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Show ,: '; . SOUTH ERN-UTAH'lJNfVERSiiY"· STUDENT ASSOCIATION COMMENTARY . . . . . . ~.~ .....~.,. ....J How many times has this happened to you? You're at the library and you remember you need to get a copy of something for one of your classes. So you stroll on over to the copy center, ready to make some copies when you realize that you don't have any money, or you only have large bills. So you end up doing one of three things: Break your $20 for three copies that cost 5 cents each, beg the money from someone else or write a check for 15 cents. As the SUUSA Special Projects Director, one of my endeavors has been to get a one card system here at SUU. My interest in getting a one card system on campus began in March. of last year as a member of the Elections Committee. One of my responsibilities was to try and find a way we coul d have the elections computerized, which would make the voting a lot easier and save over $1,000 every year. That's what started the idea, and I've been looking into it ever since. A committee was formed under the direction of Greg Stauffer, vice president for administrative and financial services, comprised of the purchasing department, Jodi Lee (SUUSA Service Coordinator), and me. The campus one card system is centered around a single card that would be distributed to all students, faculty and staff, replacing the need of any additional cards for campus use. Although multiple cards have not yet been a large problem for our campus, other features of the system can greatly enhance day to day business transactions. It can handle any money exchanging transaction such as payment of student fees, purchase of food and books, purchase of tickets or an.y thing else. Now you might be thinking, "That sounds great and all, but where are you gonna get the money for something like that. I'll bet it's not cheap, and I sure don't want my student fees raised even m ore." Don't worry, student fees won't be raised a penny to get this. Each quarter $1 from your student fees goes toward your I.D. cards, producing approximately $15,000 a year. All of that money is not used each year and we have received approval from Assistant Dean of Students Craig For.man to use the surplus over the next few years to pay for the one card system . Once the initial costs have been covered, the one card becomes a revenue producing system. We wanted to be sure the campus supported this idea. So our committee has talked to the directors of the Media Center, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Student Housing, Cashier's Office, Student Development Center and Security, just to name a few. All were unanimous in their support for this idea. The applications of the one card system are practically endless.. Our committee will look them over and ascertain which would be best suited for SUU. If all goes according as planned, the one card system should be in place by faJl semester. This isn't the first time the one card system has been investigated for implementation on this campus; but this is the first time it bas had such direct student involvement. This is exciting to see because it illustrates that the students do have a strong influence on this campus, and helps exemplify the SUUSA motto for this year of:"EMPOWERING 1HE STIJDENTS"! Nathan Wilkey is the special pro;ects di.rector for SUUSA. PROFESSJONAL STAFF AND DESK PHONE NUMBERS: Editor Lauy B.:ucer 586.7751 Oltnl'LIS Editor Jim Robinson 586-1997 Neil Gardner 586-775.1 8ren Jewkes 586-1751 STUDENT STA.l'F ANO 0£S'K l'HOm NUMBERS: AssOC'bll, Editor D.W. Anderson 81\S 822..5. 5116-7750 Al' Wirt &litor Kam, ~•n SS/i.7759 Copy Editor TiJna Tc" ~S~488 Phot~ Edi1~r lohn C'.uenle, SS6,n59 Spons fdltor Chad Lunb 865,8443 Artil Editor Ann~ Tu'l'ln 566-548~ Ad><nMng 'hmgtr Maggie Nc1,en Stlf,.7758 Opimon Oir«tor llrandun tthod<-> S86-1~91 Ad,etti1lng Oe.<,i~1cr A.lam M00tc 586-7'58 REl'l>R rEJ\s · DESK 586- "?:,• Th~ Um\'enur 'uurnul 11 rut l u:J ~ a Mund..&~. V\,cJncsJJ.y ,nJ FriJ~) u£ the auJcm1( ~c;.u :a.;• ruhlttJtHJn o Southern Uuh Univenuv, 10 Jcr.utm~n, ol cummumcanun .;nJ the SUU S1;udcna A,:.-4~1.a-t,on The \1C"Ws ..roJ 01Hn1fltt!i e_xru.."'ttc.'\J m thC' }«,un1JI ue thote 1f 1.nJn1Juat \Hu.co .m..J ,tu nut n~c.o~oh, rdh.:ct the op,nlvn of the foutn.11 "r ,my cntltY uf thi: uni~UY Lclcets l(I the c:dmtr mu1Jt he IYt't.::J .and mduJc ,he m11lh.: :aod phone nurnhv llol> tlh: 011n11.: w,H he pnnu:d N\jmcs, will not be wnh~ht unJcr imv ctrcum ..1.mc.c.~ .mJ the cJ1tCJt rnctv1,."' c:t!1t1~ rrivilc,:;~,. Lcttco mu,1 be ,uhtnuccd by noun r 011..I)') f.nr Mon WI y cd,mms, Tut:tdays foe Wcdnc:Mby cJm,,n, JnJ Tbwsd.a)·.1 rur Frnb)' cJ,u,~ Gricv11onJ: An) 1nd1\11dual wnh • gnevancc ai1mst the {nnm41J •hnuJJ Jtrut such pn>blt111 hu.t bl the: tJ•tM lf uncool\'cti, th.u y1cnncc th\t0IJ th.en be t.luc.-c.tcJ to the /ourrml Stc¢rin.,. Commiu1.....:. which lS ch,meJ l,yDr Fam G Pc:,,scm. S~6-7971 UnJ,•us/1)' Jouroal: Offfl!.1:1 ,n SW Technology llu1IJ111.g 00.1 M>il >< SUU Bo• 9.38,I C:dar Caty Uuh ll•l'>20 fAX j4JSJ ~R6-54Jl7 E. m••l ~,umal&uu.cdu ' ' •JJ= y P1tl1''T£0 ON RECYCllD PAPUl. PLEI\St RECVCLE THIS COPY. 0 0 One card system beneficial to all Consulting Sl>OrtS Editors • 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 .. (X) a, I 0) I M ii ...C: ...,a - - - - (<!,c.-k;-C.i'(""' - - ~ u., NA.6T A&..& IA or f>lt O Po~Tf"D~ IJU..l. M~I(.~ ME. FAMOVS ,,,. " M 'Int I~• ! ,:,l a: ~ • DAVE BARRY COMMENTARY Life skills learned at the racetrack A_s a parent, I believe it is my responsibility to help my son develop the skills he will need to become a responsible and productive membe.r of society. So I took him to the horse races. Specifically I took him to Gulfstream Park, a very nice track in Hallandale, Fla., where you can bet on horses and feel comfortable wearing clothing styles dating back upward nf 45 years. You remember during the Disco Age, when men wore clingy pants in highly unnatural colors and patterns, so the wearer looked as though he has been wading naked to his waist in a massive toxic polyester spill, and it dried on his body? Those pants are still the height of style, at the racetrack. I enjoy the racetrack crowd. It's a more sociable group than you might think. I'm generally shy, but when I go to the track, I often find myself having conversations with total strangers. I'll be standing idly near a bank of TV monitors showing horses racing-possibly at this track; possibly at some other track; ·possibly in races that took place in 1973- and a man standing next to me will yank his cigar out of his mouth, tum to me, and say: "Can you believe 1HAT?" "No!" I'll say. "What the (bad word) is he DOING??" the man will say. "He's (bad word) CRAZY!!" "I'll say!" I'll say, wondering whom we're talking about. A horse? A jockey? N ewt Gingrich? I began the process of educating my son, Rob, by showing him how to pick a horse to bet on. The key is to have a system. I use what is known as a "two-step" system, as follows (you might want to write this down): 1. I look at a list of the vanous horses. 2. I pick one. Using this system, I selected a horse named "Yield To Maturity," which seemed appropriate because it's something people are always urging me to do. After I placed the bet, we went into the grandstand to watch the race. Tens10n mounted nearing post time, and then the announcement came over the loudspeaker: "They're off!" "Where are the horses?" asked Rob. "I don't know," I had to admit. One of the problems with horse racing is that key parts of the race take place several miles away, so that even if you can find the h orses, they look like a herd of stampeding squirrels. I think the sport would be better if the horses stayed directly in front of the grandstand, perhaps on a treadmill. Eventually the horses showed up, and although. I specifically yelled at Yield T o Maturity to win, he !or possibly she) did not. What's worse, he (or possibly she) did not look the least bit upset about losing. In fact none of the horses seemed to take the race seriously. Laughing and pooping, they trotted gaily off the track. Next, I took Rob outside to show him how to "look over" the horses that would be running in the next race. "What are we looking for?" asked Rob. " Humps, " I said. A hump indicates to the shrewd bettor that the horse is actually a camel, which means it will run slower than the horses. Or possibly faster; I can never remember which. At this point, Rob decided-and this is-exactly the problem with young people today; they don't want to learn anything-that he was going to ignore my system and pick his own h orses by studying the racing foml . I told him this was a waste of time, because the so-called "racing form" in fact has nothing to do with racing: It's a means by which espionage agents send each other messages in secret code. While Rob was frittering away his time trying to decipher gibberish, I implemented another proven wagering system known as the "bet on most of the horses in the race system II Perhaps you think it's impossible co bet on six horses in an eighthorse race and still not win any money. Perhaps you're an idiot. I will not beat around the bush. When the day was over, I had picked no winning horses, no placing horses and no showing horses. I ha<l picked horses that, if you were to cul them opennd would have turned out tO he powered by pairs of scnously obese men walking backward. Rob had picked three winning horses and endl:!d up making money. He thinks this could be a good career path. He does seem co have a knack for it. I just hope, if he becomes wealthy, that be remembers who showed him the ropes. Dave Barry is a nationally syndicated columnist. |