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Show OPINION Wednesday, October 25,2006 Page 8 p^l [ ' ; THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW KUTE needs funding , KID, \'VEG,OT BETTER PLANS F0?-TH\S SOUP. SOME MOP.£ fter ASUU's efforts last week, KUTE student radio workers must feel as though they're tied to the tracks as a speeding train fd approaches. \? On Oct. 17, at the Associated Students of the Uni^ versity of Utah's Assembly Special Projects GomI* mittee, a joint bill was proposed to strike KUTE's •* yearly $15,000 allotment from the budget. But the money is guaranteed to KUTE by Redbook, the student constitution, and cutting its funding would likely require a constitutional amendment. The bill was promptly withdrawn after officials said they wanted to revise its wording and conduct, further research—which means it will likely be : proposed again.:,,. [•"•' &s Given the bill's support from Student Body PresiIffdent Jake Kirkham—and the tendency of this year's P representatives and senators to bolster executive: m efforts—-it seems likely that the amendment will • 7 fe.pass if it is proposed again before the upcoming . • ( Ifedeadlirie (Nov. 6 in the General Assembly, Nov. 9 ' i^in the Senate). ?fe The issue of halting KUTE's funding was raised last May, when the Board of Trustees advised ASUU to suspend its proceedings until a task force commissioned to analyze the U's student media provided its results. The findings are due this calv; endar year, but have not yet been made available. *? The bill's proponents are forging ahead anyway, •ffcbelieving that KUTE's coffers (a $20,000 reserve) -§• will keep it afloat for a year—after which they could revisit the situation. If they choose to revisit it, that is. KUTE maintains that the current $15,000 doesn't even cover operating costs and that it already dips into its reserves throughout the year. • Many of you might say, "What has KUTE done for me lately?" If s no secret.that the station has had trouble ^reaching a large audience on a relatively weak |v! signal. However, while it may be true that KUTE is •^disorganized and faces a number of problems, that fe situation isn't likely to improve if ASUU yanks a ;€, year's financial backing. 38k Regardless of KUTE's appeal to listeners, the ^•station presents an important educational oppor^fetunity for students on campus. There are only two 'M daily student media outlets on campus: The Daily | | Utah Chronicle and KUTE Radiov Students need ft these programs to enrich their collegiate experiS> ences in the same way that ASUU members use S their resources to learn about government, man® agement and business. ^"- At the very least, it seems safe to say that ASUU jj| is jumping the gun by pressing forward before ;$£ it even sees thetask force's recommendation. It y might have had the support of the Board of Trustees if it had waited, but now it seems that ASUU will call into question the stability of a vital student organization without any approval at all. ' ^.Unsigned editorials^reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah ^Chronicle Editorial Board. Signed editorials, editorial columns and j g letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum pf- 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, reli: gion, creetj, gender, appcarartce or sexual orientation will be edited or will not be published. All letters to the editor will now be published online at www.dailyutakchronicle.com. Letters that the editor deems . best represent those received will be prinled in the newspaper as well as online.' ; MMrAM... •a n JENNI ZALKIND/ Th* Daily Utah Chronicle R U LDS 2? The question everybody's secretly asking H ave you seen these bumper stickers? You can spot them on the backside of minivans, SUVs and even an occasional baby stroller. These people all want to know: "What is YOUR religion?" Despite the brazen tone and extreme cheesiness, these stickers provide a glimpse into human nature and Utah culture. People want to know your business. Or, to put more precisely, people want to know whether or not you are LDS. As of 2005, Utah's religious composition was estimated at 62 percent LDS and 38 percent non-LDS. At a more local level, 53 percent of Salt Lake County residents are LDS and 47 percent are not. Having a dominant religion is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does create some interesting tensions. One outcome of this situation is a game I'll call "Mormon or Non-Mormon." Nearly everyone plays it—regardless of religious background— and the purpose is to decipher the religion of a.teacher, co-worker, neighbor, fellow student or anyone else you may run across. I don't believe it's a game that is played with intent of malice or hurt, but more of curiosity. Unfortunately, that benign curiosity can lead to unintended consequences, such as exclusion and even discrimination of other people. • I don't know why we play this game. I only know that we do. MATT HOMER It's easy to figure out the religion of some people. Just think of CTR rings, cross necklaces, fish bumper stickers and even the head coverings that are worn by some religions. These individuals want others to know they belong to a particular group. Deciphering the religion of others requires a subtle game of observation and inquiry. Most people are not blatant enough to ask you directly about your religion, but will instead ask a series of (seemingly) clever questions. Here are a few examples: If you mention to someone that you speak a foreign language, he or she may follow up with a question like, "Where did you learn to speak that?" or "Have you spent much time outside of the country?" I have even overheard someone ask: "Have you spent two years living in a foreign country?" He probably thought his question was rather clever, but anybody familiar with this game knows that question is tantamount to asking, "Did you go on a mission?" Another subtle tactic is to look at dietary restrictions. Someone may ask you: "Do you want to go for a cup of coffee?" Although this is an invitation, it is also a litmus test. How you respond may induce the questioner into thinking he or she has figured you out. An additional ploy is tofindout a person's age. If a male student is older than 23 and isn't on a set career path yet, many will assume he is either incredibly indecisive or a returned missionary. Or what about this question: "So, what did you do after high school?" This is very clever because it's openended and basically requires the respondent to divulge whether he or she went on a mission. Two years is simply too long to ignore. There is also Mormon jargon to consider. If you hear some using words like "ward," "calling" or "quorum," you may be led to think that person is LDS. Why are we so obsessed with knowing whether or not someone else is LDS? Why do we even care? Like the Sneetches in Dr. Seuss' book, we seem divided without taking a look. Within us, without us, we're all the same; it's only religion that perpetuates the game. So instead of looking and snooping and asking about, let's remember what we're really about. letters@chronicle.utah.edu LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Give Whit a chance Editor: Tom Quinn's recent column saying that the football team has gone back to the McBride way of playing ("Mr. Hyde, I presume?," Oct. 19) is unfair to coach Whittingham. Yes, the team has been struggling, but that has nothing to do with coach Whittingham—it's his players. We don*t have Alex Smith anymore, and we don't have Urban Meyer, either—deal with that. Every coach is difFerent in the way he or she does things. Also, the recent editorial cartoons are not inspiring confidence, either. The most recent one (James Frost, Oct. 20) I would consider blasphemous, in a way. All I ask is that The Chronicle get off Kyle Whittingham's back. He is doing what he can and Urban Meyer picked him to coach the team. Remember that...Meyer wouldn't have picked Whittingham if he didn't have utmost confidence in him. Eric Green Sophomore, History Ute 'fans' should be ashamed . Editor: As a Ute fan, I am deeply saddened by the loss suffered at the hands of Wyoming last Saturday. I work with many people who either attended BYU or wished that they had. As such, I take a great deal of abuse at the hands of the Cougar fans when the Utes lose. Conversely, I am able to dish out the same kind of trash-talking when BYU loses (which, in recent years, has been quite a bit). During the rivalry talk, one of the things I hear from the BYU fans is how much the Ute supporters are bandwagon fans. This is one area where I have never been able to find a rebuttal. It is true. When the Ute foot- ball team was nationally ranked and knocking on the door of the Fiesta Bowl, everyone was wearing red. Games were packed and everyone was supportive. Now Ute fans are nowhere to be found. All we hear now is, "fire Ludwig," "fire Kyle" and "the sky is falling." Here at the U, we are great at supporting our teams through the good times, but we drop them when times get tough. If you are going to support Utah athletics, do so through thick and thin. The only thing worse than not having fans is having fans that aren't there when you need them the most. Chris Shirley Staff, University Hospital An amendment to Letz's fine feature Editor: I'd like to thank Danny Letz for his excellent profile ("Publication-house blues: U alumnus and author struggles to gain recognition in the cutthroat world of publishing, "Oct. 18), but I'd like to clarify a couple points. Where it speaks of my upcoming death, I'm misquoted. I never use "pass" for "die." I spoke the word "die" at the interview. My successes were possibly over-downplayed, since that was the theme— the difficulty of getting recognition. However, two important publications, meaningful to professional writers and to the departments of English and creative writing/were left out: Western Humanities Review and Weber Studies. Thanks again to Letz for his very fine work. Keith Moore 1 Alumnus Whittingham has got to go Editor: Kyle Whittingham needs to go. That's right—I said it. Having never missed a home game in my time as a student—and as a UFFC/MUSS member since its inception—I have earned the right to express my discontent. Though incompetent, Andy Ludwig and his needlessly complicated, excessively redundant offensive schemes are not our problem. The problem is simple: Coach Whittingham's excuses smell worse than the sour chocolate milk drenching my soggy cheerios. Whittingham has failed to engage the student body and surrounding community in the football program. My reservations concerning Whit were exacerbated . when, shortly after taking the helm, he deflated the newfound prominence of the Utah-BYU rivalry by refusing to call BYU the "team down south." Whit claimed it was "disrespectful." Memo to coach: Being "respectful" or polite is not mandatory in college football, nor is coordinator position patronage. I'll give credit where credit is due. Whittingham was an outstanding defensive coordinator.. He can undoubtedly be credited for much of our recent success. While nis success as a coordinator cannot be repudiated, he is clearly not head-coaching material. A successful head coach is a motivator, publicist and leader. Whit is none of these. Until Whittingham reaches out to the community, fans and students, U foottJall will have all the momentum of a Mark Folev presidential bid. Taylor Morgan Senior, Political Science |