Show Sunday January 12 2003 A4 The Herald Journal Our view arrests a setback for USU j3 eing teammates means you slick together right? So Donta’ Candler and Jerome Dennis should have felt at least somewhat comforted when they were !in the Cache County Jail together 'Both of them were — at times — starters for the Utah State University ’football team this past season And while Candler has since been cut from the team for academic ineligi- bility their brushes with the law are certainly a disturbing development Candler has been charged with both felonies and misdemeanors for allegedly forging checks and marijuana Dennis pleaded to guilty receiving stolen property Too often we read accounts of college and professional athletes being charged with anything from petty shoplifting to murder Offense defense and pressure aren't just terms that apply to sports Many athletes know booking procedures just as well as a playbook When Mick Dennehy was brought in as head coach three years ago it was amid a rash of Aggie football players in trouble with local law enforcement Dennehy vowed to do something about it and he kept his word : I ! pos-'sessi- full-cou- ng rt Although maybe it’s time to look at a new game plan Dennehy and all collegiate sports programs might consider basing recruitment on more than just sheer athletic ability And while Leo Durocher said “Nice guys finish last” we’re pretty certain where most felons wind up Sports programs are important to universities They attract people to campus attention from the media and prestige if they are successful But universities also have the responsibility to their communities not to bring in students and players who might pose a threat to the very community which has supported them the most While coaches like Dennehy cannot control 100 or more players every day for four years they can control who they let through the door Athletics values things like physical strength and aggressiveness However society values those individuals who can keep strength and aggressiveness in check While we compliment the Aggies for their recent success in programs like basketball gymnastics and volleyball we are reminded that there is more to college athletics than what happens on the playing fieid Your view Farmer Bob spoiling our fun To the editor: America was built on the philosophy that the majority rules It is all too often these days that judicial power and local and national govern- -' ments make decisions in favor of the minority in the name of equality Stan Checketts' family fun park should not be added to the long list Thousands of people could benefit from the fun excitement and memories (not to mention revenue and jobs) generated at a family fun park How can we deny the people of this pleasure because Farmer Bob doesn’t want to hear people screaming with n joy? I understand it’s not a situation few situations are But the bottom line is the good of the majority should not be sacrificed for the good of the minority This valley has hoards of students and families searching for good clean and fun activities What more could we ask for? S&S Power is a unique part of our local community I am proud to tell my friends and family that the world's best roller coaster rides arc made right here in my hometown Logan Utah win-wi- Steve Ballard Logan Pledge an insult to true patriotism To the editor State Sen Chris Buttars may feel be is doing the right thing by proposing a bill that would mandate that secondary school students recite the Pledge of Allegiance in class every day He may feel that this simple act is an easy shortcut to patriotism He is mistaken The Founding Father would be aghast at the idea of what amounts to a loyalty oath being required by the government of its youngest citizens It was the intent of our Bill of Rights to protect us citizens from such government infringements on our liberty n) Such oaths are the stuff of totalitarian regimes Other nations will not be impressed by citizens of “the land of the free” being required to take a daily loyalty oath There is no research that shows that reciting the Pledge produces better citizens and much showing that it is poorly understood by students asked to recite it Stories of students’ humorous misinterpretations are commonplace If Sen Buttars feels that the Pledge says anything “definitively plainly and simply” he has never tried to teach it It is full of words and phrases that are difficult to understand: pledge allegiance indivisible “republic for which it stands” “nation under God” etc As a “national symbol” (Utah Core Curriculum) the Pledge of Allegiance should be part of a student's learning about our government and its principles But not a major part And only subsequent to real understanding of that government and those principles If the intent is to promote respect for those principles time devoted to the Pledge every day could better be spent on the practice of democratic principles: holding a class meeting discussing students’ responsibilities and rights as “citizens" of their classroom their school or their community reflecting on current events or designing their own “peace pledge” expressing their intent to respect one another and to cooperate to improve their society We require foreigners to recite an oath of allegiance as part of the naturalization process to become US citizens a process they as adults freely choose to undertake To require elementary schoolchildren (already the law) or secondary students (as proposed) to mindlessly recite some approximation of the Pledge of Allegiance is misguided To believe it will lead to patriotism is silly (and insulting to true patriotism) Conflicts with the First Amendment freedom of speech and religion clauses aside it is bad educational practice and bad democratic practice AlFbreyth River Heights Grandmothers won’t be sidelined ByArrin Brunson I low to drive a caregiver insane: repeat the following phrases persistently every 30 seconds for two to 14 days “There you are doing eveiything and I’m just sitting here not doing anything What can I do to help? I need to do something too you know I can do that There you are doing everything " ed Yes the grammies are back at my house for another visit and there’s a fierce competition going on between the sisters to see which one can outdo and outlast the other With 170 years of combined wisdom experience and sibling rivalry between the two of them as well as a proud history of managing their own families and homes spectacularly it’s impossible to convince either of these 80-somethings that the time has come for them to rest “All these years you've taken care of us" I tell them “Now it’s my turn to take care of you” “Hogwash!” they say “Give me that I can do it just as well as you” It’s no help that they can’t see anything and their mobility is so limited they can't even get to the bathroom without assistance One of them can’t hear much below a gong level and the other is slowly regaining her cognitive and language skills after a stroke — these two gals play a mean game of charades Still they’re an accident-waiting-to-happ- en in the kitchen In spite of any limitations though they both insist on participating in everything that's going on around them and I’m ashamed to admit that it’s driving me absolutely nuts When one Grammy scolded me and said she could carry her own wheelchair down a flight of stairs I was so tempted to let her do it And when the elder Gram offered to help her younger sib move from point A to point B by letting her lean on that arm on one level I thought it was a great idea Perhaps it would solve both of my problems when they fell on top of each other and landed themselves in the hospital with a couple more broken hips It’s ho easy task finding steady employment for these seniors Lately I've been working twice as hard as usual trying to keep the busy And when any tusk is completed I work 10 times harder cleaning up after them It would have been much easier to stuff the celery myself than it was to scrub cream chtrese filling off the dining room table chairs and floor wash their clothes and shoes as well as sponge bathe them both after the job was finished I'll probably buy new kitchen utensils and dishes before I find all of the items they've hidden away after drying them off And the greatgrandchildren are calmly wearing each other's clothes until we get the laundry situation sorted out The baby is a little confused because he scarcely walks away from a toy before one of the Grams nearly pulls a ligament rushing over to pick it off the floor They literally lay in wait for the little guy to put in down so they can race over to help “Just relax and enjoy their company” my husband advises me as he heads out to the garage to linker with anything he can find “Why don’t you come in and enjoy their company for a few hours while I go hide in the garage?” I beg him but it’s too late He’s already far enough away to pretend he can't hear hurt themselves and each other and to find positions they can play Meanwhile I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure out why anyone would want to work so hard when they don’t have to I can only imagine how nice it would be to sit back prop my feel up and have someone cook dinner for me for a change Perhaps their preoccupation with helping is all about being part of the team Remember grade school when the coach picked out a couple of captains and told them to divide the rest of us into two teams? That was a girls-at-hea- rt horrifying experience for just about everyone except the team captains I’d argue that this practice is barbaric but it's as giKkl a preparation for real life as anything they teach kids in school I guess The deal always was even if you didn't want to play the game you absolutely wanted to make the team And not one of us wanted the embarrassment of being picked last It's not enough to he a part of the team for these senior sisters though It's all about contributing to the team In this way I guess they're like all of us — no matter how young or old Uniting people for a common purpose is what makes teams dubs companies congregations and even families successful When they set the table sort silverware fold towels wipe the counters or proudly pay the SI 00 grocery tab with a crisp $5 bill they're contributing to something that is important and meaningful If only I could find ways to channel their eneigy so that it didn't suck the life out of me If their hands weren't so crippled with arthritis I'd be tempted to let them rub my shoulders for a while me These two ladies are still not ready to sit on the sidelines and clearly intend to play eveiy quarter of the game Like any good coach my job is to hold them back so they don’t Arrin Brunson is a Herald Journal education reporter Her column appears on the Opinion page every other Sunday She can be reached by at abrunsonhjnewscom ail Hoosier comment spurs Indiana wrath By Dave Barry Tribune Media Sendees B oy am I in trouble with the Hoosicrs “Hoosiers” of course is what people from Indiana proudly call themselves and for an excellent reason which I will explain shortly Unfortunately I managed to get a batch of Hoosiers very upset recently when I wrote a column about which is the stupidest state For the record I did NOT say dial Indiana is the stupidest state I believe that many states including mine are stupider than Indiana What I did say — and I now realize that I was wrong — was that “Hoosier’’ is a stupid nickname My argument was that nobody seemed to know what a “Hoosier” is so why would you go around calling yourself one? I stated that for all we know "Hoosier” could be a Native American word for “has sex with caribou” Many people wrote in to object strongly to that statement including one Hoosier who pointed out that — and it is hard to argue with this logic — “Indiana has no caribou” Several Native Americans were also quite upset so let me first apologize to them and state for the record tat “Hoosier” is NOT a Native American word for “has sex with caribou” I am sure there IS no Native American word for “has sex with caribou” at least not referring to residents of Indiana although I imagine there might be a Native American term to describe caribou having sex with other caribou and I think we can all agree that this is perfectly proper I also wish to apologize to the dozen or so readers who were upset about reading the term “sex with caribou" in a family newspaper I realize that in this column I have already used foe term “sex with cari-- 1 bou” a number of times but I frankly don’t know how else I can explain what I am apologizing for But you have my assurance that as long as I am in chaige of this column you will not see the tom “sex i with caribou” againSpeaking of having sex with caribou we turn now to the many irate Indiana residents who wrote to point out that I am a moron for stating that nobody knows what “Hoosier" means According to these people EVERYBODY in Indiana knows what “Hoosier” means and if I had just bothered to ask a Hoosier I could have had the simple well- known answer and would not have made such an idiot out of myself So to clear this issue up once and for all here according to the letters I received is what “Hoosier” means: “Hoosier” was the name of a contractor who worked on the Ohio River in the early 19th century “Hoosier” is a word meaning ’ “highlander” or “Hoosier” is a word referring to anything large of its kind “Hoosier” comes from when somebody would knock on a cabin door and Indiana people would say “Who’s there?" “Hoosier” comes from when Indiana people would stand on the riverbank and shout to people on “hill-dwelle- r” See BARRY on AU |