OCR Text |
Show PAGE 11 UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OPINION !THURSDAY, APRIL 6 , 2000 LET STUDENT VOICES RING . reat strides have been made recently to direct the progression and momentum of this institution, taking its rapid and at times blind growth and utilizing it to its best end. In this, the greatest goals of SUU can be realized, for its movement will be given clear navigation, which it needs if the school is to succeed into the future. In these guides, SUU can be shaped into the institution that it always has wanted and needed to be (see the March 2_0 and the March 23 issues of the Journal). Two meetings were held exclusive between SUU faculty and administration in March. Discussion in these meetings focused on potential plans for SUU's future; a restructuring based on one of six possible scenarios. The scenario that seemed to be greeted with the greatest level of acceptance at the first meeting was what is called the vertical approach and entails an institution that "focuses on specialized programs and adopts selectivity as a way to create a distinctive 'niche' that makes it unique in higher education.· At the second meeting, Provost Ray Reutzel said he would give "SUU faculty members the opportunity to vote on which academic reorganization scenario they feel is best for the university.· This became manifest through what has been called the "Vision Survey." The survey, which was posted on the SUU website for faculty and staff members to access in recent weeks, first gauged whether the individual taking the survey was a faculty or staff member, then asked a s~ries of five questions gauging opinions on the proposed restructuring models. Students were not allowed into the forum or to take the survey. As a student newspaper, one question looms large and puzzling. This question is, of course, why is student involvement not endorsed or encouraged by the administration? Once again, we, students, are the reason for the existence of the university. We are here as the foundation for the school's existence, we have a righl to have a say in its future movement. Students like us will be most directly affected in the future shape of the school. Furthermore, we are here for an education. If the administration's argument is that we are not informed enough as students to sufficiently make judgments of this nature, then educate us. Hold a forum for students on the university restructuring. Give us, the school's pulse and soul, a chance to have a say in the body's wellness and changes. After all, without us, the body would perish. Absent inside sources for the Journal in the forum held between the administration and faculty, the student population would be wholly uninformed as to the projected restructuring of the university. This is a shame . We feel that the administration is proud of the future projectipns for SUU , so that leaves one reason to our minds that the administration is omitting students in this matter: they don't hink us important enough to have a say in the matter. But we are. Again, we are the foundation of the school without which the school would perish. Most of us are also old enough to vote in national and local elections-we feel that this is enough to warrant our vote in the future of our own university. Students, we must not get lazy and complacent. We do have a right and say in the Mure of our school. We won't be here in the future, but students just like us will be here. And it is our school, our education, and we must step forward and take responsibility. So, let your voices ring, students. Let the administration know that our opinions are just as important as the faculty and staff on campus. Theyar '1 1~ 20b0... G SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY · CEDAR CITY UTAH DIRECTING STAFF ANO DESK PHONE NUMBERS: Editor Kamilynn Egan 586-7750 Aaaoclate Editor Anna Turpin 586-7759 Opinion Olr.ctor Cami Perkins 586-7759 Photo Editor Coney Foster 586-7750 Copy Editor Deborah Perry 586-1992 Focus Editor Jessica Blonquist 586-1992 Arts Editor Kevin Haring 865-8443 Sports Editor Jasen Asay 865-8443 Ad Manager Miranda Mabbutt 586-7758 Faculty Advisers l.alTy Baker 586-7751 Morris Brown 865-8556 SENIOR STAFF WRITERS AND REPORTERS' DESK 586-7751', 586-5488 u ~ .Jourrv/ is pu,bhed evo,y Mondmy W1d ~ of lhe - c .,_ by - JO< the student body of Sot.chom IJah Uni'tenity. It lrom the ..-.tty's c:omnu,icrion d e ~ ! from the urvvenity _,cr.tion. The views and opinions e~ued in the Journal .,. 11lose al individu.t The .-.H - - and do no1 necesurily ~ the views d the inl1itudon. IKYl!y, llall or l1Udenl body In _ . i. The ..-.lgnod edilA:ml dit9c:lly lbove Is1he opinion d lhe Unlvenlty Joumel es a slngle entity Letters to the edlta must be typed ard include 1lle ,,.,,,. and pl,one . . . . -. Ol'ly the ,,.,,,. wit be printed. will not be ..-.,.,, drcunSlaneeS ,nd ttie- editing~·- L.-. mUlt be submitted bys p.m. Thunday$ lor indusloll In Monday tdtionl, and by 5 p.m. Mondays t o r ~ editions. Grlevancn: Any lncmct..lli w i t h • ~ ~ '1e .Jo<.rn41 lhould direct s u c h ~ Int to the editor. ll urnsolved, thet grillvm shoud then be directed to the r.cutty the Joumlll Steering Coolmittee. which Is by Or. Frain G. Pe...,..., 586-7971 . IJniv.wty ./0,JmM: Offlcel In SUU Tecmology 8uilcling 011. Moll • SUU , Ceclw City. Ut.11 84720. - N-•• FAA (~ 58&-5487. E.,,..lil eddies•: )oumllCsw.ect., ~ ~ ON REC:VClfD PAPER. PLEASE RECYCLE lHLS COPY. /~~~ ~ £,vA-S~rlT", e.l~L...S-o,.,n+ ~1..0A.i ~ II\ DAVE BARRY COMMENTARY The little gift that changed my life It was a Thursday evening when I got a chilling message from my office at The Miam i Herald: Somebody had sent me a live Maine lobster. It was meant as a gift. I was supposed to eat it. But I do not believe in eating lobsters. I do not believe in eating ANYTHING that looks like an insect and has 137 legs and claws and feelers and eyeballs waving around on stalks. So I was not thrilled to get a live lobster. I think there should be laws against jnterstate lobster trafficking. I think that we should be protected from the danger of opening an innocent-looking box and finding ourselves confronting a crustacean the size of Mary Lou Retton. The Miami Herald Business Section , located next to my office, offered to take the lobster off my hands and eat it (the Business Section will eat anything). But I was uncomfortable with that. In a strange way, I felt responsible for this lobster. I felt that if something bad were to happen to it, I would ultimately pay the price. So I decided to drive to work and release the lobster - which I had started thinking of as "Duane· - in Biscayne Bay, a body of water that is located next to the Miami Herald building so the editors will have something to look at. On the way in, I called the Herald's fishing/outdoors writer, Sue Cocking , who gave me some bad news: Duane was a cold-water lobster, and if I put him in the warm South Florida water, he would quickly kick the bucket, or whatever it is that lobsters kick. So now I had a problem: I was taking custody of a lobster upon which my fate depended, and I had no idea what I was going to do with him. And then it hit me: I could send him to Tom Schroth. Tom is my old friend and journalism mentor; he and his wife, Pat, live in Sedgwick, Maine, and are veteran lobster wranglers . I figured that if I could get Duane up there in time, they could release him into his original stomping waters. So I got Duane at the Herald . He was in a cardboard box with some kind of cold thing to keep him in semi-suspended animation , but he could still move his claws in small , sad gestures. With Duane on the seat next to me , I raced to the shipping place in Coconut Grove , where the proprietors, Rod and Judy Heflin, to their credit, did not question the concept of shipping a live Maine lobster, from Maine, back to Maine. Before they sealed the box, I took a last look at Duane, who gave me a jaunty wave, as if to say, "What the HECK is going on?" And then he was gone. Next I called Tom and Pat in Maine to alert them. They were not home. This w.as bad, because in my haste to get Duane shipped, I neglected to pul a note in his box, which meant that Tom and Pal might assume he was dinner. Fortunately, Tom got my message and called back to say he'd release Duane, assuming that Duane - who by now was qualifying for frequentflyer benefits - arrived alive . I told Tom thal Duane was a spunky lobster with a lot of heart (or, possibly, hearts). The next 24 hours took forever. The Business Section assured me that Duane would arrive in Maine as dead as Lamar Alexande(s presidential campaign. I was a mess. And then it came, an e-mail from Tom that filled my heart with joy. It described how Tom and his daughter Jennifer took Duane to the sea: "The Sedgwick Town Dock is about a half-mile from home. The snow was falling hard. It was getting quite dark. We took Duane to the edge o1 the water, where the boat-launching tracks wenl into the lowering tide. There was a little ice at the edge of the water. .I took him out of tiis box - he was gorgeous, aboijt 2 pounds and still lively, no rubber bands on his claws - and placed him tailfirst into the water. As you had predicted, he waved to us as he, with a quick flip of his luscious tail , pulled deep into the dark waters ol Eggemoggin Reach as it greeted the Benjamin River off Sedgwick's shore. I'd say more about this, but I am too choked up. Dave Barry is a nationally syndicated columnist. . \ • |