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Show WittnwtwiMiiliMtffirili'iritilitl'tii i ikMUtfUMHtk OPINION Choosing babies features may be risky ; APRIL I, 2009 DIXIE SUN - 9 janey wilding gy Sun Staff Writer Dixie We all have things about ourselves we would like to change. Maybe you to be a little ,oUd choose or have thinner jler, and blue eyes. ,0Dd hair l,rhapS youd like to be a .jer athlete or be able to math at a higher level, j is getting jell, science to letting youv loser earth. pilose attributes like j0 ;s an article "Engineering By According to Associate This the wind Scientists On Embryo Stirs Criticism" by Andrew Pollack published in the New York Times on May 13, 2008, scientists in New York City have created the first genetically engineered human embryo. This breakthrough brings scientists one step closer to being able to create exactly what parents want their children to look like. By modifying the genes in the embryo before implanting it, parents would be able to determine the childs sex, appearance, intellect, athletic ability and much more. I will be the first to admit that the idea of choosing my childs attributes is very tempting. I would love to guarantee that my child was healthy, smart, tall, thin and athletic, but for some reason this just seems a little too close to playing God to me. Im sure there are some advantages to genetic engineering. For example, disease and birth defects could be avoided, but deciding what color hair your baby will have just seems extreme. I think there are so many dangers that come along with allowing people to hand select what :alcoppeiji tist Lyman break and realized that I was taking the test the next weekend. I picked up my book and started BY HOLLAND OLSEN Dixie Sun Staff Writer Tour, tsintheii I lpottei);( number try skills. fomSt lale offers! andanorij. own. MIDI f life. Is hows what song that e matter p in; levant My Df life, goodbyet voice Weekly Pageants take children away ght, waUdng from childhood LAUREN JONES Sun Staff Writer BY Dixie with fan d Iowa, I Playing faith and whatittaii beauty pageants take it I know me have hadto heir of way g really cc bum ' personal! rut and h) i Tuesday, glittery dresses, tie tanning and fake teeth, child pageants judging a ng a child's tc me: Fast' :rs favorite television TLC. The show I ng my had been watching the next show, and am development; other night, I was relaxing in my room, watchi- the one 3 "beauty" is hinderi- The to on over too far. the Between toddler's isjust ended Toddlers egan. page and Tiaras," Once it started, I couldn't in late vo.o f these e been adds to ? the ality to angry. The description of the show on TLC's Web site, http:tlc.discovery.comtvto dress up is OK, but child alityoffc n myself from watching because I was absolutely irate about how lose parents were parading fese children around. I still continued to watch and nake myself more and more stop reads: "On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality and costumes. 'Toddlers and Tiaras' follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles and lots of cash." Those poor children. They are hideous in their pink puffery and sugary glossiness, and thats just whats wrong on the outside. You cant tell me you can teach good morals while youre telling your toddler to purse her lips at the judge. You cant teach graciousness when youre telling your -- toddler to bat her lashes and stick out her butt. You cant teach manners when you are too busy yelling at your child to master her sashays and turns. One mom on the show had the gall to say that if you thought pageants were bad, it was mostly because you had an ugly kid. The only time I look at any kid and think he or she is ugly is when he or she is consistently mean, snotty, bratty or spoiled; now thats ugly. From what I've seen, it seems like a lot of pressure to put on a young child. Think about it: They're being judged completely based upon their looks. In the case of other competitions (singing, sports, dancing, etc.) they are judged on things that can be improved with practice and training. see PAGEANTS page 10 id Roga: he nd to Weekly spoon imethi not ould i. voice Virtual world offers comfort And BY CHRISTA ROBERTS Dixie Sun Staff Writer Laurie , ant la- to ment As some of he when you may know, I am an avid citi- noying' of rhlight irancesis ,way,vok: innyS,f lolbert trangerS what s f esidon- prt zen of Second Life, the Grid's largest online SL is designed, run policed by residents e rnyself, and looks and feels very much like "The lms with one major uni-'ers- e. watch? change: You tr SrnaH eport ninutfr Many it wo ;db :Casio' 1 ages- guide your avatar through every tntnute detail. people have gotten off SL. Plenty of its residents have made mil nch ght'P1 of the fun. It also gives children the freedom to become whoever they want to be. Do most parents want to give their child every possible advantage? Absolutely. I just dont feel like altering childrens genes to conform with the parents' expectations is giving the child any advantage at all. Genetic engineering puts too much control in doctors and parents hands. Let nature take its course. Whats meant to be is meant to be. Mother Nature is not meant to be tampered with. Hollands life: Being tested tronsto uny eye coloring say to the child? To me it says loud and clear, This is what we expect of you and expected you to be. I dont know about you, but I dont want to have people putting those types of expectations on me. Im not going to continue on about how special having children is. Im currently pregnant, and it is tempting to think I could control everything about my baby; however. Im willing to roll the dice with what Ive been given. Not knowing what your children are going to look like or act like is part Weekly voice sPringdali lery and who their child is. First, I believe what a child will look like and act like before her or she is even born puts the child in an unfair position. It just sets children up for failure. What if the child doesnt meet the parents' expectations? Do they get a refund? And what if your designer baby ends up being born without the attributes you selected for him or her? Are you going to love that baby less? What kind of message does picking your childs body type and hair and lions of dollars by running a business on SL. Anything can do. you want to do, you There are designers, builders, doctors, lawyers, animal trainers and many others. In fact, I can't think of a profession I haven't found on SL. I've been on SL for almost one year. In that time I've gone from a newbie peer g counselor to running one of crisis it the largest SL. in counseling services I've partnered with many real-lif- e organizations that have allowed me to acquire more than 2,000 resources worldwide and help people know-nothin- non-prof- the most secluded countries find real close help in a city or town live. to where they Between myself and my staff of trained volunteers, we field an average of 10 calls per worker each day. I have four volunteers. Two of them are doctors, one is a registered nurse, and the in third-worl- other is a peer counselor. The majority of calls are from people dealing with relationship issues, like breakups and abuse. Unfortunately, most calls are from people contemplating suicide. Our prithem mary job is to get see SL page 10 think there are criteria that can determine if a person can excel in but I school, graduate dont think a standardized test is one of them. I just took the Graduate Record Examination, a test most people lovingly call the GRE. The GRE is the test that people have to take if they want to get into graduate school. It is supposed to measure vocabulary, math and writing skills that are relevant to graduate school. I personally think that it was a waste of time, and sorry to say, I will have to waste some more of my time in the near future. I recently came to a decision that I needed to continue my education and go to grad school. With that I was told that I needed to take the GRE as soon as possible. I got online that night and registered for a test that cost me $150 to take. Because time was of importance, I decided to take it three weeks from the day that I registered. I started my preparation for the test by requesting that my sister give me a study book that she used in her studying for the test a couple of months ago. As I studied the first few chapters on vocabulary and how to take the test, I was feeling great. Then something happened: I stopped studying the book. You have to understand that I did not schedule the test at a very good time. I had to prepare for several midterms and research papers during the time that I had given myself to study for the test. It did not help that baseball season had just started to occupy more of my time. Another problem that I encountered was the wonderful spring break I took. I needed the break from school and did not even pick up my study I guide that whole week. from back spring got looking at it again. I started focusing on the math part of the test because I have not taken a math test since high school and had forgotten a lot of the simple rules. For example, I could not even remember how to find the perimeter or area of a triangle. I know, pathetic right? Every day last week I studied practice tests and different books that people had. I was getting so confused on what I needed to do that I am convinced that it did me more harm than good. I had so many different equations and story problems running through my head that I could not focus on just one problem. Friday finally came, and I felt prepared for the test. I got to the testing center, enrolled in the test, and sat down at the computer. I was there for the next four hours, racking my brain for answers to different vocabulary and math questions. Some of the words they used would have confused most of the English teachers I have had throughout my education. The math questions were not at all like the questions I studied for in the practice tests, and I just kept confusing myself. As you might have guessed by now, I did not do so great on the test. I was happy that it was over but depressed that I would have to have those scores sent to the schools I am trying to get into. I have never done well with standardized tests. I took the ACT three times before my mom was satisfied with my score (to find out I got a full tuition scholarship to Dixie because of my GPA; they did not even look at my ACT score). It is also interesting that once you are accepted into a school or program, you dont ever have to refer back to the test you took to get in. It does not matter anymore. I think that I will do well in graduate school, not because of a test that took once, but because of my thirst for knowledge and ability to make decisions and complete my assignments. I do not think that a test score I gives a good enough rep- resentation of who am I and what I can accomplish in graduate school. So as I prepare take the test again, I will be more diligent in my study of the material, I will give myself some more time to take it, and I will do better. I will conform to the rules of graduate school, and I will become a number someone will look at to judge if I am a good student because I guess that is what it is all about, right? Oh wait. I thought it was about my ability to learn and succeed in the classroom and the world, and that is something you cannot see based on a standardized test. 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