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Show UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OPINION PAGE10 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1000 LETrERS Keep ,novie choi,;;es TO THE EDITOR: J try to think of a way to write all I feel as well worded as I have seen done before. Unfortunately, all I can do is try .to express myself succinctly and with a little less passionate genius than others. There are things I would rather not see and hear at a movie. I wish I had come to this conclusion by · mindlessly following someone else 's instructions. However, I watched movies with content that did nothing to educate, uplift·Qr even entertain me before I decided to abstain from some movies. One thing I noticed was the majority of content I disliked did nothing to advance the plot of the movie, or add to the artistic (at least to me, uneducated slob that I evidently am) value. I am still able to follow the plot line and enjoy the movie when it's edited. I hear all sorts of language I would prefer not to hear everyday. Just Sunday evening during my d.j. shift on Power 91 I heard quite a bit of swearing from an adoring listener: words I wouldn't use even if I was very upset. I don't want to hear that when I go to a movie. Perhaps I shouldn't have hung up on that caller. It would have kept me out of my comfort zone longer. But I chose not to listen to that callers choice of words. I squirmed quite a bit when I first met someone w ith a different sexual orientation than mine. Happily , I learned that homosexuals aren't scary and I can have great conversations and relationships with them. Luckily for me , I have the option to see a movie with a great story line, exciting suspense , or just pure entertainment without having to deal with stuff that doesn 't contribute to the plot. Nobody is keeping the people who already saw the R-rated version in the theatres from seeing the movies. Those who choose· to watch Rrated movies are bad. Or ,at least I'm not saying it. I doubt if the survey was readministered , and the results showed a majority wished to see the unedited R-rated movies , certain folks would crusade for that unconforming minority who wished to see the movies edited. I am happy to be provfded with the opportunity to see movies I wanted to see , but didn't because I was tired of having to view, along with the desirable, the parts that I found distasteful. My view of what's distasteful may not be the same as the next person's, but I object to being told what I believe is distasteful, and my des ire to avoid it, is · wrong. In my life I continue to encounter things I find unpleasant. I take what I find uncomfortable and un-troubling in life and learn from it. I don't need to seek things I would rather not see and hear. I don't need to rely on movies for academic enlightenment. Now I have the means to better enjoy a few movies. An alternative and legal choice has been offered me. I'm grateful for that. If that makes me self-righteous, so be it. Maybe in 20 or 25 years I can attain half the self-righteousness some of the professors on this campus possess. Miranda Smith SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY · CEDAR CITY UTAH DIRECTING STAFF AND DESK PHONE NUMBERS: Editor Kamilynn Savage 586-7750 Associate Editors Jessica Blonquist 586-7750 Photo Editor Janene Reichert 586-7750 Copy Editor Mindy Smith 586-1992 Focus Editor Carnery L9bbert 586-1992 Arts Editor Ashley Adams 865-8443 Sports Editor Jasen Asay 865-8443 Ass'tSports Editor Jason Erickson 865-8443 Kevin Haring 586-7759 Almanac Editor Stacee Ch~ds 865-8226 Webma.st&~ Jansen Gunderson 586-7750 Ad Designer Andy Sullivan 586-7758 Ad Manager Cami Perkins 586-7758 Adviser Larry Baker 586-77 51 Writing Coach Paul Husselbee 865-8556 SENIOR STAFF WRITERS AND REPORTERS' DESK 586-n57. 586-5'488 ~ yew by and for Ille ,...-..1 body of Soulhem Ulah Unov•sity. II receives advisement from the unr,orsily adminis1r11tion and from the ur,vers,ty's ccmmuno:allCXl depat1mefV.. The views and 0j)40DlS n the Joumal a<e thosa at ln<lvi<tJaf wnters and do not neeassarily reflect the v,ews ol the inso1ution, taa.ny, stall or . - t body "' _ . , i. An unsigned e<lilonal directly above II the op,,-, ol the Uni~ Joufrial as a single entity. to the editor must be typed and include the name and phone number. 0.-,y the name wil be printed. Names wll not be withheld under Bl'ly Cl'c;ums&anc:8$ and the e<fitor rese,ves editing privil-. L - • must be submitted by 5 p .m. Ttt.ndays for inclusion ,n Monday edd>Ons. and by 5 p.m Mondays for Thlnday e<libons Grievances: Arrt individual with a gMYanCe against the Journal should dnc:t IUCh problem ffrst to the editor. If urnsolYod, that gnevonce should lhen be dndacl to the adviser Unlwr•lry Journal: Offices on SUU Teclnology Bukin9 01 1 M·u at SUU. Ceda< Cay, Utah 84720. The Ur,wr,,ty .kHlnal is pub4ished r,e,y Monday and Th,nday of the -•ssad FAX !•35) 586-5487 L-• E-mail - u: j<unal@suu.edu ~.)"RINlED ON RECYCLED PAPER P\..EASI: RECYCtE lHIS COPY ACCESS 'S.tand up for vt1hat you believe' Today's column is by Bill Justesen , a senior Spanish major from Cedar City. -t read with interest the column by Steven Roberds. Despite the fact that I agree with him on many points in the article , I must speak out against a few important issues. While I agree with Roberds that a university is not simply an extension of high school, I do not believe the university should become a place of self-indulgence because one of the professors told me so. I have standards I will live up to. I call this taming my wild passions. Roberds called this "conformity to accepted doctrine ." That's great, isn't it? I created my own values and I conform to them; stand up for what you believe. Contrary to Roberds, I know· that genius blooms when " predetermined limitations," such as standards, are enforced. Just look at science and its laws of physics. Einstein, a great CQntemporary theorist, used the limitations of physics and came up with the theory of relativity. Had the laws not been in force , he certainly would' not have realized this great accomplishment. Laws are the container wh ich binds the universe and us · together. Without these same laws, chaos would reign and we would not be. To go further, should the human race have laws? Why don't students attend Southern Utah University naked? Do we need traffic lights, drug enforcement agencies, or ev.en the American justice system? What about punishment for breaking any of the so-called laws? The idea of no laws, or disregarding them , is absurd and a silly fantasy. Roberds remarked that students should often have their core values "shocked" by-ideas that run contrary to their belief sy_stem. I concur with this belief up .to a point. Students need to be taken out of their comfort zone and challenged; they need to grow and learn that there are differing viewpoints . Tt1ose perspectives should be thoroughly examined by the student, and at that point , the student can adopt or reject them . Students, nevertheless, shouldn't be forced to the point they becbme desensitized to the issues and world surrounding them. There are some things I would rather not know or view such as murder. More than a year ago, a MSNBC report aired . a clip of a band of Chechnyan rebels beheading an innocent civilian. For some reason. I was so drawn to the screen that I could not even change the channel. To date, I still have nightmares about that macabre image. Unlike Roberds, that image that "shook me to the core" is not one of my most cherished trophies of humanity; it was disgusting, cruel , and tasteless. Likewise, I don't need to thoroughly understand what it is like to rape somebody or be raped. I certainly do not want to experiment. with illicit drugs nor try sex with other partners, including dealing with the possible abortions, disease, and the inescapable degradation of the mind . One could argue I was actually expanding my mind · with sexual knowledge. True, but I could have been learning other things besides selfishness, decadence, carnality, or the opportunity of child support payments for the next 18 years. I realize that I have exposed extreme sides of the issue. but there is some knowledge better left untouched and unknown, even in an academic environment. From what I observed in Roberds' viewpoint, academic limits are unnecessary . Without academic limits, how can a student learn what is ethical or moral? Without limits , how can a student distinguish good from evil? Without limits, how can a student ascertain the difference between controversial and illegal? In an academic setting , controversial is OK, but illegal is not. Academic limits make these· distinctions possible by not sloshing everything together into an innocuous-looking package that is really an academic cesspool. Expand and learn. That is the purpose of the university. But, as I stated earlier, stand up for what you believe. It really is OK, even when some would have you believe otherwise. '. |