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Show 11 Friday, Sept.30,2005 797-1762 statesman@cc.usu.edu www.utahstatesman.com Always buckle up Utah Statesman Monday's accident has left a surreal feeling looming over campus and thoughts of loved ones seem slightly nearer to our hearts as we mourn the loss of nine of our fellow Aggies. News reports continue to flood local papers and ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ _ speculations of whether or not passengers in the van were wearing seat belts have come Staff Editor in Chief Brooke Nelson News Editor Aaron Falk Assistant News Editor Marie MacKay Features Editor articles. In times like this, it hurts to question "what if," but whether seat belts were used or not in this tragedy, we want to remind the USU community to always buckle up. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 80 percent of Americans used seat belts in 2004. Yet in that same year, 42,800 people died on the nation's highways, 56 percent of which weren't wearing a seat belt. For most of us, the next step after getting into a car is to reach around and grab the seat beat to buckle up, however, there are always times when we inevitably forget - joking around with friends, running late to class, making a short 5-minute trip to the store - we've all done it. Yet, as we are feeling the effects of Monday's tragedy, there is a realiza- W&blic Forurrr tion that it takes only once of not buckling up to Reader offers poem change life completely. Many students will be traveling this weekend, and in honor of victims buckling up can make sure everyone returns in one piece on Monday. Dear Editor, Steve Shinney Assistant Features Editor Emma Tippetts Sports Editor Andrea Edmunds Assistant Sports Editor Bryan Hinton Diversions Editor Matt Wright Copy Editor Lindsay Kite Letters to the Editor U.N. needs serious reforms to live up to promises As the United Nations celebrates its 60th anniversary as a symbol of peace and a beacon of hope, we must offer a frank and critical assessment.,of its failure,)to deliver on the promise to halt global human rights abuses, improve economic and social development and significantly enhance world security. In all three categories, the United Nations has either ignored its charter mandate or has been so overwhelmed with bureaucracy, ineptitude, corruption and inefficiency that it could not carry out its mission. The United Nations was born from the ashes of World War II with a primary goal of creating a charter around which all countries could join in the collective effort to prevent the outbreak of future wars. It was a just and noble cause in the wake of 30 million casualties during World War I and more than 60 million casualties in World War II. The U.N. Charter says that only the nations that abide by international law, honor eacn other's borders, renounce aggression and respect human rights can be members of the United Nations. But barely a year after that charter was drafted, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued a stern warning, voicing his concerns that the Soviet Union - a U.N. member was a growing threat to world peace. From the day of the United Nations' founding, dozens of its "member" nations have participated in open and deliberate acts of hostile aggression and have engaged in the most heinous human rights abuses with no regard for the mission or the mandate of the United Nations. Even a cursory review of the U.N. role in international conflicts reveals a long list of failures to halt human rights abuses, mediate border disputes between countries and resolve issues of arms escalation and acts of aggression between nations. The United Nations was unable to halt the hostility between India and Pakistan in 1947, the Arab-Israeli conflicts of i^e,;latei ,1.940s,. ,the. ongoing political repression of the people of Cuba, the slaughter of millions of Cambodian refugees by the ruthless dictator Pol Pot in the 1970s, the hardships and abuses faced by Somali ._. refugees in the 1990s and, most ; recently, the governmentsponsored g e n o c i des in Rwanda and Bosnia in which hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have been killed. Recent news reports have also raised questions of fraud and corruption within the United Nations. One example is the scandal involving the $1.5 billion project to renovate U.N. headquarters in New York. Real estate mogul Donald Trump is quoted in a documentary -- produced by Citizens United Foundation and Peace River Company, LLC — that examines, the United Nations as it turns 60. He says he was completely baffled after.a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in which he offered to manage the renovation project for free and finish the work at a saving of $500 million to $1 billion. According to Trump, U.N. officials weren't interested in saving $1 billion. ' As we reflect upon the record of the United Nations, it has become apparent that sweeping policy reforms are needed along with an overhaul of the U.N. bureaucracy to offer any hope of eliminating the waste, inefficiency and corruption that have eaten the United Nations like a cancer. It is time to seek real, substantive reform -- from the United Nations' global policies and practices to its dysfunctional internal structure and bureaucracy -- so that the world body can eventually live up to its name as a symbol or peace and a beacon of hope for all of humanity. Ron Silver and David Bossie wrote this column for the Baltimore Sun. "According to Trump, U.N. ,;W -> officials weren't interested in savingJl billion." These are just a few thoughts that came to me in pondering on the passing of our fellow students and teacher which I would like to share with all: Nine souls lost today Leaving us on this cruel earth to stay And yet nine new lights appear in the sky Eacn bringing new hope to the passerby As he stares flustered into the night He feels inside a little less fright For hope and faith and a distant joy He sees again just as when he was a boy And so our lost friends lift us up To press on, push forward and "Buck Up" A void tis true we have to fill But those new night lights are oh so real! New Orleans shouldn't be rebuilt Editor, The Bush administrations response to the recent hurricanes is a predictable manifestation of its shortsighted dim-witted ways. Resemblant of last century's linear paradigm, the administration fails to see the complexity of nature and instead invests fictionary money into dull engineering solutions only to perpetuate and compound tragedy. Why was the flooding in New Orleans so disastrous? Because it was built on a delta, you stinking idiots. A delta which has not been able to replenish itself, in fact, because its river has levees- of course the city is going to sink! Face it: some places orf the planet are simply not suited to mainstream civilization. Big rivers are not supposed to be levied, dammed, or dredged, and the resulting disastrous effects upon humans are only a peripheral reason why. Photo Editor Michael Sharp Assistant Photo Editor Jessica Alexander Hundred year storms are named such for implicit reasons. To rebuild any civilization in such disasterprone areas with government funds is to subsidize tragedy. See, old G. W. is going to "To rebuild any ; civilization in such disaster-prone areas with government funds isjo subsidize lay down a lot of bucks but the result will be, within the next hundred years, another disaster. So the true humanitarian will have nothing to do with another city being built in such areas. But such misguided dull solutions are to be expected from a pea-brained administration composed of ass-kissing drones unfamiliar with the concept of generations and sustainability, aren't they? Jacob Gibson Jarom Johnson Tragedy brings perspective Flags around campus I imagine many others did the have been flown at half-staff same, throughout the school year Allyourcares,yourstudies, mourningthelossesof work and overall Chief Justice William busy-ness doesn't Jon Cox Rehnquist, the vicseem to matter all tims of Hurricane that much after Katrinaand now nine something like this of our own. happens. Only when, life is taken I was out playing so suddenly do Ultimate Frisbee on we begin to realr the Quad Monday ize how precious it evening with a few really is. friends when I heard about the accident. Frequently we -- ._.___. p ra y f or p r o t e c t j o n A news crew told us about what had in our travels, but happened just a few rarely do we realhours earlier. ize how often we truly are I went home and called protected. A blown-out tire my cousin, an Agriculture can happen to any of us. student, to make sure he was This time it happened to OK. Upon hearing the news, some of our finest. Ground Tojared Nelson and Robert Peterson, survivors still trying to recover from the accident, our prayers are with you. Together, we as a university family mourn the loss of our friends. Tuesday nighfs vigil was held to mourn the deaths of our peers Evan Parker, Steven Bair, Dusty Fuhriman, Justin Gunnel I, Justin Huggins, Jonathan Jorgensen, Curt Madsen, Ryan McEntire and Bradley Wilcox. But we also came to cheer on the two of you. We're all in this together. God bless. Jon Cox is a senior majoring in print journalism. Send comments to jcox@cc.usu.edu. 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