OCR Text |
Show 10 U T A FRIDAY, APRIL 22,2005 T A T E S M A N Contact: 797-1762 editor@statesman.usu.edu Utah Statesman Be safe and smart on roads Staff Editor in Chief Emilie Holmes News Editor Most of us have gotten used to, or at least have put up with, the feeling of damp clothes and cloudy skies. The idea of rain doesn't seem to matter that much. However, in light of recent events, we want to encourage students, faculty, staff and community members to travel safely while the rain persists. ' We understand the feeling of stress lurching up and tightening the chests of many students as finals approach and the end seems around the corner. Many of us seem to be movins Katie Ashton 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 ' more ,^.^ than need be, eating cereal 30 seconds quicker, mapping out the fastest routes to the computer labs and sneaking in showers at 2 a.m. to catch an extra five minutes of sleep. Although this recent crash in Sardine Canyon did not involve speeding, we want to take this time to stress the importance of caution, especially with what seems to be never-ending rain. We offer our condolences for those who have been impacted by this recent tragedy and sadly, this offers us a reminder of what a routine drive can turn in to. Most of us understand those moments where you forget to take all of the necessary precautions while driving. And at the risk of sounding like a high school driver's ed teacher/football coach, rain can drastically increase dangerous road conditions. As the rain builds on the roads and visibility decreases, driving familiar territory might not feel so familiar. So while we, USU students, face another semester's end and with the bittersweet victory of finals week around the bend, we ask students that in between studying and finals, to be safe on the road. We think we know the new pope - but still all bets are off The Orlando Sentinel The election of Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI was swift and stunning. Some Catholic observers who had hoped for the election of a pope from Latin America or Africa were dismayed to discover the cardinals had chosen yet another European pope, this one - unlike John Paul II an ultimate Vatican insider. Catholic liberals who had longed for the election of a theological moderate were also disappointed to learn that the new pope is a theological conservative. His previous job as Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith had been the enforcement of Catholic orthodoxy. No one knows for sure what was on the minds of the cardinals when they elected Ratzinger - and they are unlikely ever to tell us. Some things, however, seem clear. Above all, the cardinals opted for continuity. No one was closer to the late pope theologically than Ratzinger. One should therefore not look for a reversal of course on Catholic teaching concerning human sexuality or the ordination of women. David (J. Steinm POPF See Page 11 Photo Editor Thinking about the end / John Zsiray: Assistant Photo Editor Michael Sharp Editorial Board r Though it is a truism that we know that every breath could be our last; we could be instantly struck down by a meteor or a misguided act of Congress, there are only a couple times when I take the threat seriously. Those two times are takeoff and pre-op. Most of the airline disasters that come to mind have taken place right after takeoff. Don't let that seat-asflotation-device stuff fool you. You are not safe. You do not have a parachute and the chances of you landing in water on a trip from Salt Lake to St. Louis are about the same as a damaged 747 gliding to a safe landing like a seagull in a landfill. The biggest threat is when the thing is full of fuel, luggage, peanuts and passengers and you are crisscrossing the flight patterns of sleepy pilots and disgruntled flight controllers. The hospital is the worst since you are sitting there in this silly looking gown that Emilie Holmes Katie Ashton Brooke Nelson John Zsiray Aaron Falk Michael Sharp Slightly Off Center Dennis Hinkamp About Letters only ties up the back. If I could tie it up the back I wouldn't have been in for the surgery, but thafs another story. You have to wear this funky hair net and slippers with all sorts of tubes END OF TIMFS See Page 7 7 Letters to the Editor Thanks for A-Day help Editor, On behalf of myself and the Student Alumni Association, thank you for your involvement and participation in this years "A" week activities 2005. Thanks to you, we raised more than $3,600 to benefit the Red Cross. Your generosity will be felt as your contributions aid in assisting those in need throughout our community. We hope that you enjoyed the week of activities and look forward to next year's AWeek. Thanks for supporting movie night and comedy night. Our Fun Run was a great success all thanks to the student body. We hope graduating seniors had a great time at Senior Celebration and enjoy your well-deserved gifts. Lunch for the Bunch was awesome. Thank all of you who came out and participated in our service project and painted toys. We got a lot done and the kids around the world wmmmmmmmmm will love them! To top the week off, our Day on the Quad was one of the best in years. We hope you enjoyed all of the bands and entertainment. Overall, we hope you enjoyed yourselves and nad a great time because we sure did. Again, thank you for all your support and help. Thank you to all those clubs that helped out with planning the week and all of my volunteers who put in countless hours of time and energy to make this week happen. Thanks to you, we had a great week! It would never have happened if it wasn't for all my volunteers and helpers. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 1 know I have said it a lot, but thank you again and I hope to see you all out there next year for our A-Week activities. It is going to be awesome! You have a great week to look forward to. If you would like to be a member of the Student Alumni Association and help out with A-Week next year, go to our Web site ancf sign up. There are many benefits for you, along with all the friendships you will create and fun you will have. Thank you, again, USU's student body for a very successful AWeek 2005. Heck Yes! It was A-Day! Go Aggies! Meghan Johnson A-Day vice President, 2005 Hate was not needed in e-mail Editor, The recent ugly incident involving a libelous email distributed by a fellow Aggie about the alleged sexual orientation of an ASUSU candidate leaves me asking questions. Questions such as why did the Utah Statesman in its coverage of the controversy identify the victim but not the author of the e-mail? The Associated Press and KSL Radio had the sensitivity to not disclose the identity of the victim in their coverage. They did, however, identify the author, who in his public apology included the caveat, "As for everything else in the e-mail 1 stand by it." (MSNBC and the Herald journal identified both parties). I also question the methods of discipline considered by the university. The e-mail was an ugly, ugly incident an embarrassment for Utah State. However, the First Amendment protects the free speech rights of everyone including bigots and those considered politically incorrect. Currently, the university is considering punishing the author because he violated webmail use policy through political proselytizing. But that's not what he's really being punished for - he's being punished for expressing an intolerant ignorant hateful opinion. Political e-mails are sent all the time by the political clubs and even some of next year's ASUSU officers. If the university wants to punish the author for writing hate, they should use a rule that bans hate speech,'but they should not circumvent the First Amendment and use another rule to punish an act they don't agree with outside of the scope of the rule invoked. A public censure of the author is in order (including his name in the Statesman). Most importantly, let's address this ugly problem of hate. I oppose homosexual marriage and condoning that lifestyle. However, I do not understand why some think it necessary to include ignorance, hate, malice and bigotry in their opposition. Such* ugliness only serves to undermine and contradict the traditional values proponents claim to uphold. Most importantly it denies the love and respect that every human deserves unconditionally. Tom Grover • 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 the TSC, Room 105, or can be e. mailed to editor@statesman.usu.edu or click on www.utahstatesman.com for more letter guidelines and a submission box. IlilllSlilll'Mllilll.illlll Online Poll What do you think USU's biggest news story has been for the 2004-05 school year? • Former-President Kermit Hall leaving for a New York university. (26%) • Tuition going up - however much it did, anyway. (17%) • A student filing a lawsuit against a booting company. (10%) • Men's basketball team winning Big West and playing in NCAA tourney. (36%) • ASUSU restructuring. (2%) • Who knows? I didn't go to much school, anyway. (9%) 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 ; |