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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune OPINION ie Sunday, February10, 2002 Questions and Answers About Games Coverage READER ADVOCATE As you read this, the 2002 Winter Gameswill be in progress. As of Fri day’s deadline for this column, I had received numerous questions and concerns from Salt Lake Tribune readers andvisitors comingin for the Games. Some of their questions now are moot such as what time the torch will arrive at specific points along the route to RiceEccles Stadium. But manyofthe questionsstill are SHINIKA SYKES apropos and I have tried to find them andit will help our citizens become morefamiliar with the measurement language the rest of the world answers: Question: For those of us unabie to attend the Olympics, will The Tribune provide a list of daily sporting events and what time we can watch them on television? Answer: Yes. This paper will have a daily schedule of games and events on the front page of the Olympicsec- tion. In addition,television columnist Martin Renzhofer also will keep readers informed about some of the moving and shaking that may not makeit on the TV screen,as well as telling readers whatto expect for each day’s broadcast. uses, and which the United States will eventuallyuse. | Answer: The Tribune — with a small staff already stretched to Herculean proportions — has not made this a priority for its Olympic coverage. It may not be something editors can put in place atthislate date. I did learn that neither the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1996), nor the Los Angeles Times (1984) converted their weather data to metric equivalent when the even bigger Summer Olympics were held in these U.S. cities. items that people already knownot to bring. The most important thing is to arrive early and know that everything youbringwill be searched. Qa members of the U.S. House of Repre- Letters from The Tribune’s readers acceptfree tickets to Olympic sporting events because the body’s ethics rules prohibit accepting gifts worth Donate Organs In response to William K. Chap- reported that Rep. Chris Cannon has man’s opinion of “Final Donation” asked the House to reverse the deci- (Forum, Jan. 21), I feelit's important Question: Would you please put a mapin the paperas to whatstreets are Orrin Hatch had madea similar request with the Senate ethics commit- opened and closed so that we locals to clarify the facts about his comments on organ donation, body donation for medical research, and the tee. LDS Church’s position on organ and know how to get around and what ar- Even amid the so-called ban on eas to avoid? Answer: Readersshould have seen gifts exceeding $50, the rules still al- tation, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee and others have made a handytransportation guideavailable for Utah residents, commuters and businesses. The guides can be picked up at all Smith’s Foods stores. You also can call UTAat(888) 743-3882 and ask that onebe sent to you — andget the latest Olympictransportation up- dates at utahcommuterlink.com. Q Question: Since the United States is the only country left in the world that uses non-metric units, would you please consider putting metric equivalents into your weather informatic as a courtesy to the thousands of visi- tors? It will be a tremendous help to just the “elderly and insolvent pa- the opening and closing ceremonies tient”) would consider the option of donation. For the small percentage of people who maynotqualify for organ because these functions involve diplomatic duties. All three Utah House members say they will attend the opening and closing ceremonies and meet with dignitaries at variouslocations, but they will not attend competition events. Michael Dunn, Rep. dim Hansen's district director, said the congressman has purchased ro- deo tickets and will attend that event in Farmington. The Senate Ethics Committee also gave the OKforall US. senators to attend Olympics functions in diplomaticroles. The Reader Advocate’s phone numberis (801) 257-8999. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 64110. E-mail; reader.advocate@sltrib.com. In Pursuing Agendas JEAN HILL Legislators have issues, general and specific. One of the most well- known quests for specific legislation is that of the late Sen. Pete Suazo, DSalt Lake,for a hate crimesbill. Salt Lake DemocratSen. Paula Julander’s R-Riverton,for instance, continues to propose sanctions for overzealous fans who attack sports officials. He also consistently backs classroom amplification systems to enhance student learning. Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, has run ethics-related legislation for two years, though the Republican majority has stymied de- bate on the bills. A proposal by Rep. Scott Daniels, D-Salt Lake, for backgroundchecksat gun shows has meta similar fate. Sen. Bill Wright, R-Elberta, has had more success with his push to eliminate accuracy in sex education programs. Rep. Mike Thompson, R Orem,has beenless effective in mandating gunsafety educationfor public schools. Rep. David Cox's, R-Lehi,ataoe to address sizes of schooldishavealso stalled. And Rep. Carl Saunders, R-Ogden, consistently argues against sugarloaded vending machines in schools, but has had more success with measures to curb youth tobacco use. Heis jo! by Rep. Karen Morgan, Cottonwood Heights, who Rinlats legislators each year that tobacco settlement monies are for prevention programs. Democrats also have pet schoolisD-Salt the myriad fee waivers they grant each year. On other issues, Rep, Brad First, we hope most people, (not low congressional membersto attend LawmakersAre Relentless attempt to get contraceptive prescription coverage for women also continues each year. Voters should be awareof the potential lawstheir legislators promote, whether through votes or persistent pursuit of legislation. A glance at bills over the past two years showsthere are a few tenacious legislators in Utah. Rep. David Hogue, tissue donation. or tissue donation, whole-body donation is a wonderful option. However, those patients who donate organs or tissues cannotalso donate their body for research. Whole-body donation requires that the body be completely intact. Also, federal law allows the recovery agency to pay only those direct costs associated with the dona- @ When submittingletters to the Public Forum, please include your full name, signature, address and daytime telephone numbers. Information other than your name and the city in which youlive are kept confidential. @ Keep it short. Concise letters developing a single theme are more likelyto be published. @ Please type and double space. ™@ @ Because of the volume of mail received, not all submissions are published. @ Mail to Public Forum,The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt LakeCity, Utah 84110 @ Our 257-8950. assistance with burial or funeral expenses. Second and most important, Mr. Chapman and others misunderstand the LDS Church’s policy and guidance on donation. Aspolicy, the LDS Church has taken noofficial position, but leaves this decision to the individual. Members have beengiven donation guidance in the February 1988 Ensign article “I Have A Question.” Thisarticle states: “It seems obvious, however, that organ transplantation does notaffect one’s resurrection, since the organ would soon havereturned to the basic elements of Earth following death. . In the meantime, tremendous blessings have come to countless thousandsandtheir families through organ donation ... and families grieving from the death ofa loved one have been greatly comforted by the knowledge thatotherlives have been or measurably improved through receipt of a vital organ transplant. Other families have been spared debilitating illness or death because a living family member was able to donate an organ to a loved is sympathetic; the governor may not be. Somelegislators focus on general issues rather than reintroducing specific bills. Reps. Matt Throckmorton, R-Springville, Thompson, and Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, are guaranteed to promote parental rights. Rep. Trisha Beck, D-Sandy, counters with child protection measures. In an interesting twist, Rep. Morgan Philpot, Sandy, who couldn't find any constitutional need to provide language services to immigrant schoolchildren, pushed Bill of Rights Day last year and has waxed eloquenton Second Amendmentrights this year. Legislators tend to focus on what they know best; their districts, professions or committee assignments. Some regularly offer bills geared to- is (801) ‘Thought Crimes’ this, Irefer to criminal enhancements based upon the actor’s motivations. The most obvious example is hate crimes legislation. People see no problem with this legislation because bigotry has few vocal supporters. However, such enhancements could easily be extended to other areas. People are often motivated to break the law based upon their strong beliefs. If enhanced penalties were enacted against civil rights, animal rights or abortion protesters, would peoplestill findit so palatable? The Constitution protects our right to our individual beliefs, no matter how wrong-headed others mayfind them.People should only be punished when their actionsare illegal, not because they entertain unpopular thoughts. Any sentencing enhancements should be determined by the judge based upon the circumstancesofeach individual case. JOHN M. PETERSON Salt Lake City recovery organization for Utah, we during the legislative session and the period during which the governor can sign or vetobills. The Legislature number Utah legislators need to rethink the concept of “thought crimes.” By one.” As the federally designated organ the governorto raise campaign funds fax tion. This would prohibit any type of saved Johnson, R-Aurora, continues to searchfor waysto preventthe federal government from acquiring more land in Utah. Rep. Neil Hansen, DOgden,hastried to limit theability of Letters are condensed and edited. found that whenpeopledecline donation, it is due to a lack of understanding of this tremendous need.In the U.S,, 17 people die each day waiting for a transplant. Manyare from Utah. Every donation makes a difference,I would hope all Utahns join together in being organ and tissue donors, TRACYC, SCHMIDT Intermountain DonorServices it Lake City Gun rights activist David Workman’s “The U.’s Outrageous Gunfight” (guest commentary, Tribune, Jan. 27) asserts incorrectly that the U.’s defense of its longstanding prohibition against guns on campus is “an outrageous defiance ofstate law.” In the heat of the larger discussion aboutthe appropriateness of guns in an academic environment, Mr. Workman,like others, has ignored the U.’s solid legal position on this issue. First, under state law, guns are prohibited on university campuses unless their presence is permitted by the concealed-weapons law. Second, the key language of the conceal weapons law — “valid throughout the state, withoutrestriction” — was enacted in 1986 to address inter-county inconsistencies in the standards and conditions for issuance of concealedweapons permits. That language dil not then and does not now address internal university policies on guns: Third, the Legislature's prohibition onlocal entity and agency “rules”regarding guns applies to “rules”as defined in thestatutes. The definition of “rules” does not include the U.’s internal policies whichapply only to its own students and employees. Finally, both thefed: eral and state constitutions guarantee to universities the right to make their campuses safe for the sometimes contentious dialoguethatis at the heart ofthe educational process. The U.is not showing “a rather cavalier attitude about obeying 4 state law”but rather is relying on competent, professional legal advice that the U.’s gun prohibition is consistent with applicable state law as well as state and federal constitutional guarantees. disagree with the U.’s legal position but a reasonable disagreementover the interpretation of complex statutory provisions does not amountto “defiance,” “disregard,” or the other inflammatory rhetoric that unfortunately clouds the public discussion of this importantissue. JOHN K. MORRIS General Counsel University of Utah Shame on Cannon Salt Lake City Kudos to Seaee D. Oviatt (Fo: rum, Jan. 29). As I recall, the TV newscast of Chris Cannon's ne to appeal the ban on free 0] ets to members of the U.S. eases was preceded by a story stating that 95 percent of the children of this country live at or below the poverty level, Shame on you, Mr. Cannon, Walk the Talk In response to President Bush’s appeal to Americans to volunteer two Q Odd Audit Guarding Safety According to an article (Tribune, Jan. 30), 87 percent of the University of Utah medical school’s incoming class is white and over 50 percentare Rep. Carl Saunders of Ogden had the temerity to demand an audit of o med school's admissions process, suming discrimination fine Hie his¢van and grandson failed to get accepted. Now that’s the power of being white, male and Mormon in this state — the good-old-boy networkis in your corner. I must ask you, Rep, Saun+ ders, do you think your son and appreciate your advertisto the world their failure to beat eo two of all those other white : such a mapin last Friday’s Tribune. In addition, Utah Transit Authority, the state’s Department of Transpor- Inflammatory Rhetoric Where to Write more than $50. On Jan. 18, the paper sion. It was also reported that Sen. ¥ THE PUBLIC FORUM sociated Press (Jan. 10) which said sentatives were told that they cannot MARK ELLIS s A recent Tribune article Soenn ee whowill be ouout Neb sere eee df who wideout provingweary é fil file through security checks. The Tribune had list of do's and don'ts in Friday’s paper. Most are common-sense congressional delegation will get free tickets to Olympic events? Answer: In January, The Tribune published a news story from The As- cplttsertglaie Answer: From whatI am told, the fewer items each personbrings along, the faster everyonewill be able to get a Question: Is it true that the Utah aes Question: With heightened security measures at Olympic venues, please give those of us attending the Games a list ofdo’s and don'ts. |