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Show 4 OPINION Thursday, March 18, 2010 www.dailyutahchronicle.com Farmville found a lost geek! Smart voting can prevent Help it suck away your life T ales from the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" department: There are more than 85 million farms in the United States. So our ozone layer can breathe a sigh of relief, right? After all, that is up about 83 million from last year, a huge spike and great news for agricultural enthusiasts. Do I have your attention? I should, because that is the gap that exists between those who actually farm in the United States and those who create electronic worlds of nerd photosynthesis through the inexplicable Facebook pastime "Farmville," a game created by Zynga. So no, Farmville doesn't actually contribute to atmospheric well-being, but it definitely holds its own when it comes to the systematic destruction of a positive work ethic among an entire generation. I am usually not one to rag on fun, but when did nonsense like Farmville become fun? We used to tease people with imaginary friends—they used to get beaten up at lunch, thrown into therapy and because of that they were few and far between. We encourage that behavior now, and those kids have 83 million others telling them that they are cool too. Steve Urkel was more suave—and not even as Stefan—but it has become so common that I'm actually waiting for guys to start dropping Farmville pick-up lines. Just imagine: "Hey, I have 12 plots of land in Farmville, three of 'em plowed. Whatchu doing later?" Sounds awful. ing that 83 million people now spend "real-world money" on some super cool farms found exclusively on the computer screen. Farmville happens to be about as profitable for those participating in the mind-melting activity as the war on drugs is for the government. The estimated 2.2 million U.S. farms in 2009 contributed more than 72 percent of all jobs and expenditures in the agricultural system, according to the Senior, Mass Communication Zynga even defines the U.S. dollar for those on Farmville a bit too much as real-world money. Although the country slips further and further into economic disparity and unemployment rates climb, we can all take solace in know- See NELSON Page 5 WILLUS BRANHAM/The Daily Utah Chronicle POLL RESULTS Do you think minors who call for help in alcohol-related emergencies should receive full amnesty? No 27% c.) (30 Votes) Yes t.0 r... j 73% (80 Votes) EDVote online » dailyutahchronicle.com public scandals N o one in Utah wants a time GEORGE machine more than ARTISTAS Rep. Kevin Garn, RLayton, but the last place he wants to check is a hot tub. Senior, Mass Communication Garn resigned at the end of last week after the news came out that he skinny-dipped in a hot tub with a minor in 1985. He was 28, she was 15, and, allegedly, no sexual actions happened during the incident. Garn gave the woman, Cheryl Maher, $15o,000 of hush money in 2002 while he ascended in the House. Garn admitted he was at fault and said this in front of the entire House on March II: "Twenty-five years ago I made a mistake that has now come back to haunt me. I was 28 years old, and I foolishly went hot tubbing with a young woman nearly half my age. Although we did not have any sexual contact, it was still clearly inappropriate—and it was my fault." As big a faux pas as naked hot tubbing with a minor might seem like for anyone other than Akon, the larger issue is that we need to elect ethical figures. Why did it take a quarter century for this to surface? It's blatantly apparent that ethics have been thrown out the window under Utah government's umbrella. It's even more ironic that Garn served on the House Ethics Committee. All this does for Utah Republicans is give bad press, so why not sweep the dirt under the rug before anyone finds out? I don't condone the actual act. There's no doubt that what Garn did deserves a resignation. But what about the group officials that were aware of the events? Scandal and politics go together like Ann Coulter and crazy, and this event goes to show that we have to be reminded all too often. My generation was introduced to this during the Clinton administration and it is just being reinforced with John Edwards. As mundane as it seems for my generation to depict politicians in connection with high-market prostitutes, we should be looking to vote for individuals who make news on CNN rather than TMZ. Tomorrow, a medley of delegates will try to fill in for Garn's seat until next November's election. U students need to step up and pick someone who won't be asked to resign from our Legislature. No one is foolproof from scandal because of any kind of religious ties—take evangelist Ted Haggard for example—but this is something everyone knows. I guess what I'm saying is, the government should start using something called ethics and flush out these quartercentury-old scandals before now, and U students should take initiative and pick the right person. letters@ chronicle.utah.edu it D CAMPUS VOICES Full video interviews online » dailyutahchronicle.com Amanda Thurman Nick Bernard Elizabeth Lewis Garrett Bright Emily Dunn Senior, International Studies Senior, Political Science Senior, English and Art History Senior, Economics Sophomore, Political Science 1. What was your most difficult midterm? Probably linguistics. The reason was because I had never taken the class before and I started at a 3000 class. It's pretty hard. Actually I haven't had any of my midterms yet. I don't do midterms, I have papers. I have one that's do next week that I'm working on right now for my Queer Theory class. Intermediate Macroeconomics. Just because taking the derivatives of economic equations isn't always easy. Probably in The American Presidency. Instead of just being about the president, it's about how the presidency has evolved as an office. 2. Do you think affirmative action should be repealed? No, I don't think it should be repealed. Not everybody has been given an equal opportunity. So to help make it equal in the long run, you need to kind of bend the rules a little. I think that it needs to be based on economic need...it's ridiculous to base it on race, but it's also ridiculous to pretend as though some people don't need help getting to school. I do not think so. I think most importantly, because Utah struggles a lot including diversity in higher education or into really great public school systems. I haven't really thought much on it. No, it should not be repealed. That would just be embarrassing. All the things that everyone's worked for. It's not even a question for me. I thought that was ridiculous. 3.What does St. Patrick's Day celebrate? The saint of Ireland, supposedly, to take out the snakes of Ireland. But I think it was that he took out the pagans and brought in Catholicism. That would be the conversion of most of Ireland to Catholicism. Also, whisky and Guiness. Really, it is an excuse for anyone and everyone to get drunk out of their mind. It really celebrates the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. I don't know. Mostly, for me, I guess drinking. I honestly don't know. I know there was a Catholic St. Patrick in Ireland. It probably celebrates his life. 4. What team will win the NCAA Tournament? I actually don't even know who is in the NCAA Tournament. I don't even know who is in. No idea. Kansas, just because I have relatives who went to KU and I went to a few of their home games. So, got to cheer for the Rock Chalk J-Hawk. I picked Duke, because I love them. And I know they're probably overseeded, but they have probably the easiest bracket. 5.Did you vote in the ASUU elections? No, I didn't. Just because I only vote for big elections, I guess. But not school elections. I haven't yet, I'm going to go home and vote because someone gave me pizza. I'm quite disechanted by these ASUU elections. I did not vote, because I'm a senior and it doesn't really matter. I wouldn't have voted anyway because I feel a lot of student time and money is wasted. I did, and mostly just because I want to see the school go in the right direction. Yes, I voted in ASUU elections because It's important to vote in any election. But a school one might seem dumb, but it affects you more than some elections for other things. So yes, I voted. Everyone should. |