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Show -- 4- DIXIE SUN FEBRUar? WEDNESDAY, r Go to dixiesunlink. C0) for statistics on the top 10 states with the highest number of suicides. - The Skewed Review sees flaw in suicide studvr BY MATTY JACOBSON Opinion Editor rate purpose ofThe Skewed Review, as anyone whos a fan of7 been offended by this column knows, is to be silly and but with entertaining ously hilarious was one speculated reason as to why Utah has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. The article cited research that suggests Utahs high elevation is a factor, and n cities have more access to guns and less access to medical prolower-elevatio- I have to in order nobody of: i read a Feb. 19 Salt Lake Tribune article by Julia Lyon titled Utah has I one of the highest suicide rates in nation, and my first thought was, Duh. But then I delved into the article itself, and what I read made my blood boil. Youll have to check out the article yourself, but in If that were the case, then Any person who takes his life should be considered statistically significant. One person is too many. But the part I found most infuriating and simultane- The purpose. However, today go to a dark place to tackle a subject should make light suicide. of your population. fessionals. The article also pointed out that more than half of those who committed suicide were diagnosed with a mental illness. Well its a good thing Im not climbing Mount Everest any time soon because Im clinically depressed, and God knows the elevation there would drive me to suicide. I guess someone it state authorities are quoted as saying a rise in Utahs suicide rate was statistically significant. I dont care if your suicide rate grows at the same had better keep an eye on me though since I five at a lower elevation. Apparently my increased access to weapons and decreased access to psychological help makes me susceptible BY TAYLOR GRIN News Editor I set out in my research of the recent sur- rounding the posthumous baptism by Mormons of Jews with an earnest desire to see this as anything but utterly ridiculous. I have failed in this endeavor. for believers appease relatives of the dead and will have no other effect. Mormons, if youre right, then as your church dictates, when the second coming of Jesus happens, youll be handling all of the leftover names of people whove disappeared from the historical record anyway. Add the Jews to that list. Problem solved. Are you concerned that youll be reincarnated as a cricket for not abstainSome background: In ing from enough worldly 2010, the Jewish commuexcess? Do you fret over nity lambasted the Church not praying to Mecca sevof Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y eral times per day? What Saints for performabout all the souls trapped ing an ordinance on their at the banks of the river dead ancestors. This was Hades because no one put supposed to be a proxy coins on their eyes to pay baptism into the Mormon Charon the oarsman? church a sacred ritual to I want to call this the Mormons and one sup- phenomenon spiritual posedly only performed hypochondria: the fear that on relatives of the person something you dont even performing the rite in the believe in can affect your first place. eternal soul. Elie Wiesel, a holocaust Mormons, look, I was survivor and renowned raised among you. You can author, scolded Mitt Rom- do better than this. If your ney on the practice, calling belief system accounts for on him as a prominent the baptismal work you member of the LDS church cant do now, then chill out to prevent the baptisms and do it during the second from going on. Wiesels coming. Youve got the own name showed up on e reputation as the the LDS records as ready neighbors. Dont ruin that. for posthumous Jews: Seriously? You baptism, despite being unqualified have the reputation as the for the role. most reasonable of modern Jewish families feel if religions. Im sure it feels their ancestors died for like someone is walking their religion, then its over your fathers graves, to be converted but if your religion is right, to another the Mormons rite is harmposthumously. Mormons feel they want less. to give the Jews a choice If either of you actually in converting to what believe in an they believe is the true religion, deity, then Im pretty sure and the Jews hes supposedly smart enough to work have the ability to opt out. it out. What I dont understand Figure this out quickly is how anyone could because to everyone else it possibly see this as a big deal. looks like a couple of chil- Jews, if youre right, it dren arguing over whose doesnt matter in the least. imaginary friend can beat The Mormon ritual will the other up. too-nic- I to see what the suicide rate is in Tibet, as well as in Death Valley. Pun intended. In my heart Id like to think Lyon included that in the article to make the point of how ridiculous it was, but there was no mention of the most obvious reason a person would commit suicide in Utah: the atrociously high standards eveiyone is supposed to live up to here. Weve had articles on suicide before, and weve spoken to students and professionals on how to spot signs of a suicidal person. But today you get the story right from the horses mouth. Elevation? I say, Nay. I have personally tried to commit suicide four times. Rest assured, elevation had nothing to do with it. I have the perfect family. My parents worked hard to provide me with a life of comfort, and my siblings are happily married and have children. Everything about my family screams success. Well, everything except me, of course. to suicide. Religions rites don t infringe Id hate around happen to have three bags full of wool here. Yes, that was a black sheep reference. My younger brother went on an LDS mission and married a lovely young woman. My younger sister was set to go on a mission, but then met a worthy young man fresh off his mission. So of course, they wed. And I, well, I am gay. Oh yeah, and I was a drug I isnt a life worth living. So my question is, wheres the study on people who commit suicide because their culture drives them to it? And are the people in the culture remorseful because of it? Today, Im a little better adjusted. Yes, Im on some serious antidepressants, and of course I think about suicide every other day. But I cant help but wonder how many other people feel exactly the same way I do that nobody is telling them to commit suicide, but they feel its the inevitable and actually take option that final step. addict. I was bullied in junior high and, contrary to popular belief, it didnt make me stronger. It made me weaker. When the offer of drugs came along, I hopped on that wagon faster than you can say, What does this pill do? Heres a suggestion to everyone: If you find you dont agree with someones beliefs or lifestyle, why dont you take some My family never shunned me, thank God. The perfection I spoke of earlier was exercised every day with acceptance from my parents and siblings. But, even though there was no animosity on their part, I couldnt help but feel my life was pretty much a waste in comparison. Every time I tried to time and reinforce yours by being the best person you can be? Id go as far as to say its your duty to go out of your way to make others feel that, just because theyre different, theyre still precious. And for those of you who are like me and wake up kill myself, my reasoning was that a life that doesnt mirror the success of those . every morning and have . I ending it, I have a You get the rest ofyo living the way God you. You get to h remind yourself that, despue the culture around you, you are not just somecookie cutter veisionofapffi(i If God meant for all of us to live the exact same way, then he would j hae made us all the exact sam height, color and shape 4 would have made it so all of us were bom With the exact same privileges. He would have created eveij person to think exactly ft; same and to have the e same talents. He would have created us like insect, there would be no sexual attraction or love. There would only be reproduce and work. There would no art. There would be music. There would be be no no joy. So dont let the dictate whether live. culture or not you Dont let a society murder you. My door is always open for anyone who wants to talk. Drop me a line, OK1 Mattytheskewedreview com. Gooder writing makes students sound most smartest, get bestest jobs around BY APRIL JACKSON can be a signal of unclear thinking. Nobody wants to be As an thought of as an unclear English thinker, but the truth is when youre unable major, its comto adequately express mon for yourself in writing, then to people youre far more likely to ask me give that impression. what in Poor writing skills can the world ruin a job applicants I plan to do with my chances of even getting degree. an interview. According After all, its not as if to the same report issued the president will be callby the National Coming me to analyze some mission on Writing, 80 Ernest Hemingway for percent of the companies him. But, he might just in the service, finance, hire me one day because insurance and real estate Ive become competent world assess writing durin one area: communicating hiring. ing effectively via the OK, well, maybe an written word. applicant can find a good Now, I can hear the proofreader and survive protests from afar from the hiring process. But people who have no once that applicant is interest in majoring in hired, he or she will have English, and they conseto write reports, memos, quently think knowing emails, letters, grants and how to write well is of presentations. Its a safe lesser significance to bet to say the higher-up- s StaffWriter are wrong. Learning every piece of writing to write is an essential with the company logo tool in todays world, on it to be no matter what career and grammatically corsomebody is choosing to rect. pursue. And its not only stuFace it, your writing dents with futures in the abilities will often be business world who have seen as an indication of to learn to write clearly your intelligence. In a and concisely either. world where we comIf youre going to be a municate mainly via teacher, youll be writing technology like email, notes and syllabuses that your writing might be the will go home to parents basis of someones first who will want to be impression of you. assured their childrens A respondent in the teacher knows what he National Commission or she is doing. Poor on Writings report on writing will not reassure writing in the business those parents. world, published in Students going into September of 2004, said: accounting will end up My view is that good detailed and writing writing is a sign of good complicated reports thinking. Writing that is dealing with custompersuasive, logical and ers money and financial orderly is impressive, practices. Those customWriting thats not careful ers wont be amused well-writt- en when the accountants poor writing affects their tax returns. Now, its important to note that few of us will become masters of the English language. Im certainly no Ernest Hemingway or William Shakespeare. However, we can all be competent communicators, and we can all stand to improve. One big way to improve your writing is to learn the rules of grammar. I promise grammar is not as scary as your middle school English teachers made it sound. Just learning where commas go or what a subject and a verb are will make your writing more organized and clear. Dixie State Colleges Writing Center does workshops every week designed to teach students these basic grammar rules. The Writing Center So next time ything Another way to improve your writing is reading about how to write well. I recommend William Zinssers On Writing Well, which not only goes through the different genres of writing, but also teaches readers how to eliminate wordiness and develop their own personal style. And remember the best advice for every writer every level: write well, you must read well. Reading anything from a beautiful poem to a book will help you instinctually recognize and remember the elements of good non-ficti- well-writt- en from an response to a an- informal formal paper, then use it as an opportunity to hone tb: writing skills so youcai amaze others with your brilliance. DIXIE SUN Richard Briggs, Editor Thf Taylor Grin, News Editor Edits' Shelby Misrasi. Spoils ege Editor Ashley Putnam, A dt E leam iMcKoye Mecham, LtfeshksU EM' "ith Matty Jacobson, Opinion Bryan Uhn, Online Editor Chris Caldwell, Photo Edno' is cor Rliett Sullivan, Cop i Editor Eu lAlyssa Grossen, Multimedia 1 Taylor Forbes, Ad limagtr schoc The tc 7 Jessica Baird from Robby Briggs Alissa Curio Matt Granato itself is a great fesource for struggling writers. The tutors are paid to help you learn the writing process and develop the skills needed to write well. youre required to write y,bi afterr April Jackson Amanda Jacobs books Gregory Layton Abne Lunt Christina Osborn Kenc Scegmiller hut nc arke day re Todd Tischler Its bok a Rlnannon Bent, Adits DIXIE doesn SUN 'Vere .the tn HOW TO REACH Dixie State College Jenmnes LiuS East 225 South 700 F7() St Georae LT Phone $5)652-- 7 Fax (435)6564019 IS eve Same peltoi "as i, tlmat( short. dixiesundiieedu com wwu dixiesunlink The ma Reds ThcD,x,cSun.SdS.nbu.c ' n Fall a Wednesday during semesters as a publication Slalc College thecomnu and Dixie S' department The Student Actmtics ed.tor.al on the opinion ol sPots. pelt( - represents the posit us editor Sun as determined by board Otherwise, in opinions expressed (i are those of the indivi re and do not necessarily or Dixie Sun opinions of of the college die' t'vo di 'Ho; cmm from I ost c fthe 9? jt 4 the H th, todr0r |
