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Show Page 7 Wednesday, October 4,2006 EDITORIAL Students shopd; use Fall Break to inwind y A s students progress vational factor for finishing toward the middle of one's course, work and exanother grueling secelling. But when the stress mester here ; becomes at the U, a i too much couple of : - and students don't at* things have steadily beLlNDSEY -realize it, come more ). they could ; prevalent : just be set-'1 on campus: •'• ting t h e m Frowns. ? selves up There are for failure many more of these as in their class work. homework and tests inThat is why students need tensify, leaving us stressed to allow themselves to take p and unable to muster the some time off, recuperate muscle strength to produce and just breathe. a grin. Fall Break is not a time Coffee. It's a permanent for homework, e-mailing attachment to the hands of teachers, research or even students who haven*t slept sharpening pencils. Save all a full night since the day that tedious stuff for Suntheir syllabi were passed day, because from Wednesto them. Here's the bad day night to Sunday mornnews—it's not going to slow ing, everyone needs to take some time to relax. £! down or get any better. If it's possible, leave the Basically, pursuing a college education is masochis- city and your course work behind, enjoy a new locatic in the sense that you're tion and pretend that you . putting yourself through F large amounts of stress at don't have the overwhelming burden of a research your own free will. Now, the good news—Fall paper due in two weeks. If you can't get out, there Break starts when classes are plenty of things to do end today, and every stu• -S dent at the-U should take here, like hiking, going to the football game, not full advantage of it. doing homework, movies, In May 2003, The Chrisnot reading textbooks and tian Science Monitor reported that, "Nationwide, spending some time with friends that you haven't one in 10 college students seen in a while. has been diagnosed with depression," and that "existWherever you end up this ing mental health issues, Fall Break, just make sure when combined with acathat the time is used for demic pressure, can under- you because, as students, mine a student's feelings of we have hundreds of school competence and peace-ofdays to dedicate to working, ,but vacation time is rare and needs to be appreciA little bit of stress can ated. sometimes be a good moti- 1 pi: w : • » M H if Unsigned editorials reflect ihe majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Signed editorials, 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.daUyutalichromcle.com. Letters that the.cdUor.dceros best represent those received will be printed in the newspaper as .well as online. HSIEN-JEN JOYCE WANG/ The Daily Utah Chronicle Band together Communication has the power to solve problems W hen I was 8 years old, I solved a problem by throwing a dirt clod into a peer's mouth before immediately realizing there was a more humane way to do things. In the time I've been around since, I've noticed the best way to solve a problem is through discourse. But in today's political climate, publicly proclaiming your political leanings may be enough to warrant tar-and- feathering in many places. So how are we supposed to discus the issues of the day when no one is willing to hear us out? Introducing OrangeBand—an initiative dedicated to promoting • respectful conversation. OrangeBand is a nonprofit organization that promotes exploration of the issues you deem important— whatever you deem important. Be it education, gay rights or global warming, no matter what stance, it is yours to discuss. OrangeBand is nonpartisan, but it encourages you to take a stance on issues and voice your opinions. Now, before you grab an OrangeBand and start screaming that your peers will burn in hell if they don't support you, I'd Behind closed doors Obey the unspoken laws, Part II Ihe other day, I made a quick stop in one of the restrooms in OSH, and like most guys, I.paused for a split-second to determine which of the 25 urinals I'd choose to do my business in. I was careful not to take one that is in direct view of the giant mirrors on the wall (why they're in that location, I'm still trying to figure out—however, if you are in direct view, it's an unspoken law violation), and I took a spot where I was sure I'd have sufficient personal area. A moment later some guy I didn't know entered the restroom and obviously didn't take that splitsecond to make his choice, as he pulled up right next to me in the adjacent urinal. : J was furiousl Rather than taking any of the other 24 choices, he invaded my once-comfortable space, instantly breaking the unspoken law of unnecessarily getting too close to another man while in a public restroom. He then took it another step when he tried to strike up some Smalltalk. ; He made me want to flee the scene as soon as I was able to, but once it starts going, you can't stop the flowing. \ A bathroom is supposed to be a place of refuge, not a place to socialize, especially with a stranger. Even if you see a good friend, anything more than a quick, cool •'man's nod of acknowledgement" is unacceptable. MATT . PATTON Why we act in certain ways in certain places, I don't know. I didn't come up with these unspoken laws; society did. I am simply putting them in print. Sadly, I am not a lone victim in this type of situation. Unspoken law violators are out there everywhere, and every day thousands of people must face undesirable circumstances just like mine. Take my friend for example. It was yet another quality day at the gym. He'd worked out hard, and it was time for him to hit the showers and get home to pursue the remainder of the day's events. He turned the corner and started making his way to his locker, when shockingly, much to his displeasure, he found that someone had broken an essential unspoken law. . Rather than complying with customary acts of courtesy, the person decided it would be all right for him to strut his stuff wherever he pleased wearing nothing but a smile. Now, the unspoken law states that when people need to change after working out at the gym, they simply face their locker and remain in that direction until properly clothed. Unfortunately, this guy didn't seem to understand this law, and now my poor friend will have to spend hours watching Jessica Alba movies so that he can rid himself of the awful imprint that has grabbed hold of his mind. And it could have all been avoided if people just opened their eyes to the unspoken laws. It's funny how many of these laws are actually out there. People seem to conform to certain laws of the universe, although they aren't actually stated anywhere. The car is another amusing place to watch people. There seems to be a law that states that people can't see you while you're in your car, so it's OK to dance, sing or pick your nose. It's like people think there is some invisible barrier blocking the view of passersby, so they can do things they wouldn't usually do in the eyes of the public. Plus, if three people are going to enter a vehicle, one passenger must take shotgun, because an unspoken law states that the driver cannot appear to be a chauffer (unlike picking your nose, this would be noticed) with two passengers in the back seat and no one up front. If you do this, you look like a loser. So, if you are one of these people who break these unspoken laws, just don't anymore. Why, you ask? I don't really know. That's just the way it is. letters@ chronicle.utah.edu CLAYTON NORLEN like to stress the most important attribute of OrangeBand: These conversations are meant to be constructive and create a better understanding of different viewpoints. Try listening and maybe you'll learn why someone believes something so strongly. You don't have to agree, just learn. Too often, we get caught up in the technicalities of an argument, be it religious predispositions, economic standing or ethnicity— we all approach each argument with predetermined viewpoints. OrangeBand offers us an opportunity to set our dispositions aside and learn why others feel the way they do. I wrote "federally funded stem cell research" on my OrangeBand. A religiously active friend asked why I was wearing such a politically charged statement on my sleeve, and I took the opportunity to explain the OrangeBand initiative and why I feel the way I did about stem cell research. It's so easy it is to incorporate OrangeBand into everyday life. My friend and I parted ways, still friends, but with a better understanding of why the other thinks the way he or she does. Maybe you believe more needs to be done concerning immigration reform, or perhaps you are furious about social security. Do you want our troops sent home today? Or do you think America needs tofinishthe job? Health care got you worried? Grab a band and let everyone know what you think and why you think it. Currently, the right and the left of the political spectrum have been pushed to such extremes that it is getting harder and harder tofindmiddle ground on which we can all stand united to resolve our society's ills. OrangeBand provides that common ground. For those of you who have registered with OrangeBand, check your e-mails for upcoming forums and speakers in the future. Let's give constructive conversation a try and see what we can learn. letters@ chronicle.utah.edu LETTER TO THE EDITOR Piper is puerile; Pulaski rocks! Editor: After reading Matthew Piper's latest "column" ("Where are all the happy holidays?" Oct. 2), here's a more grownup perspective on a few things. For my 11 years in an Illinois public-school system, I got one day off a year for Pulaski Day. No, Pulaski never visited Illinois—he died 39 years before Illinois even became a state. Several states have some form of Pulaski Day—including Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Kentucky. These are all states which received large numbers of Polish immigrants. For instance—Chicago is the largest Polish city outside of Poland, which would seem to have much to do with Pulaski Day being an Illinois state holiday. Is it observed ignorantly? Certainly not. We were taught in school that Pulaski played an important role in the revolu- tion (he is called "father of the American cavalry"). As far as Pioneer Day goes, I think most anybody with a reasonable view of history would call anyone who went across thousands of miles of wilderness in a covered wagon to try to make it in a virtually unsettled area a legitimate "pioneer"—their having been chased the whole way, notwithstanding. But having read your whole column, I'm not sure that it was anything other than an excuse to repeatedly make rather adolescent remarks about public sex. This kind of humor would go fairly well with the 12-yearolds I used to teach outside of Detroit, but at a university, I think I'm right to expect something a bit less puerile. Chris Schwartz The Chronicled Check us out online! • www.dailyutahchronicle.com\i Graduate Student, Meteorology |