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Show Thursday, September 4,2008 OPINION THE CHRONICLE' 1 ?VIEW" "'••••l"i"^'-: ' h i www.dailyutahchronicle.com r RedPages miss mark giant list with no details. • ; ? v • More disappointing is the \* apparent lack of effort put into the publication. E-mailing student groups during the summer when activity is low seems doomed to fail. Any member of student government could have guessed that months in advance. Most of the other information included in the planner feels like it was ripped directly from the U Web sites. There is nothing new or more helpful . than what is already available ; , • online. The layout also looks •;• -•-' like it was thrown together at the last minute. ^ ty$ Not a lot of time or effort %£v*$ was invested in the RedPages. ^.":V J Free planners are nice, but .:'\ they probably aren't worth the 760,000 pages of paper used to ; produce them. ;. RedPages might have been a higher aspiration than the party realized, but unattainable campaign promises should not be made. Hopefully future promises are honored with more zeal than the RedPages project has * been. - letters@chronicle.utah.edu L ast year, the Focus party swept student government elections. One of the campaign promises made to students was the compilation of a "RfidPages." The booklet was envisioned to be a sort of Yellow Pages for the U. It would include schedules, contact info for campus clubs, and more. Last week the project was handed out to students for free. • Unfortunately, the final produ c t doesn't quite live up to the promise. As far as free planners go, RedPages is pretty decent. But we can't help but feel disappointed when comparing the planner to the original vision. Aside from other shortcomings, the most glaring was the exclusion of contact information for registered student groups. Included is a list of the clubs, but no contact informa^tion is given- Student leaders *e-mailed campus groups over the summer requesting their contact information. The seven groups that replied are featured with numbers, e-mails, etc. The other 293 organizations that didn't respond were put on a 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.daily utahchronicle.com. Letters that the editor deems best represent those received will be printed in the newspaper. v '" . . •, Liquor laws save lives Utah shouldn't change restrictions I n July, the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Commission instructed staff members to draft sample legislation that would abolish state-mandated membership fees for drinking establishments and remove the wall partitions in restaurants that separate the bar from dining areas. Currently, locals and tourists must pay club membership fees to have a drink, and since tourism is big business for Utah, the state hospitality commission is pushing for looser laws. According to Alcohol Alert, a drunk-driving watchdog group, Utah trails the nation's alcohol-related fatality rate at .27, compared with .58 per hundred vehicle miles traveled. Although state laws seem stringent and odd to Utah tourists, overall they are keeping Utahns safer. This new push for looser laws seems to fall within the same vein of last month's media circus surrounding the Amethyst Initiative, which is supported by more than 100 university presidents seeking to reduce the legal drinking age from 21 to 18. Rather than fight the battle against underage drinking, these university presidents are giving ground because it's become too difficult for them to police their students. However, the battle is still worth fighting. The National Center for Statistics and Analysis estimates nearly 25,000 lives have been saved by minimum drinking age laws since 1975. According to a 2004 report from the Committee on Developing a Strategy to Reduce and Prevent Liz CARLSTON Underage Drinking, the cost of alcohol use by youth was $53 billion in 1996, including $19 billion from traffic crashes and $29 billion from violent crime. Although alcoholrelated youth motor vehicle fatalities have decreased substantially over the past decade or so, youth are still overrepresented in alcohol-related fatal crashes compared with the older population. The same report says new research on adolescent brain development suggests that early heavy alcohol use could also have negative effects on the actual physical development of brain structure. Youth with alcohol use disorders also performed worse on memory tests than nondrinkers, further suggesting that alcohol was affecting brain function. Alcohol use during adolescence may have other negative effects, including decreased ability in planning and executive functioning, memory, spatial operations and attention. Aside from the effect on students, should the drinking age be lowered? More concern should be given to what it is already doing to the general population. Utah should think twice about the benefits of the stringent liquor laws it enjoys before throwing them out. letters@ chronicle.utah.edu Become a news writer today. r.mcconkie@ chronicle, utah. edu WILLIS BRANHAM IThtDofytftohChtM Thou shalt not be in debt: Avoid payday loan stores T he Mafia was a great and respectable organization that loaned money to individuals at reasonable interest rates. That is true when you compare them to today's payday loan stores. According to a study released in February by U law Professor Christopher Peterson and Steven M. Graves, an associate geography professor at California State University Northridge, the Mafia charged an interest rate of about 250 percent while today, PDL stores charge an average of 450 percent interest. You would have to be a meth addict to get involved with something like that—or a Christian, apparently. According to the study, "Christian populations tend to host relatively greater numbers of payday loan locations per capita." This is especially true of Utah, which ranks ninth in the nation in terms of density of payday loan stores. This is consistent, considering the high population of Christians in Utah, including Evangelicals and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the LDS church make up 62.4 percent of the state, according to church records. Debt is a huge problem. One of the worst debts a person can.have is to a payday lender where there are additional risks. According to Graves and Peterson, "approximately 90 percent of payday lending industry revenue is based on fees stripped from trapped borrowers." When you get caught in the PDL trap it's very difficult to get out. Graves and Peterson's study gives ANDREW CENGIZ biblical evidence that usury is contrary to Christian beliefs; however, their study is silent on why so many Christians are going to these stores. An article in Christianity Today by Larry Eskridge suggests why so many Christians get into debt: "One's finances are a sure outside indicator of the faith commitment within." In the article, Eskridge interviews Christian Finance Planner Paul Swaes who said it's a common practice among Christians to buy nice cars, houses, etc., even if their income doesn't permit it. Christians are "great at creating illusions of wealth," he said. According to the Feb. 18, issue of Maclean's Magazine, the "total household debt in the United States stood at an all-time high of U.S. $13.6 trillion." We all need to start being smart with money. An interesting concept floating around is to stop buying things we can't afford. There are people all around us who have to have a certain house or a certain car, not because they can afford it, but because they simply want it. We live in a time when being in debt is acceptable. It shouldn't be. Make it a goal to buy everything with cash. With debit or credit cards it's too easy to lose track of how much mon- ey you have and overspend. It's OK to have nice things, but only when you can afford it. Have a budget and stick to it. Basic concepts of frugality can go a long way. Dave Ramsey is a talk show radio host who specializes in advising people on how to get out of debt. On his Web site he advises those who have payday loans to "sell everything in your house until you get those things paid...you have to do this very, very fast and get these bloodsucking parasite ticks out of your life." Also, you should get three extra jobs even if that means getting only four hours of sleep a night. Some might say these suggestions are extreme. They are, but sometimes it's necessary to take extreme measures to solve an extreme 450 percent interest rate problem. Whatever the reason, borrowing in America in general needs to stop. It's not just Christians. A lot of people are guilty, especially our government In the last decade the national debt has increased by $4 trillion because of unwise government spending. As of April, the national debt reached $9.5 trillion, according to the US. Treasury Department. We all need to take personal responsibility. It's our job to become financially stable and independent. In America we are free to follow our dreams. The only thing that can take our freedom today is debt. After all, according to Proverbs 22:7, "the rich ruleth over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender." letters@ chronicle.utah.edu Whether shy, busy, broke or self-absorbed, students should give time to people in need T here could be hundreds of reasons why a person chooses to volunteer. Tim Sullivan wrote an article in October 2005 for the World Volunteer Web called "Army of volunteers helps quake victims." He describes the efforts of local townspeople walking miles to Balakot, Pakistan after an earthquake destroyed the city. Thousands traveled down closed roads to offer help. They carried their tools: shovels, pickaxes, crowbars and anything else useful for sifting through piles of rubble. There were no thoughts of "why should I do this?" or "what is my motivation?"—only the knowledge that it needed to be done. Their natural instinct was to give their help, no matter how meager, and it overrode any thoughts of self-interest. These people were not banking on their efforts looking good on a resume, or being a requirement to get into an Ivy League college—they just felt compelled to help. The innate altruism of our country, however, is decreasing. A 2007 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms a four-year low in American volunteerism. A 2.6 percent decrease was reported, with 26.2 percent of the 2006 population having volunteered down from 28.8 percent in 2003. The number of college students who volunteer declined even more—34.1 percent in 2003 to a paltry 30.7 percent in 2007. Busy lifestyles, especially those of students, are filled with school, ALICIA WILLIAMS homework, jobs, families, church and extracurricular activities (sports, gym, nail and hair appointments, parties) and could play a huge part in why volunteer numbers are down. Another reason could be personal economic concerns. Then again, technology and the requirement of expertise in specific areas could prompt the inclination that someone better qualified will do it. More often than not, though, it's the complete self-absorption that blocks messages prompting the desire to help. The "me, me, me" syndrome consumes a person until no excuse is needed; it's a well-known fact that, "I'm too busy, too stupid, too fat, too shy, too young, too old, too poor. I couldn't help anyway." A child struggling to leam to read doesn't care if you're poor. The elderly lady who lives all alone or in a nursing home would never say, "You're not old enough to rub lotion on my hands and paint my nails." People in need don't judge. They are purely thankful. If you're new to the idea of service, the Bennion Community Service Center, located in the Union, offers 54 different student-directed programs. The center promotes community and civic engagement by connecting students with community partners. Freshmen at the U can apply for the Freshman Service Corps, which allows for reflection on the service you provide so that a deeper understanding and appreciation of the issues can be gained. "As you're thinking about yourself, your own college career and where you want to go in life, it's important to think about how you fit in with the rest of the world. Volunteering is how you figure that out," said Sabrina King, the Bennion Center's student president. "By getting out to volunteer even once a month to our Saturday service projects, you will be able to make connections between what you learn in the classroom with what is really going on in the real world." Volunteering doesn't have to be completed through a club, but if you need pre-organized events or want to meet other students and have fun while you're helping, it's a great way to get started. Students need to get involved because it's the right thing to do. The world would look so different if everyone exhibited compassion and dedication to ectriching the lives of each other because they knew in their hearts it's wh&t they are supposed to do. A 4 percent decrease two years in a row\just won't do. * letters@chronicle.utah.edv. |
