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Show 4 Thursday April 10, 2014 OPINION www.dailyutahchronicle.corn Utah Leg. Universities take advantage of student-athletes could use No workman's comp. At least I have time for homework, now. G ET women's leadership Soo r wti: Columnist u tah has been on the bottom rungs of the ladder when it comes to female participation in government for decades. The Democratic Party, though woefully small, has saved us some embarrassment from gender inequality by balancing their caucus, but now we are about to step down even further, particularly in the male-dominated Republican Party. Five female state legislators, three Democrat and two Republican, have decided to turn in their law-writing pens and move on to other things in their lives. Utah is ranked 45 out of so states for women working in governmental legislative positions, according to Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics. The five states ranked below us are Wyoming, Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Louisiana, in that order. These states are all majority Caucasian, Christian, conservative states, just like Utah. Now, with State Sen. Patricia Jones (D-Salt Lake City), Utah's first female Speaker of the House Rebecca Lockhart (D-Provo), House Minority Leader Jennifer Seelig (D-Salt Lake City) and State Reps Janice Fisher (D-West Valley City) and Ronda Menlove (RGarland) leaving the legislature, we could sink further in the list. About half of Utah's population is female, yet there are only 17 women in the 104-person Utah State Legislature. I do not know Jones, S Lockhart or Menlove personally, and I am certain they are all fine, outstanding professional women who will be sorely missed. But I did know Seelig and Fisher briefly. In the mid '9os, when Jennifer Seelig was working for the Salt Lake City Mayor's office, I was a street cop for Salt Lake City. Our occasional visits over lunch were most memorable because when Seelig wanted something done, it was done, and it was done correctly. And there was always something that needed to be done. She was the strongest, smartest woman I knew, and she could put fear in any man who dared cross her path of ambition to further women's rights. I can't imagine how anyone could possibly take her place. During the 2009 general session, I worked in a Hinckley Institute of politics internship with the state House of Representatives. It was a fantastic and eye-opening experience. I worked for Fisher, and I have seen few people work as tirelessly as she did. She was patient, too — a trait practically impossible to find in any state legislature. Fisher is an expert in technical bill writing, and she championed laws that assisted the less fortunate — something not seen often enough in Utah state government. I don't think any other state official was ever seen running — literally between the two houses — to make certain her bills were passed. I call on all women in Utah to get involved in politics and run for office. We have the smarts and qualifications to do it. We must do it because it is disconcerting to fall this far behind in our dynamic and progressive democracy. letters@chronicle.utah.edu SALLY YOO/The Daily Utah Chronicle SAM KNUTH -&V Columnist photocopy of a 146-word essay, written with exceptionally poor grammar by a North Carolina University student, has been making the rounds of the Internet. The scandal? The essay has been marked with an A- grade. Outrage was sparked, whistle-blowers came forward and details were uncovered. Oh, yeah — I forgot to mention the essay was written by an athlete. This story has been unearthed during a time when the discussion about paying student-athletes is at a high point, when the debate occupies a lot of air time on sports A television stations and radio shows. Those in favor of compensating student-athletes say it is only fair that they be rewarded beyond simple recognition for their accomplishments and hard work. Currently, only universities, sports directors and the NCAA reap any benefit from the dedication the studentathletes put toward their respective sports. Of course, that is to say nothing of the scholarships they receive or the apparent leniency they're shown in the classroom. Those who oppose compensating student-athletes put a lot of emphasis on universities' ability to recruit. Opposition tends to stem from the fact that if universities paid their athletes, it would create an oligarchy in the sports world in which those with substantial financial means would dominate. However, this begs the question: What is the point of a university? Personally, I believe that far too much importance is placed on college sports. A university, as it stands, seems to be a sports training facility with a heavy financial arm masquerading as an institution of higher learning. As is obvious from the North Carolina case, as well as the fact that in the 2012 fiscal year the NCAA had an economic surplus of $71 million dollars, according to USA Today, fiscal concerns are paramount to universities. It further speaks volumes that the highest paid employee at our prestigious university is football coach Kyle Whittingham, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Any way you slice it, the organizations are making money hand over fist off of student-athletes, while often sacrificing their education in the process. Mary Willingham, the whistle-blower in the North Carolina University scandal, stated that near illiterate athletes were treated to courses specially designed for them to keep their eligibility. Either way, whether in terms of money or education, the student is being robbed. If student-athletes were employees of the school, they would be eligible for health insurance, something they desperately need in the sports world. They would also have more to show at the end of their college tenure than a trophy, some memories and a communications degree. And with the amount of money everyone seems to be making, it would definitely appear feasible. I'm not necessarily advocating outright employment of studentathletes. I'm rather making an attempt to stir the discussion of the purpose of the athletic programs, as well as question the reasoning behind not compensating them. There is so much money being made off the hard work of some of your classmates, so is it fair that they receive neither a benefit nor a decent education? The only people who seem to be benefiting in the situation is the institutions, not the players themselves. letters@chronicle.utah.edu Viewers should find enjoyment in experience, not the ending / JACKSON HANNON H `SPOILER ALERT: Columnist ow much a spoiler matters when it comes to the enjoyment and consumption of a hot new piece of entertainment seems to be the question of our day. Beware Reddit and the news, lest you hear who dies this week on HBO's "Game of Thrones." Spoiler alert: Everyone dies eventually. People's dedication to avoiding these details for fear of "spoiling" their enjoyment is insane. "How I Met Your Mother" makes spoilers the subject of an entire episode, with the gang attempting to avoid learning the outcome of the Super bowl. However, the end result of a story is not what creates our enjoyment. Instead, we find enjoyment in how we reach the end. The journey matters more than the destination. According to a 2011 study by Nicholas Christenfeld and Jonathan Leavitt at UC San Diego, those who hear the ending or plot twists of a story before personally experiencing it often find the story even more enjoyable. While this seems paradoxical, there is much to be said for forgetting the spoiler alerts and partaking of all news about upcoming pop culture and literature. Think back to how many times you or someone you know has read a favorite book or how many times LINDSAY SCHURING/The Daily Utah Chronicle you have watched a favorite movie. We love to dedicate ourselves to discovering each facet of the story and universe we find ourselves engrossed in. In many cases we know how a story will turn out long before it is ever released. When we watch a romantic comedy, we can almost guarantee that we know how it will end. The girl will find the guy, the guy will find the girl, they will find themselves — wash, rinse and repeat. Action movies often follow the cycle of Joseph Campbell's `monomyth,' which he presented in his work, The Hero With A Thousand Faces. That's not to say there is nothing original being produced now — far from it. Instead, we have a reason we do not need to be concerned about spoilers — we can already guess the endings of our stories. We live in a world inundated with tales, many of which follow the same style. Our pleasure comes less from learning the ending of a story and more from the twists and turns which the creators take to finally deliver us that expected ending. In 2013, the top grossing film worldwide was "Iron Man 3." Given that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is derived at least in part from the comics, the end result of the story was likely known to a large amount of the audience. The 70th-highest grossing film was "Monsters University." The end result was obvious as soon as the film was announced, yet it still made lots of money. And in many ways, it did so well because the audience already knew how it would end. We loved it because we wanted to see how those familiar characters, already beloved by the audience, would reach that end point we already knew. letters@chronicle.utah.edu |