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Show ™ SUMMER UTAH CHRONICLE C•PINION www.dailyutahchronicle.com Page 5 Monday, June 6, 2005 Complaining isn't proactive Editor: I must write in protest to Beverly Nelson's letter to the editor ("Greeks are a menace, Chronicle doesn't care," June 3)Nelson doesn't seem to understand that it is not her neighborhood that we as greeks are intruding into—she is referring to a neighborhood in which we all live collectively. Nelson's letter suggests that we greeks are entirely selfish, and that we believe that only our welfare deserves consideration. On the contrary, Nelson, and all non-greek members of the neighborhood, we understand that you have concerns and your opinions should be valued. Apparently we are not alone, as both the university and city government have taken steps for all parties' concerns to be heard and properly addressed in a manner fitting the circumstances. If you'd prefer a more personal discussion, I'm sure representatives from every greek house would be more than happy to meet with you to discuss any trepidation you may feel. In fact, I'll buy lunch. In her letter, Nelson failed to address many facts about living in our neighborhood. Specifically, she failed to discuss the nature of zoning in our city. Most of the greek houses on Greek Row have been standing since well before Ms. Nelson was born and even before much of the campus was constructed. Greek-letter houses, by law, are restricted to our neighborhood and have been for quite some time. As a result of the zoning, property values in this neighborhood have decreased—giving families that otherwise could not afford to live in the area the opportunity to move in. . Perhaps it is time to stop feeling disenfranchised by the community, the university, the city and, apparently, The Daily Utah Chronicle, Instead, why don't we focus on proactive and reasonable solutions to our problems? Kim Bowman Jr. Junior, Gender Studies Sigma Chi Historian Neighbors, greeks must cooperate .THE-CHRONICLE'S VIEW Prepare for more bookstore fees I f preposterous prices for text- : , books, electronics and other ' ' merchandise weren't enough, now there's another reason for struggling college students to look past the University Bookstore when preparing for school or purchasing various goods. Unfortunately for the bookstore—a member of the National Association of College Stores (NACS)—a looming increase in credit card interchange fees is not under its control. The Federal Reserve has imposed fee hikes from the top down, on to the NACS and, in turn, on to the U Bookstore. Credit card companies require interchange fees from stores that allow customers to pay by credit. Some stores make enough revenue to pay these fees themselves, without passing the extra cost down to the consumer. Other stores need to pass the fee onto customers who use credit cards. U Bookstore representatives have spoken out against the raise, saying they don't support charging students more money. However, little has been said to the NACS on behalf of the students most counted prices. Those companies will affected by the raise. The only effort reap the benefits of the recent credit being made to support student consumers is to make the bookstore debit card interchange fee hikes. Competition has become stiff for card-friendly, thereby offering stuthe University Bookstore, especially dents a payment method with lower in the past year with the opening of an fees, which—in addition to cash and alternative shop just across the street checks—will provide students with from campus. An ultimate increase in one method to beat the lofty credit prices, no matter who is to blame, will interchange fees. In this case, it's not only U students certainly harm the bookstore's business along with its reputation in the or the U Bookstore falling victim to eyes of struggling college students. extra fees. This time everyone is a victim of the necessary evil imposed In the face of increased competifrom bureaucracies above. tion, the bookstore was able to do well for itself, thanks to a stellar year from The majority of students pay for . the U's football team and a subsetheir purchases at the bookstore by quent dramatic hike in sales of Ute credit card, meaning the Federal Reserve, NACS and the U Bookstore will merchandise. If the bookstore really feels for U deal a blow to most U students' pocketbooks, which are already thinned by students, it should continue being a team player and support its consumtuition and fee hikes. ers by kicking back some of its surUnfortunately for the bookstore, prisingly high revenue from last year students have a way out. and appease its bureaucratic superiors It doesn't take years of college on its own. courses with pricey textbooks for U Otherwise, U students should be students to learn they have alternative companies such as Beat the Bookstore warned of the fee hikes and consider paying with cash or check to bypass and Internet sellers through which the additional fees that came into play they can purchase new or used books on April I. and various other products at dis- Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily 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, appearance or sexual orientation will be edited or will not be published. Editor: Beverly Nelson's letter to the editor ("Greeks are a menace, Chronicle doesn't care," June 3), clearly illustrates her frustration with greek members, and rightfully so. It is atrocious to think that anyone would block the driveway of a neighbor and not give it a second thought. I am thankful that her grandson is OK, as I am sure all greek members are. Fraternities and sororities have an obligation to be good neighbors. All greek members need to remind themselves that Nelson's views are in the minority. Greeks clean up the neighborhood annually. They raise thousands of dollars and volunteer hundreds of hours to local.charities. They pay for snow removal and even additional police patrols. Vandalism is a horrible crime, and it is a shame that any Greek Row resident has had their personal property damaged. However, it is too ' easy to make fraternities the whipping boy of neighborhood crimes. If one suspects a motive behind a crime, one shouldcontact the authorities. They can take steps to help ensure • • that it doesn't happen again.Whether it belonged to a-" • greek or not, Nelson should •have had the blocking vehicle' ticketed and towed. • -•'•" By doing so, the owner of • • • the car could have been con--' tacted and verified by the po-"! lice. By allowing the owner.to leave, she leaves the identity ' of the owner up to specula-1 tion, prejudice and possibly • > • unfair assumptions. -> Just as greeks have an oblir gation to be good neighbors,1 ..so do the neighbors of greeks: • They should meet together1 '• to discuss problems ratio- « -.. • nally, with specific, verifiable examples. Only by working together ' ' can residents of Butler Avenue find a solution based in rationality. Roth LaFleur Pi Kappa Alpha Ahtnuius On the third day, God created the Remington bolt-action rifle Science and theology shouldn't mix O nce a friend told me that dinosaurs never walked on this planet. "You see," this person explained, "when God created the world, he just placed the dinosaur bones there." At the time, I laughed. This semester, however, I am taking an anthropology class, and the first thing this class highlighted to me was the delicate balance science has with theology. Across the country, the battle between intelligent design and evolution is playing itself out. A school district in Pennsylvania recently mandated that students be taught intelligent design, a theory stating that the universe is so complex that it must have-been created by a higher power of some kind. In Alabama, school districts are fighting to put warning labels in textbooks, telling students that evolution is only a theory. Science and religion are two very different subjects. Science is something tangible. It is something you can see, hold and experiment with. You can test your hypotheses. You can come up with verifiable findings. Scientists may not have found the perfect 6 to 10 million-year-old link to human evolution, but they have been able to prove beyond any doubt that species evolve over time. Religion is also very important, but the test for religion is faith. In today's society, you can't prove that L.J. Lither Moses or Jesus ever lived. The test is the faith that individuals have about these figures and Biblical references to them. Similarly, you cannot create a scientific experiment to prove that intelligent design exists. The intelligent design argument is similar to the argument that the pyramids were built by aliens. Since we don't know how the Egyptians could have built the pyramids, it is possible that they had help from extra-terrestrials. At this time, alien construction of the pyramids is neither testable nor provable. This kind of argument is easily dismissed since most people don't believe in aliens. But if you bring up God's plan, you have an issue of contention between two disparate ideologies. Do I believe in God? Yes, for reasons I won't go into here. Do I believe in intelligent design? I'm not really sure. I would love to study it—in a theology class. Do I believe in evolution? Yes, be : • cause it has been tested and proven through the Scientific Method to be the best theory yet. Having respect for the beliefs of others is important, but when people go to school, they are there to learn. To teach creationism under the pretense of intelligent design is just another way to introduce religious ideas into public schools. It is important that schools teach science where science applies, and not delve into other areas. When they teach math, I hope they teach that two plus two equals four. letters@chronicleMtah.edu Harassing decent people for the good of America Operation Exposure planners should protest Legislature, not banks O n June 17, Operation Exposure will be in full force at the Wells Fargo and Zions Bank on Highland Drive in Holladay. What is Operation Exposure, you might ask? Well, this question brings us to an odd little group called the Utah Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. This group has recently returned from traveling to the Mexican border to harass illegal aliens. The Minutemen have decided that even though Utah doesn't border Mexico, they could bother people here in new and exciting ways. Thus, Operation Exposure was born. The Minutemen are planning to protest banks that accept alternative forms of identification. This practice, they believe, only promotes to illegal immigration. Many banks accept forms of identification that don't necessarily prove citizenship to open an account. For example, people in Utah can get a driving privilege card from the DMV. This card gives the holder the right to drive without requiring a Social Security number. This card can also serve as proof of identification. Other banks allow the use of identification offered by the Mexican Consulate. It is for this apparently un-American practice that the Minutemen are going to protest the banks in Holladay. Perhaps someone ought to tell the Nick Macey Minutemen that banks are in the business of making money. They collect it, they store it and they dish it out. While having positive identification is somewhat necessary in their business, it is not critical. Swiss banks have been getting by without it for years, often without a clue about the real identities of some of their customers. It is in the banks' best interest to attract customers—citizens or not. By taking these alternative forms of identification, they are not hurting anyone. They are just providing a service to their customers. There is a better way to fight illegal immigration, if that's what the Minutemen feel needs to be done. Protesting is a useful tool when directed at the right people. Perhaps lawmakers need to hear the voices of the Utah Minutemen. Operation Exposure, however, is just going to harass decent people for no good reason. If the banks stop accepting these alternative forms of identification, it will just encourage illegal immigrants to get fake identification. This sort of protest doesn't deter anyone from coming to the U.S. or encourage immigrants to return to their native country. It doesn't matter where you stand on illegal immigration. This is about something bigger. Obscure protests of business practices should not be supported by anyone, whether immigration reform is necessary or not. People obsessed with preventing illegal immigrants from living their lives need to focus on changing policy at the governmental level.. . They shouldn't harass businesses that are playing fair. ,' letters@ chronicle.utah.edu |