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Show OPINION Monday, October 9,2006 Page 6 THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW ' -." -; Upset students get administration to change its direction T he U administration's abrupt change of heart toward the diversity department is evidence of the power of students and public perception. Talk of moving the diversity scholarships to another department and hiring . a new diversity vice president prompted U students to vocalize their fears for the program's stability. Just weeks later, having thought better of the proposed actions, the administration decided to-nix l - that plan of action and to instead redirect ' more money toward the diversity depart. ment. The department can now finally hire additional staff and advisors that they feel have been necessary for ages. And the kicker is, they wouldn't have done any of it if nobody had said a word. . The administration would have gotten rid of the diversity department scholarships without even submitting a press release to inform students. The U makes decisions on issues such as this all the time in hopes that we will overlook them and blindly trust the U's intentions. When , we don't follow its mandates like lambs to the slaughter, its positions are often quick e to change. The diversity department's stated goal is to help first-generation college students and students from ethnic minorities, a goal which is obviously very important to the U's image. Look at the U's various brochures and pamphlets—you are likely to find just about every type of student represented. The U benefits immensely from appearing to accept and embrace all types ofstudents, although it would be nice if admin- istrators would show it in their actions -- before those students forced them to. Just like every bottom line-oriented business on planet earth, the U seeks to mask similarly harmful measures all the time. It's in its nature. It is the duty of U students to ensure that administrators do not violate their powers by obfuscating the truth on vital issues. In this case, the student voice accomplished that goal. Diversity department associate vice president Karen Dace said, "(The U) isn't just talking, it's actually doing the walking now." Nobody had to tell these students to do anything. It's just something they cared enough to try to make a difference. And they did. •. Unsigned editorials reflect the 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. dailyutahchronicle.com. Letters that the editor deemS best represent those received will be printed in the newspaper as well as online. KURT FR ANCOM/ The Daily Utah Chronicle Fight the devil! Or not hould the Amish males have tried tofightthe Pennsylvania shooter before he killed their sisters and friends? The community is pacifist, so the males did notfighton principle. Had they broken principle they might have only increased the death toll. But should they have tried? We are frequently confronted with stories of people in difficult circumstances who choose to eitherfightto prevent evil or refrain fromfightingto prevent evil. I propose that we promote a type of society and world that shuns evil beforefightingbecomes necessary. In thefilm"Kingdom of Heaven," Orlando Bloom's character is offered the crown of Jerusalem to preserve peace in Palestine. In order to take it, he has to allow soldiers to kill the rightful heir to the crown.- He refuses the proposal on the grounds that killing is evil. He is confronted with the question, "Is not committing a little evil right to prevent great evil?" As a result of his decision, he leaves Jerusalem with a clean soul, but thousands die gruesome deaths because he would not consent to the death of an evil man. A new biography of Chairman Mao, founder of communist China, points out that from the very beginning of his career, leaders of the Chinese Communist S ANDREW KIRK Party despised Mao. He was hated and feared for encouraging torture and executions but never removed from the party or leadership. It appears that his rival for "evilest man to ever live," Joseph Stalin, liked Mao and encouraged party leaders to give him power. The author points out several situations in the 1930s in which earnest revolutionaries could have killed or arrested Mao. But lacking his lust for power and blood, they left him alone. Shouldn't someone have put a knife in his heart? The Book ofMormon contains several similar scenarios for readers to ponder. In the first few chapters a righteous man believes God tells him to cut off the head of a wicked man for the benefit of his posterity. Halfway through the book, however, a repentant people submit to being slaughtered by an attacking army because they refuse to kill. In the second story, the conviction of the martyrs inspired people who would fight to come to their aid. For these people, refusing tofightwas not at all the same thing as surrendering to evil. The modern examples of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. have allowed us to see that this strategy works'. But for that strategy to work, society must unite in support of good. There's another story in The Book ofMormon of a controversial preacher whose followers stir up conflict. During one of his traveling ministries he visits the descendants of the martyrs mentioned above and they arrest and expel him from then* land. As a society they re. fused to tolerate the evil they believed he brought with him. Our best means of preventing evils like the shooting in Pennsylvania is through our government. During election time it is easy for our society to disagree about the definition of evil. Some say it is to allow pornography; others say it is to limit free speech. But instinctively all human beings can agree on some evils: hurting the poor, weak and young; greed; violence; etc. Everyone should remember his or her duty to shun evil up front so we are never faced with the kind of decision Orlando Bloom's character had to make. And if we do disagree about what is evil, hearty debate never hurt anyone. letters@chronicle.utah.edu Manifest destiny on a greyhound bus F or Fall Break I had planned to reverse the steps taken by Lewis and Clark in their ;pursuit of manifest destiny and travel east from Salt Lake City to see America's capital, seeing and experiencing America along the way. Everything started picturesque and according to plan, but eight miles shy of the Nebraska border the car overheated. The engine cap was blown and my ambitious goal of seeing America met an untimely end. • But one Greyhound ticket later, a 10-hour bus ride from Denver to •Salt Lake City exposed a side of American life that—unless we ate exposed to it daily—often slips into the backs of our minds. A bus terminal is a world unto itself, with announcements and S signs in all languages. Some signs remind children that their parents' drug abuse and alcoholism isn't the child's fault, and others remind women that rape is a crime and should never go unreported— all report messages you wish were never necessary to begin with. After purchasing my ticket, the cashier questioned her counterpart on how to dial 911. "You hafta' hit nine first to get out, nun." No, I wasn't the one being reported. The cashier wanted to call the police department because a mother of three was concerned for the safety of her sons. Apparently her ex-boyfriend from Tennessee had followed them to Denver. The police never did show up, but I noticed the mother ushering her children into a cab before I CLAYTON NORLEN boarded the bus. While standing in line, I had the pleasure of discussing a gentleman's plans to move to San Francisco from Nashville in hopes that the weather would help his health and that the police would be more understanding. He was bi-polar and didn't have the money or health insurance to buy his medication. He was in his manic stage and hadn't slept in two days, but it was OK because he said the sleepless nights allow him get more practice on his keyboard. He had grand plans of being in a Christian rock group even though he was Jewish. He figured his religion didn't matter because the music doesn't care what he believes. On the bus I had the pleasure of sitting in front of a soldier from New York just back from Iraq. He had been shot in the foot while serving and was traveling to Salt Lake's Veteran Affairs hospital to get a skin graft. He had served three times in Iraq and was planning to serve a fourth, depending on how his foot healed. When I asked him why he would want to return when he didn't have to, he said, "I don't want to talk politics with ya, but it is chaos over there, it is so cor- rupt..." He trailed off at the end and I left it at that. We all are guilty of surrounding ourselves with those who live like we do, who see the world like us and face the same struggles. This is especially true in Utah. Circumstances forced me to mingle with a group of individuals whom I never would have met under normal circumstances. I grew as a person on my 10- . hour bus ride from Denver to Salt Lake City. These three people I talked with are only three Americans among the millions who claim this nation as their own. I urge all U students to step away from the norm from time to time and learn about a life you never knew was lived. letters@ chronicle.utah.edu |