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Show 14 U TA MONDAY, JAN. 24,2005 T A T E S M A N Contact: 797-1762 editor@statesman.usu.edu Utah Statesman To laugh or not to laugh Staff Editor in Chief Emilie Holmes News Editor Katie Ashton Maybe it's caused by the frigid temperatures, maybe it's not seeing the sun or blue skies for days at a time, but we are all guilty of it. Laughing. Laughing at the expense of those who sacrifice themselves on the icy sidewalks and driveways so we can plan an alternate route to arrive to our destinations unscathed. It has happened to all of us: the unexpected fail while trying to make it to and from class. The sudden rush of adrenaline and bracHowever, there are those who merely watch the uncoordinated (or unfortunate), laugh and continue on with their lives, smiling at their own luck. There's no denying, when someone biffs it on the ice, it's the first thing you tell your roommates or whisper to a friend in class, always ending with, "I'm glad that wasn't me." Admittedly, it is funny - in a cynical way. To have our monotonous routines interrupted by the quick scream and thud of the person in front of us. Whether or not your cynicism comes from buried bitterness at those who have laughed at your own expense, i t . still draws a smile. Whether this is right or not, is debatable. However, the redeeming act can be found in helping those who have helped your day-offering assistance and asking if the person is OK. For the most part, people bravely walk off their falls and will laugh with you. However humorous this is, try and resist the temptations of stalking problematic areas such as Old Main hill and the sidewalks running north on 800 East to scope out those of us who unfortunately become better :acquati3ie£l-..w:itb^ [the sidewalk than we had wished. Assistant News Editor ' Brooke Nelson Features Editor Joel Featherstone Assistant Features Editor Steve Shinney Sports Editor Aaron Falk Assistant Sports Editor Andrea Edmunds World & Nation Editor Lindsay Kite Photo Editor John Zsiray Assistant Photo Editor Michael Sharp Letters to the Editor uphill task for the state of Utah. But, my friend is missing the point. It is not about the money, but it is about helping people in Editor, need. There are children This is in response to who are orphaned by the the letter, "Funas should calamity and might not go to S. Utah now." even have access to food, and clothes. (Letters, Jan. 21) The shelter author perhaps needs to Mothers who have lost have a reality check on the their children don't want two disasters that to give up their hopes occurred. To. this day, until they recover bodies more than 225,000 people of the children. have lost their lives in How often do you see Southeast Asia; the death different organizations at toll of 166,000 in Indonesia USU with diverse backitself. grounds working toward Like the author, I offer accomplishing a common my sincere condolences goal: A goal of raising to people who lost their $100,000 as a university lives in Southern Utah due and distributing it to to flooding on Santa Clara organizations chosen by River and the rebuilding the students belonging the worst-hit of the habitat must be an from Letter writer missed point nations. The money will be used to buy medical supplies, food and will also be mobilized for rebuilding costs. I don't think emotions come into effect only after witnessing the incident; it should rather be an empathy that we all as humans must have. My letter, by no means is meant to be provocative. Had there been some fundraising going on for Southern Utah calamity, my organization would certainly like to help. On behalf of all the organizations involved in this noble effort, I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone who have contributed and helped. Abinash Bhattach an Choosing boss for Conservatives hypocritical World Bank a major job for Bush when it comes to abortion The Bush administration has improved this nation's contribution to economic development in the poor world, launching a new Millennium Challenge Corp. to dispense aid in a more rational way and boosting global AIDS spending. But it faces a decision that could be as important as both of those initiatives. James D. Wolfensohn, the president of the World Bank, has announced his intention to step down. The White House must come up with a worthy successor. It matters who takes over the World Bank, because the institution is both powerful and fragile. It is powerful because it pumps out around $20 billion in commercial loans, subsidized credits and grants each year and because its 10,000strong staff represents the strongest concentration of development expertise anywhere. This combination of financial and technical muscle has given the bank a lead role in many ventures that affect American interests, from reconstruction Washington Post Guest Editorial W O R I D RANK See Rage 15 _ _ , Last spring, a group of anti-choice students strung sheets filled with painted red dots across USU campus in order to raise awareness about the number of abortions happening in the United States each year. Although these "shock and awe" tactics are new from the conservatives on campus. This was an obvious attempt to illicit a gut-level response in the form of a Kotex commercial gone wild. Since Roe v. Wade, conservatives have been framing the abortion debate very irresponsibly. The right's puditocracy and Republican members of Congress have been relentless in name-calling and labeling pro-choice individuals as irresponsible "baby- killers." It's shocking that the same right-wing president who is responsible for 152 executions while governor of Texas and the lives of nearly 2,000 U.S. soldiers has the audacity to call himself "pro-life." However, the conservative stance on abortion (much like their stance on everything else) is less about the betterment of society and more about being able to regulate and punish others. So many times I have discussed this issue with my right-wing peers, and they are all under the impression that birth and babies are "natural consequences," rather than a decision that should be made from the desire and ability to love and care for a child. This heartless ideal that women should be punished simply because they have sex is at the height of the right's chauvinism. No man or group of men should be able to tell a woman how she can make health decisions and invade on her privacy. Nobody should be able to tell a woman that she is being punished with pregnancy and motherhood. Also, no child should ever come into this world with the burden of being a woman's consequence. The anti-choice lobby wants to dictate a policy of punishment toward women who have sex. If they were truly concerned with the well being of the child they would want to do more in order to help women take care of them. Since the beginning of President The far left bank Cy Marfa Bush's reign, he has made massive cuts in spending for education and the Child Health Insurance Programs. For a party that professes to care so much about the rights of the unborn, its actions seem to say that once a baby is born they can stop caring. This Republican standard policy of "Love the fetus, punisn the child" is just exemplary of right-wing hypocrisy. The hypocritical right, if truly concerned with curbing abortion, should be doing everything in its power to stop the practice. This would include full disclosure and education of our youth about birth control and condoms. Because pre-marital and extra-marital sex is inevitable, prevention would be a logical solution. However, the same side of the aisle that advocates banning the practice of abortion is also the side that advocates abstinence-only birth control. The conservatives obviously don't want people to have access to means of prevention, because that would ultimately allow people to avoid the right-wing ideal of punishment, the "natural consequence." Conservatives will have you believe that that women who have abortions are plainly savage, selfish, ABORTION See P3ge 15 Editorial Board Emilie Holmes Katie Ashton Brooke Nelson John Zsiray Aaron Falk Michael Sharp About Letters • Letters should be limited to 350 words. • All letters may be shortened, edited or rejected for reasons of good taste, redundancy or volume of similar letters. • Letters must be topic oriented. They may not be directed toward individuals. Any letter directed to a specific individual may be edited or not printed. • No anonymous letters will be published. Writers must sign all letters and include a phone number or e-mail address as well as a student identification number. • Letters representing groups — or more than one individual — must have a singular representative clearly stated, with all necessary identification information. • Writers must wait 21 days before submitting successive letters — no exceptions. • Letters can be hand delivered or mailed to The Statesman in theTSC, Room 105, or can be emailed to editor@statesman.usu.edu or click on www.utahstatesman.com for more letter guidelines and a submission box. liiilisiiilhiiiaii.niiii Online Poll Will you be, or have you been, helping in anyway ,. with relief for tsunami vie- ; tims? • Yes, I plan to give money, (16%) • Yes, I have already given, money (42%) . • No, I am afraid my money won't get to where it needs to go. (9%) • No, I wish I could but I have no money. (26%) • Yes, I am giving blood and materials through an organization. (4%) j ! ; , '• • I need more information on how to do that. (4%) Visit us on the Web at www.utahstatesman.com to cast your vote and see results from past Utah Statesman online polls. Check out these links on www.utahstatesman.com • Local TV listings • Faculty evaluations • Comics • Activities and events • Classifieds |