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Show Page 5 pinion & r5? ditorials October 21, 1998 Editor: Jackie Fuller jfullerinfowest.com Students See Right to Vote More a Burden than Privilege Commentary 3 m 'j V? By Jackie Fuller ifullerinfowest. com This year during the the number of United States residents old enough to vote will rise more than 200 million, nearly 4 million more than in November 1996, according to a report released by the Commerce Census Department's Bureau. This means the number of 18 to eligible to vote will encompass 13 percent of the voting population. 1998 Election Unfortunately, in 1996 only of college 1 percent students nationwide even voted. The old question then remains Why the apathy? Excuses for lack of student voting participation are too easy to concoct. The only conclusions that can be drawn from such a small percentage is that students feel either inadequate to change government, government does not affect them directly, or they simply don't care. Hunting not murder; deer a human resource Dear Editor: That was an interesting article Raelynne Loudon wrote for the October 14th paper. I agree that deer should not be killed just for fun or sport. I also thing you have seen Bambi one to many times. Hunting is not murder. Deer are a natural resource that should be used by humans. Have you ever thought what would happen if hunting were actually abolished. The deer population would skyrocket to above the land's caring capacity. This would cause the population to become diseased and Ask starved. yourself, would you rather Raelynne, have a relatively few deer die instantly from hunting, or have the very large amounts of deer die off every winter of disease and starvation. Another thing, you lashed out against Utahns (and members of the LDS church) with that "moral values" stab. Not The feeling of inability to influence any facet of government is too prevalent among young voters. The lack of initiative to reform some aspect of govern-- , ment is not as apparent today as it was during the Vietnam War when the Amendment was first Twenty-sixt- h enacted. Perhaps then students were more educated about events, or perhaps it was the fact that government own interests, so individuals should be allowed to participate in politics when, where, and in what manner they chose. However, a democracy is undoubtedly stronger if more of its citizens are actively involved in some of politics. A pure intervention was actually invading their lives that prompted them to vote. We are in the most prosperous of United States economies in years. We are hardly the victims of oppression and injustice. Politics, ideally, are geared towards reform, renewed justice, and an insurance of liberty. We, as young people, are not lacking in economic privileges, so the idea of government seems to be at best, only a mere foreign and subtle power in our everyday lives. Although many young voters choose not to participate in the political process for whatever reasons, the fact remains that citizens should have the right to vote as well as the right not to. Voting is a matter of privacy that reflects one's only is this totally unfair but grossly inaccurate. You must have envisioned Utah hunters licking the blood from the knife they just slaughtered Bambi with. In reality most Utah hunters are good, people who are just trying to supplement their meager food budgets with a few pounds of meat. I hope you reexamine your stance on this issue. And remember to explore all the facts before judging any particular people or action. Samuel H. Peterson Commentator needs to look out Utah window; hunting prevalent in state Dear Editor: I am responding to the article printed in the Oct. 14th edi- tion of the Eixie Sun on the article entitled Hunting: Needless Murder Without Consequence. First of all I'd like to state that Miss Loudon has had quite a lack of research on this subject. I mean I'm just democracy cannot rest on ignorance. Politicians must find ways to reach a poor dumb farm boy and even I know that the holiday that is on the Monday closest to the 20th of Oct. is called the Harvest Holiday and was set aside so that the early settlers of this great state could harvest their crops. I look at the article and almost the whole thing is on deer hunting and the only picture the writer could find was one of a sheep. I don't even think that particular sheep was even hunted. Maybe the writer was confused coming from Iowa and thought that the picture she used was a deer. She also talked about how the american indians native respected the land and animals. I agree but she has seemed to use kind of an outdated example. I mean back then they didn't know how to refine metal and things such as now. She also hasn't really taken the opportunity to look out her window lately either. You're not in Iowa any more Raelynne, it's Utah baby we have mountains here. Its rather hard to try and chase a deer out of a big bunch of trees and have it come out right where you want it to in this state at least it has never worked for me. Most the alienated and indifferent before voter participation continues dully people work for their deer. Also very few female deer, (Does) or fawns, are killed in Utah. Only those that are in an overpopulated area or are a nuisance to farmers that grow the apples you eat. I think Miss Loudon clearly needs to do more research on things before she throws out her view in some newspaper. Miss Loudon also stated that she wouldn't shoot a deer in the head or as she put it "blow its brains out." Well Miss Loudon, a head shot is the best shot, that way you don't have to chase down a wounded deer that's suffering, and no meat is wasted. Even reading another article by her on dogs and cats this is my personal opinion the same as hers was but yea cats are a lot easier to maintain but heck the only thing they are good for is catching mice, and they only do that if you keep them hungry. Dogs at least certain breeds have a usefulness like herding cattle, hunting, guiding the blind. Ain't never herd of a seeing eye cat but like I said the world is progressing and maybe that's down the road. Hans Jessup down- ward. Students must also begin to take a greater initiative of becoming aware of issues surrounding them. The percentage of college students even registered to vote should be somewhat of an embarrassment. College is a time to learn, experience, grow and tap into some intelligence one may not have been aware he or she had in high school. Students: take a political science class, read a newspaper, switch over to the evening news. Open your eyes and ears to the world around you. It's time we, as students, started realizing how the system can work in our favor also. It shouldn't have to take another war for us to want to vote. Art by Aubrey Bradford Assistant Editor Billy Ray Vosburg biityrayinfowest.com Raelynne Loudon loudotti nfbuKst.com Campus News Editor Nation & State Editor: Editor A&E Editor Opinion Editor Sports Editors: Jennifer Peltz Mike Sherwood Brooks Shelton Jennie Squire Jackie Fuller Courtney Gressmen Loni K. Johnston Jared Newbold Maegan Ha thorn Ashleigh MiUgate Laura Smith Regina Loudon Mekette Behling Carisa Huntington Adam Congrove Damion Zamora Jeff Pectol Derrick Alb iston Loren Webb webbcc.dixie.edu The Dixie Sun b distributed each Wednesday during Fail and 5prmg semesters as a publication of Dixie College, its Division of Arts, Letters and Sciences, and Dixie College Student Activities. The Page represents unsigned editorial on tte position of The Dixie Sim, as determined by its editorial board. Otherwise, the views and opinion expressed in The Dixie Sun are those of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Dixie Sun or ezry entity erf the college. Letters to the Editors must be typed and muat Indude die name and telephone number of the author. Only the name will be printed. Names are not withheld under any circumstances. The Dixie Sun reserves the right to edit letters for length and taste. Letters must be submitted by noon on Friday for the Wednesday paper. The Dixie Sun Dixie College Jennings Tech. Bldg. Rm. 109 229 So. 700 E. SL George. UT 84790 3552-781fax: 43556-401aimQson.tl.tflrte edu The Dixie Sun encourages Letters to the Editor |