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Show "_. Aggie Survival Kit • • • • FREE Student Checking FREE Student Visa NO FEE ATM Access FREE Online Banking & Bill Pay (For Survival) Win AFree iPOD. Open a Free College Student Checking Account or a College Student Visa or fund your Student Loan by using lender code 830146 on your GSL application by September 23,2005 and be entered to win one of many iPOD Shuffles. (For You) (For Directions) USU Community Credit Union Phone: 753.4080 www.usuccu.org Campus Branch: 695 East 1000 North Downtown: 198 North Main Smithfield: 890 South Main • HOMELAND SECURITY From page 22 radiation testing is still not deployed with any precision at American ports; and that evacuation plans are, as became obvious this month, not geared to the immobile, not widely understood by either officials or by the public, and probably not feasible in many cases anyway. Dealing with the biological threat, either from terrorists or a natural pandemic, will, in addition, require far larger federal government investment in biological science than this administration has yet been willing to make, as well as a far broader partnership with the pharmaceutical industry than anyone has yet been willing to contemplate. Work on finding vaccines and cures for existing diseases has just begun; ways for distributing vaccines jn case of emergency have been contemplated in only a few places and instances; and the long-term investment in the technology that will be needed to anticipate and prevent new or engineered viruses has not yet been made. Big disaster scenarios are, it is true, gloomy to contemplate. It is much easier for emergency planners and politicians to think about containable crises. It is also much easier for federal officials to respond automatically to local and congressional demands, rather than draw up their own risk-based and possibly unpopular plans. But if there is any point to having a department of homeland security, surely it is to think the unthinkable. And we see only slim evidence, so far, that DHS is engaged in that undertaking. This editorial appeared in Sunday's edition of The Washington Post. I The Utah Statesman 9/11 a civics lesson The cloud of Sept. 11 still hangs over us four years later, but there is something of a silver lining. For out of that horrible event has come a renewed commitment to civic engagement among a crucial segment of the population: young people who were near college age on Sept. 11, 2001. New evidence from multiple sources confirms that those Americans who were caught by the flash of Sept. 11 in their impressionable adolescent years are now significantly Nat'l View Other Voices 1 more involved in public affairs and community life than their older brothers and sisters. After a quarter-century decline of interest and participation in national politics among young Americans, a host of measures turned upward after 2001. Voting rates among 18- to 24-year-olds increased by 23 percent _ 2 to 12 times faster than those of other age cohorts in the national elections in 2002 and 2004. Since Sept. 11, young adults have expressed heightened interest both in "government and current events" and "social issues/' according to surveys of high school seniors. And other long-term national surveys show that college freshmen are increasingly discussing politics _ once again a reversal that dates precisely to the fall of 2001. Tnis politicization is especially pronounced among people ages 18 to 21 on Sept. 11, 2001, with a slightly lesser effect on Americans who were between 22 and 25. There seems to be little or no enduring Sept. 11 effect among older generations. The jury is still out on younger high school students; it will take years to see if their political interest and behavior parallel those of the 18-to 25year-olds, but early signs are promising. Young adults had begun to increase their volunteer activities about five years before Sept. 11, 2001. Eightytwo percent of high school seniors volunteered in 2004, a 14 percent jump from 1986, and the average frequency of volunteering increased a rull 50 percent. Why would the 2001 terrorist attacks affect this generation so? It was what educators call a "teachable moment." The attacks and their aftermath demonstrated that our fates are highly interdependent. We learned that we need to - and can - depend on the kindness of strangers who happen to be near us in a plane, office building or subway. Moreover, regardless of one's political leanings, it was easy to see that we needed effective governmental action: to coordinate volunteers, police national borders, design emergency response preparedness, engage in diplomacy, and train ponce and firefighters. Government and politics mattered. If young people used to wonder why they should bother to vote, Sept. 11 and now, Hurricane Katrina, gave them an answer. All ofus need to celebrate this new generation of better citizens. Moreover, we ought to emulate any wise camper: blow on this spark and coax it into something bigger. National and local policies are the key to fanning this flame. Finally, we could put wind in these sails through a crossgenerational call for sacrifice. For example, all Americans need to sacrifice by conserving energy to reduce our reliance on the volatile Middle East rather than asking youth to sacrifice their lives fighting in Iraq. We'll have to wait some years to see if this budding civic engagement blossoms, but it could prove to be the largest civic shift in the past half-century. Thomas H. Sanders and Robert D. Putnam wrote this column for The Washington Post. r Health Club acquef 1655 N 200 E. North Logan, Utah • 435-753-7500 www.sportsacademy.com Where USU Students workout, meet new people, and have fun! Join for $30.00 $30.00 a month with*a friend -*,'' V" \ f r /"Get 50% off one tanning session Now through September I5> 2005 CLUB HOURS: MON-THURS 5:00AM - MIDNIGHT • FRI 5:00AM - 9:00PM SAT 6:00AM - 9:00PM • SUN 11:00AM - 5:00PM v |