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Show ™ DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE O PINION www.dailyutahchronicle.com Friday, March 3, 2006 Props to the pianists also had this experience and were Editor: annoyed by the interruption of Today I was walking past the Union Ballroom and was pleased to their "quiet study time." I would be listening to someone playing the remind these individuals that, more often than not, I have found piano. I have witnessed this phenomenon several times in my three ' my solitude disrupted by others' years at the U, and it makes my day cell phone conversations or noisy reunions with high school friends. evarjttime. While I in no way feel that ei; -Th&nk you to all you talented ther is an invasion that should be musicians who have been inspired stopped, I must admit that I prefer atronertime or another to sit and the piano. Please, continuel play-a-while to the delight of othBecca Wehunt ers. T-T Junior, Biology/Math '. Perhaps some readers may have Affirmative action is racist the color of a person's skin. It is Editor: pure, 100 percent racism. Richards ', In response to Jay Richards' defends his ignorant remarks by fallacious arguments ("Improve telling us the sad story of slavery, educational opportunities for all and how even today, blacks are tb-promote equality: We need to poorer than whites. expand, not contract, affirmative Well, Oprah Winfrey isn't poorer aSti&nV' Feb. 28), it amazes me than mel And she was never a tfraTRichards could use the terms slave! You cannot use poverty to "equality" and "affirmative action" justify affirmative action because in the same sentence. They are affirmative action does not take exact opposites! into account the amount of money Martin Luther King Jr. famously a person has. dreamt of the day when his If Oprah and I were applying djildr&n would be judged not by to the same school, she would the color of their skin, but by the automatically have an advantage content of their character. You over me because of the color of liberals heard his speech, and her skin—something that neither you thought to yourself, "That's ' of us can control, and something right! We should judge people for which neither of us should be solely by the color of their skin punished. Now, if she were also gay, without taking any other facts into then I wouldn't have a chance! consideration!" Kellen Wilson No! That is not what he said! The Junior, problem with affirmative action is Finance and Spanish that the only factor it considers is Paper towels are too wasteful Editor: Props to Erik Ratcliflfe yesterday for voicing his well-merited questions about the paper towel dispensers ("Bring back cloth towel dispensers!" March 2). What exactly is the motive there? I recently went on a tour of the landfill and was really appalled by the amount of paper trash that was there. In this day and age of being environmentally conscious, why would anyone choose to go from a reusable resource to a non-reusable one? Our society is bad enough at recycling. If it's a sanitation thing with the cloth, I'm sure the person taking all those bags of wet paper off to the Dumpster everyday won't exactly feel finger-licking clean doing it—not to mention that this is • creating a great place for bugs and bacteria to flourish. And if using paper is an image thing, the university should know that the popular thing to do isn't always the wisest. I'm very surprised the university has made, this decision. Bring back the cloth. Suzy Mill ward Sophomore, Health Promotion Constitution guides counterterrorism efforts Editor: I am writing to clarify what may be a slight misimpression resulting from the headline of an article reporting my remarks at a recent Hinckley Institute Forum ("Counterterrorism leader: Constitution prevents crackdown on terror," Feb. 28). In my remarks, I intended to convey the impression that federal prosecutors are bound by the Constitution and that we would have it no other way. In applying the criminal justice system to OPINION POLL YES prevent terrorism, we must operate within the confines of our legal tradition, a system we take an oath to uphold. It was an honor to be asked to appear before the several student audiences during my trip to Salt Lake City. The U is a remarkable institution, and its community should be proud that it has such a commitment to public affairs. JeffBreinholt Deputy Chief Counterterrorism Section U.S. Department of Justice Should the U adopt a mandatory hard-waiver health insurance plan? THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW Don't misuse the MUSS USS sign-ups begin tonight at 9 p.m.— and if you're wondering why you've seen almost no advertising, you aren't M alone. Organizers have put a banner up at the Alumni House and have been handing out fliers on campus. Obviously, this sort of advertising was not effective at spreading the word among all T students on campus. ; ,; This passive and haphazard advertising scheme, however, was offset by the fact that 6- organizers visited the houses on Greek Row ^personally and told members of fraternities and sororities how they could sign up to get the best seats in the MUSS. Organizers say they also have plans to visit other student groups. This is problematic, since seat priority is decided by sign-up order. If MUSS registration isn't equally advertised to all students, whether it was done intentionally or as the result of laziness, it obviously offers preferential treatment to certain student groups. By not actively advertising, MUSS organizers are essentially guaranteeing that the best seats go to those who they deem to be in the know. ; How hard would it have been to send out an e-mail to all U students, informing them of when MUSS sign-ups begin? Last year, the MUSS exceeded its allotted number of seats, which meant that many stu- ; ,. dents who wanted to sign up for the MUSS. •' r: were turned away. As long as the MUSS wants to remain a club that is theoretically open to all students, it needs to make an effort to include all students; By advertising so selectively, it's as though organizers are setting up the MUSS to be an exclusive student group from the get-go. . The only time the MUSS should be exclusive is when it is excluding those who do not attend the U—which is another problem with MUSS. . policy that needs to be addressed. Every student who signs up for the MUSS can also sign up for three guest passes. These guest passes can be given to anyone, regardless of whether or not they go to. the U—and with the' "Holy War" being hosted in Salt Lajce City this year, it is not unforeseeable that many Cougar fans will be trying to worm their way into the MUSS. This practice of allowing non-students; '.: in the MUSS is unacceptable, especially when student were turned away from signing up last year when MUSS membership exceeded the allotted number of seats. ••*;'-' ;•.:; Many recent graduates or friends of current U students may be upset if they are not allowed to sit in the MUSS—but if organizers want to , claim that MUSS stands for "Mighty Utah Student Section," membership needs to be limited to those who attend the U. > r ; .^ ^ > ' ; \---.~. The only exception that should ever be made would be to allow a married student purchase one pass1 for his or her spouse. .;. Otherwise, the MUSS could potentially be overwhelmingly made up of non-students, which defeats its stated purpose. If alumni, parents, local residents or students - of other schools want to attend U football games, they should buy a regular ticket or guest pass and sit in regular stadium seating.vl • •' ; : -: The phenomenal success of the MUSS should -= not be overshadowed by elitism in its membership. If the football fan club is going to be ' J viewed as legitimate, it should be equally open to all U students—and only U students. ; :. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editoria^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. All letters to the editor will now be published online at www.dailyutahchronicle.com. Letters that the editor deems best represent those received will be printed in the newspaper as well as online. • . ;• ; , r ... - -Vtr: •.. •'* \.. ; -;• - : . '1 . . Kief Tony Poulson 29% 144 vote: 71°/ 354 votes NO The online poll i j not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those Internet iners who have cbmen lo participate. The results cannot be assumed to represent the oplnons of Internet users in general, nw the public as a whole. Jfie many faces offiotox Scantron Kurt Francom I KTo IT. Jo^T* -. -A \ |
