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Show UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OPINION I PAGE 6 THURSDAY , SEPTEMBER 7, 2000 LETTERS . 'First class' students here TO THE EDITOR: On behalf of Cedar City , I welcome you to this new school year and to our community. We have always had good students at SUU, but I am particularly impressed with the caliber of the students this year. My 16-yearold son was working on his Eagle project, and your student body president Mike Wasden found out that we only had a small troop working on a project that would take over 100 hours. Mike made one call to service director Annie Elkington , and together they rounded up a group of students who were w illi ng to spend the ir first weekend in Cedar City doing community service. Not only did this help a young man with his Eagle ; it helped the entire community. Wh ile many were still just getting moved in , 12 SUU students helped lay nearly 12,000 square-feet of-sod so that the children would not have to play on a dirt playground when the new preschool opened. That was really going the extra mile, and they quickly transformed a brown playground into a "green mile.· My son Jeff and I would like to personally thank Mike and Annie along with Kim Swenson, Dustin Dial , Michelle Hansen , Eric Kirby, Derric Maxfield, Kristen Berry, Troy Maxfield , Tyler Whitmore , Harry Ballsac, and Alison Nielsen. They took a job that wouid have exhausted a young group of scouts and turned it ~nto a fun day. What could have been drudgery turned out to be a wonderfu l experience. Thanks for showing that our SUU students are still first cl-ass young men and women. COMMENTARY Jeff Shirley Harold Shirley, mayor 'Journal' solicits -l etters The University Journal has publish any anonymous letters. among its goals to provide The ideal length of a letter is news to the students of SUU. between one and two full We strive to serve as a pages of double spaced watchdog of student concerns typing. and interests and as a shaper Take advantage o~ this forum of student opinion. and drop in sometime with an A letter to the editor must be opinion . . responsibly written-no libelous Please deliver letters to our or mal icious material will be · offices (TH 011) or to the SUU accepted. Post Office addressed to the Letters shall be typed and 'Joumal.' You may also e-mail include the author's name and us at journal@suu.edu. phone · num~er. T he phone Take a few moments of your number will not be printed. time to tell us what you think. The 'Journal' does check the Address any topics you feel purported identity of letter are of interest to the campus writers . The 'Journal' will not as a whole. SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY · CE PAR CITY UTAH DIRECTING STAFF AND DESK PHONE NUMBERS: Editor Kamilynn Savage 586-nSO Associate Editons Jessica Blonquist 5S6-n5o Photo Editor Janelle Reichert 586-n5o Copy Editor Mindy Smith 586-1992 Focus Editor Camery Lybbert 586-1992 Arts Editor Ashley Adams 86s-8443 Sports Editor Jasen Asay 865-8443 Au't Sports Editor Jason Erickson 865-8443 Kevin Haring 586-7759 ).tmanac Editor Stacee Childs 865-8226 Webmuter Jansen Gunderson 586-7750 Ad 0..lgner Andy Sullivan 586-7758 Ad Manager Cami Perkins 586-n58 Adviser Lany Baker 586-7751 Writing Coach Paul Husselbee 86>8556 SENIOR STAFF WRITERS AND REPORTERS' OESK see.n57. 586-5488 The Univwtity Joum/11 os ~ every Monday and Tlunday d the IC8dornlc: yew by and tor the student body of Soutlle<n Ulah Unive,s,ty. It r ecelvu edvisement from the IA'1ivor11ty adminlsu.tion and ln>m the uroversity's c:omtTM"oCation c!epartment. The and opinions o,q,ressed In 1h11 Joumal . . &nosed~ wnlAlrs and do not ~ reftec:I the vift's of the instieution, lacufty. sblff or body In gorwm. The untigned edilcrial dne1ly IS lhe opnon of the UnNWnity Jouma/ as • single onti!y. l.ellers to the editor m.at be typed ..,., . - 1h11 name and phone numo« Only lhe name w,I be pnnted. Namas wil not be w,thheld under any cin:umSlanees and 1h11 .otor resen,es editing ~ Leu.rs m.at be submlllad by 5 pm. ~ tor incMion In Mcnday ~ . and by 5 p.m. Mondoys for nu.day ed'd<,m, vi- • Griev.nca: l\ny indMdull wilh • g,wvonce against 1h11 Joumel should dhct ltJd> pr-.. l'nt to 1he onesolved. lhlll grievonce llhoYld lhen be direeled IO thll Uniwnity Joum•I: Ofliees In suu TtcMOlogy Buicing 011 . Mail M suu. Cedar City. Utah 8'no. FAX (435) 586-5"87. E - addross: joumal@suu.ec11 ldvi-. e~ LEAH HARTMANN ON RECYClED PAPER. Pl.EASE RECYCLE THIS COf"Y. · If Zion ain't what it used to be I was sitting in Roy's '71 black and grey El Camino, feeling the engine purr and watching crowds of Asians run across the street barely missing the lurching tram. In front of the bus I saw a classic traffic snarl at the intersection . Suburbans weaving around pedestrians, busses slowly turning around, spewing their fumes and noise all over Roy's fine ride. We could have been sitting at the intersection of Tropicana and Maryland Parkway, instead we were sitting at Canyon Junction in Zion National Park. The El Carriino glided around the corner and I cried "Look at this traffic will ya? They need to knock that mountain down so these people have somewhere to park, and they need to build a 7-11 here so they don't die of thirst. They can build it up on that cliff. and you can hike up to the 7 -11 to get your Slurpee . Hey kids , enjoy Zion 's newest attraction." Roy snorts, he thinks I'm funny. There's nothing· funny about the two sleeping tourists I was fQrced to share a tram with earlier that day. I wanted to shake them awake and say "Why are you sleepihg? This isn't some Greyhound bus in the longest stretch of Nebraska. This is ZION!" In case you can't tell I am not real pleased with the new tram system in Zion. However it is a . desperately needed improvement. Last summer was the last hoorah of the access-for-all-free-forall. Before a bunch of Mormons tried farming in Zion Canyon the native people of the area refused to enter the canyon at night. The Spirits roamed freely at night. I wonder where The Spirits are now ...wonder where in this noisy crowded canyon they have fled. The very thing that made Zion so special in the first place is non-existent to the bused-in tourists. How can you possibly soak up the energy and magic of Zion when you are sitting in publ ic transportation listening to some stranger yak on and on about their bad knees and cataract surgery? Today you can still drive a private car into the canyon if you have reservations at the Lodge. From October until March you are able to drive into the canyon in your vehicle of choice. Next · year you're going to need some electronic thing-amajig on your car to get down the scenic drive. Stop all traffic into the Zion Canyon scenic drive, trams included. Keep the highway open, we have to get to 0Fderville somehow. But if you want to see "The Great White Throne" you can walk or bike yourself in there. I think the Park Service is leaning my way. Rumor has it the Park Service is going to close down the Lodge in two years; sorry no more snocones and cheesey shot glasses, not inside the Park anyway. There's still plenty of crapola for • sale in Springdale. Some serious outdoors people might not like my "No Traffic At All" policy and I can sympathize. Who wants to lug a bunch of heavy climbing gear and hulking backpacks any further than they have to? Not me, but the thoughts of true peace and quiet restored to Zion Canyon and re-virginizing the Virgin River are just too sweet. . I have another idea for restricting access. Have the rangers hold up a sign at the front gate that reads "Zion." If you pronounce it Zi-yon, you can go back to the dank city which spawned you. If you pronounce it Zi-yun like a proper Utahn, well then you can come right on in. Take your shoes off and leave your woes behind. In the really busy months have the rangers hold up a sign reading "Hurricane.· Pronounce it the right way and you are welcome home, but say it wrong and you oan go down to La Verkin until you learn how to say it right. I hope and pray all these people keep speeding through Virgin ,and never notice a little sign that reads Kolob Terrace Road; the wild and wooly back-country. Like Edward Abbey said: "Long Live the Weeds and the Wilderness.· Leah Hartmann is a senior communication major ffO{J:1 ,~flf!J.(Tt0(~.f,,.W°tfJ.,;tt. ~ 11;;:,' 1!.., , , .. \ b , <,\ \\U>C. Ul,t:,'-' I• |