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Show o MONDAY 3/28 NION PAGE 5 Daily Utah Chronicle ' & i : y $ " " X - ^ M t C H R O N I C L E ' S VIEW : v - ,.- Insurance requirement ^impractical for most; Ihe U administration is , contemplating requiring health insurance for every student on campus. Wisely, President Michael Young is waiting for student response before acting on anything. Part of the problem is students aren't saying anything. Some . have chalked that up to apa- ' • <• . thy, and others say it's because students simply don't want the requirement. , ; :.,; While it looks good in theory— students should have tKe security of knowing that if they end u p with an illness or a serious injury, they won't end upv. :.•• bankrupt—the requirement is out-of-reach of many students. •..Many students struggle t o . ]pay for tuition, let alone health insurance. According to John •* Poelman, student government vice president-elect, h e pays $120 a month for insurance. Many students would have to choose paying for rent or insurance if this cost maintained itself after the requirement. Members of the Student Health Advisory Committee say that the cost will go down if thousands of students join the program provided by the U through a third-party company, but this raises the question of the conflict-of-interest which the W\L Ttt£ flEEB»t U m a y enter into. Since when is the U, a public institution, allowed the privilege of dictating its insurance coverage to students? This responsibility seems t o fall outside of the purview of academia. T h e U's interest should b e about the students. While the argument exists that the U should look out for students as a whole—mind, body and soul—the latter two simply shouldn't be mandated ~-,;v--.r school-wide. "'-""^ •' i To boot, the U shouldn't be.the ' one to push a specific insurance provider—especially one which i currently doubles premiums . fo * : compared to local and national v r ^ providers. • ; -'-•;• '-'i While SHAC members are ';;,:." pushing for health-insurance "'' requirements, they need to take a " step back and look at the prac- •= • • ticality of implementing this for the student body. :;•••;' ': If the U truly cares about maK- r ing sure students have health " - -. • 4 * insurance, groups like ASUU -I should help students search out cheap coverage, just as it helped students do their taxes for free. With state-of-the-art healthcare facilities on campus, the U should be able to provide service to students without making them break the bank. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Dally Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, religion, creed, gender, age, appearance or sexual orientation will • be edited or will not be published, ^ ' • t f e i ' y ^ ' " " - . - ' - -S :"'>:.'• ;v - ^ r ^ ^ - ^ f o ^ b ^ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Congrats LGBT on a job well done LGBT should arouse public awareness Editor, In the article "Posters around campus arouse questions from students," the question was raised of why the LGBT community feels the need to "flaunt" what they are as opposed to "just be you, who you are." When who you are fits neatly inside the parameters of what mainstream society has proscribed as "normal/' it's easy to "just be you." When who you are falls somewhere outside thesebbundaries, just being you becomes a little more troublesome and often dangerous. From my perspective, the reason the LGBT community has opted for the tactic of public consciousnessraising is because society has not been content to just let these people be who they are. Mainstream society is always shocked, offended and confused by public outcries for recognition and justice on the part of sexually, racially, economically and socially disenfranchised groups. This bewilderment is a luxury for those who never had the unfortunate experience of prejudice leveled against them. For those who have had prejudices leveled against them, it is perfectly obvious why greater social attention needs to be drawn to issues of intolerance and'diversity." * ""'"" "^ "'' s ^ ~" If the "abnormal" are continually dismissed with admonitions to "just be yourself," there will never be a chance for the social dialogue that is needed to expand the category of 'normal' to every human being so that everyone truly can be themselves without fear. Colyn Kilmer Junior, Communication Editor, Bravo, LGBT. Most of the "LGBT is real" posters hanging in the OSH building are now gone as students and even professors are tearing them down in record numbers. For the most part the only posters that are still up have been vandalized, some more than once. While I am not pleased to see what is written on the signs, however I am pleased to see that they are still up. I commend the LGBT Resource Center for making the decision to leave the vandalized posters where they are. Signs marked with phrases like "bestiality is real" and "just because its real doesn't make it right" will remain in the OSH building. I think that by leaving the posters up, the resource center has proven they are really only in this campaign for a positive result. They aren't getting flustered or backing down, they're taking the vandalism in stride and using it to fuel their cause. The whole purpose of "Operation Visibility" was to spark discussion— and the vandalized posters are proof of its success. While I would rather " none of the signs be taken down I am glad that these ones in particular are still up. Congratulations LGBT, on a job well done! Bonnie Owens Sophomore, Undeclared The battle for baseball's soul The game is slowly regaining the integrity lost to steroid allegations M ajor League Baseball looks more like a greed machine gone wrong, and less like America's favorite pastime. Following a joyous day gorging myself on wonderful college basketball, my enthusiasm was quickly curbed by the baseball steroids hearings. Mark McGwire breaking down into near-tears while dodging questions, union leader Donald Fehr pretending to forget tough questions and Commissioner Bud Selig looking as inept and useless as ever. Talk about a downer. All the same, the publicity-seeking Government Reform Committee's normal topics are normally so painfully boring that this four-hour foulball fest felt like an adrenaline rush in comparison. I'm normally a baseball apologist. Sure it's not as "exciting" as some other sports, but it's the purest of sport. Like high-altitude Rocky Mountain spring water, it doesn't get better. I even gave Barry Bonds the benefit of the doubt, having argued he was the greatest player ever. Sadly, I no longer state this in good conscience. Professional baseball is in need of some major soul-searching. Not just the players who juiced themselves, but everybody from the owners to the fans. When looking at who may be guilty of crimes committed, it's wise to ask who profited. In baseball, it was everyone. The owners benefited when attendance and viewership rose from Judd Nlelson Columnist the half-empty stadiums and player strikes of a decade ago. The newfound popularity gave the owners more money. Players broke records, found fame easier and thus received higher salaries. Fans were treated to home-run derbies bringing back the excitement of the 1961 Roger Maris-Mickey Mantle chase to beat Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record. Everybody got something out of it, everybody was happy, and nobody asked questions. Now everybody is accountable. America needs to make a choice. Baseball can just adapt itself to the ever-increasing world of instant gratification through rampant and approved drug use. Or, it can return to the meticulous, often plodding game where hallowed records are rarely broken (making them something to really strive for) and players seemed more human. Humanity is what has always made baseball great, after all. It is a physically demanding and rewarding game, but there's something beautiful about the fact that a fat slob like David Wells can excel. Thus baseball is more an "every- man's game." Like life, nothing in baseball is guaranteed. Teams may go for long periods of time having suffered disappointment and loss. Then when the stars are seemingly aligned, what was before impossible becomes a reality. Miracles can happen. Last season was a season of destiny for the Boston Red Sox amid rampant steroid allegations. Major League Baseball succumbed to the dark side of capitalism. Just as recent corporate scandals haven't killed my faith in the free market, it is also true that steroids won't kill my faith in baseball. Sure, there won't be a home-run chase every season, but there will be honor and integrity. letters@chronicle.utah.edu Easter is about life and death Terri Schiavo's mother was right to end thefightfor her daughter T erri Schiavo's parents finally called it quits this weekend. Their final legal appeal to reinsert the feeding tube into the now famous woman in a persistent vegetative state was denied. Terri's mother, Mary Schindler, told all of their supporters keeping vigil outside of the hospice where Terri lay dying to go home and spend Easter with their families. It is an incredibly sad ending for everyone aware of the controversy over this end-of-life decision. Supporters of the Schindler family are sad the legal system allowed a man to kill his wife by starvation. Those who agree with the courts that Terri's husband, Michael, has the legal right to make the end-of-life decision for his wife (myself included) are sad Terri was subjected to a media circus and not allowed to die with dignity. Yesterday could not have been a pleasant holiday for either the Schindlers or Michael Schiavo. The former has lost a child and the latter has had his dirty laundry aired by the national media for trying to legalize a death he believes occurred 15 years ago. I doubt Mary Schindler watched small children hunt for eggs or ate a large ham dinner yesterday. I imagine it was one of the worst days of her life. Ironically, Easter Sunday was a remarkably appropriate day to end her fight to save Terri's life. Easter is the day when many Americans celebrate rebirth and new beginnings. It is also a day when many espouse a belief that death is not truly the end of a life, that the dead will someday rise and inhabit physical bodies once again. Regardless of how one observes the Easter holiday (if at all), it still commemorates indisputably beautiful ideas about life and death. Anciently, Easter was a celebration of fertility. According to religioustolerance.org, it was the Andrew Kirk Opinion Editor name of a goddess of fertility as well as the name for the spring season. Symbols of spring and fertility, such as eggs, rabbits and flowers are still symbols of the holiday. The end of Terri's life is also a new beginning for her family. They can now prepare for a funeral and mourn in a healthy way that will begin the healing process. The last week-and-a-half (and 15 years before then) have been a long winter for the Schindlers. Just as new life emerges from eggs and seeds, a new life for the family is now possible. As a Christian holiday, Easter commemorates the believed resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Resurrection is an amazing and beautiful religious concept. Nothing in the natural world suggests that a complete rise from death is possible. It is anticipated with blind faith, yet it is a faith that has persisted for thousands of years. Long before Christianity, the author of the Book of Job in the Old Testament wrote, "And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God." (Job 19:16) Belief in resurrection consoles the soul over lost loved ones and the inescapable future we all face. There is so much hope expressed in the New Testament verse, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55) Another beautiful aspect of the belief is that resurrection is for everyone. Every religion promises a wonderful afterlife for the righteous, but wars have been fought over who can be called righteous. Many non-believers are turned off from religion because of how exclusive the notion of heaven seems. Many of the bullies for God outside Schiavo's hospice do not believe the judges who refused to save Terri will see heaven. But resurrection is infinitely inclusive. Supposedly, every living being will resurrect regardless of race, class, age, religion, creed, philosophy, political affiliation or gender orientation. It is an incredibly virtuous and charitable hope. Belief in resurrection can be a profound comfort to those with heavy hearts over Terri's fate. Referring to death, another New Testament verse consoles, "It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is. raised in power." (iCorinthians 15:43) Let the Schindlers and all their supporters look forward with hope for Terri's glory and power. tetters@chronicle.utah.edu |