy Heather Darata, Graphics Ecfitor Hofty Cobdbe, Ad Designer Dad Stevenson ? 2 9 8 2 8 Senior Staff Writers: Suolt Mcnroe Advertising Operations Manager John S Gholdston, 586-775- 586-775- 1 The Innvrsity Journal is published rvery Monday and Thursday of the academic vear by and for the student body of Southern L tah University It is advised by professional faculty and staff tn the The views and opinions expressed m the Journal arc those Department university s Communication ot individual writers and do not necessAnly reflect the view of the institution, faciity stall or student body in general The unstaned cA tonal directly above is the opinion ot the Umwntxy Journal editonal board Letters to the editor must be typed and include the author's name and phone number. letters must include the same biformation as those otherwise submitted. Only the will be printed. Names wil not be withheld under any circumstances. The editor reserves the rifht to edit letters for length and taste. Letters should be titrated to worth and must be submitted by 3 p.m. Thursday for inclusion in Monday editions or by 3 p.m. Montby for tnchsion Thursday editions. Submission of a letter does not guarantee pubKcabon nmt h Grievances. Any individual with a grievance against the Journal shoidd direct such problem first to the editor. Il unresolved, that gncvance should then be directed to the operations manager. Anv grievance not resolved at that level is referred to the Journal Advisory CounciL Journal is distributed free purchased for 25 cents each. The of chage to mdvi duals for the first copy. Additional copes mav be Univenw Journal SUU Sharwan Smth Center Room 176C Mad address Uzivemv Jcunsl 351 FAX University Blvd Cedar C'ty Utih6-U2address fcarnal ?;uu eon PRINTED ON RECrClED PAPER PLEASE RECYCLE TmS COPY C 2lU2 SUU Universes Journal W Felicia Phillips Freshman Biology Cedar City Get good grades and join a few club.,. Natalie Gerber Senior Fdistory West Jordan Get involved! SUUSA, clubs, friends, study groups, whatever. Just get up and do it. Kris Curry Freshman English Simi Valley, Calif. Stephanie Young Senior Psychology Salt Lake City Learn new things, meet new people, make connections and have some fun in the experiences to learn and benefit from in the future. Having Logan Anderton Freshman Undeclared New Harmony Stay in school and out of prison. process. 4' L Unto iUMWum t |