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Show OwrView AboutliS Editor in Chief Cell phone etiquette a matter of courtesy Seth R. Hawkins DIFFICULTY News Editor Arie Kirk Assistant News Editor Liz Lawyer "OMG txt me !8r/' ^ H l f e - ?^\'^^-Vi> "UR my BFF." ' ^ ^ ^ ^ g f e • *^^:A?i.'\ This is the new valley-girl speak, an indecipherable spew of letters and symbols that will ultimately turn the English language into a dribble of abbreviations - and acronyms. It's an unavoidable occurrence made possible by an influx of technology to the masses. Besides the destruction of American English as we know it, affordable cell phones are giving millions of young people a means to make adults' lives miserable with the almighty overage charge. But as college students, we are at the crossroads - old enough to pay for our own plans, but still young enough to generate bills of thousands of dollars because of excessive text messaging. , For many, text messaging is the preferred method of communication. It's very noncommittal. Just send out the feeler. No need to talk to people. And it comes in handy during class, too. .^ v When we're one in the faceless crowd of an auditorium, we unconsciously bring about the downfall of society as we send message after message to fellow students around the country sitting in the same type of situation. ; / ^/; ^ Is it wrong to text during class? Sure is. It is a slap in the face to teachers. Does it happen, though? In every class, every day, everywhere around the country. : - : - ^ - ,;. Text messaging during class, no matter how disrespectful it is, is less of a distraction than another product of the cell phone age - the Fergie-song-ringtone class interruption. We've all been sitting in class, doodling, snoozing ,or - heaven forbid - taking notes, when the reverent academic atmosphere is shattered by the notes of the chorus of a random Top 40 hit. "How come every time you come around my London, London Bridge wanna come down like London, London, London." This would be a good time for a public ostracizing. First for the musical taste, then for the complete disregard for the vibrate function that God created specifically for this purpose - to save classmates, family members or anyone within a mile radius from vomit-inducing ringtones in the "Now That's What 1 Call Music Volume 69" collection. ': ; -I! We need to remember that, despite their convenience and apparent live sustaining power, cell phones can turn into annoyances. We all know there's nothing more annoying than thinking someone is talking to you, but when you try to reciprocate, they scoff at you, turn and point snobbishly to their Bluetooth headset. Alexander Graham Bell would be appalled. Features Editor Manette Newbold Assistant Features Editor Brittny Goodsell Jones Sports Editor Samuel Hislop Assistant Sports Editor David Baker Copy Editor Rebekah Bradway Photo Editor Forum Lette rs to express my disappointment in picking up the Statesman on Oct. 29 and seeing the Howl overview on the front page and the cross country To the editor: teams' accomplishments back on page 5. I don't know what First off 1 would like to con- it takes to make the front gratulate Gregg Censel and page of the Statesman, but 1 the USU men's and women's think taking 1st place in the cross country teams for their WAC should be adequate. excellent performances at the Personally I am extremely WAC Championships where appreciative to have a USU they placed 1st and 3rd, team that brings so much pride respectively. I would also like to our school and I think they Give cross country respect Letters to the editor • A public forum deserved to be appreciated and recognized by more than just me. In the future, please give them and all other USU groups and individuals that bring our school great pride, the acknowledgment that they rightfully deserve. Again, Congrats to the cross country teams and their coaches. Go Aggies! Nicole Pierce Get out and make a difference N ovember is upon us and with it another election season. This year's elections won't include the sex appeal of a presidential or Senate race, or much at all that would catch the eye of the mainstream media. No, the elections that are nearly upon us will be relatively quiet in the global arena and will feature the local, home-grown heroes, battling for • " • • ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ only a few vacant Statesman f k s eats n the Ci 'y r °. itself and any obligations or proceedings that may fall upon its citizens. Well, to be brutally frank, that's stupid. You live here don't you? You drink the water, ride the buses, breathe the air and drive the roads of this fine city for at least eight months out of the year, and you're trying to tell me you're not directly affected by the municipal process? 2. Many use the excuse that commonly defiles our democracy, the notion that their helpless singular vote can't honestly matter, especially in Utah. Albeit true that our state has been more comfortable with its right hand than its left, no one can look back at the precious last two presidential elections and say in sobriety that one vote doesn't count. Plus, municipal elections are nonpartisan. So don't think in red or blue. How do you think Republicans Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg became mayors of one of the most liberal cities in America? 3. "I don't know where. I don't know how." I love this excuse, perhaps because it's the biggest target for mockery. Voter registration locations vary every year but are always abundant. You can register on campus, at local churches and, of course, at the city office buildings located downtown at the corner of 200 N. and Council. But what do I care, right? I'm just a college student, oblivious and unaffected by the petty dealings of city bureaucrats, right? Wrong. Very wrong, actually. It's this same apathetic mentality toward local politics (and, let's face it, politics in general) that have plagued the collegiate assembly for far too long. It's time we stood up and did something about this painfully true stereotype. As an advocate for voting, joined by others such as George Washington, John F. Kennedy and Oprah, I've heard all the typical excuses that deter the average college student from getting involved in the political process of the democratic society their forefathers died for, so let me put a few of them to rest. 1. Many use the excuse that they're not from H See VOTE, page 19 Logan and are therefore detached from the city Who's cheating? I Defending herself as the t is so difficult to decide what cheating really is. Everybody cheats and everybody lies, and anybody who says they aon't is cheating himself or herself with that lie. We all draw invisible lines and negotiate borders more dangerous than those of Palestine. This all works quite well in traversing everyday life, but when it comes to sports, all of a sudden we have rigid boundaries. How much is too much? I read one investigative report about Barry Bonds that said he not only had King Kongish muscles, but he actually gained an inch in height at age 35. This should have been the headline around the world: "Barry Bonds has growth spurt in middle age." There have been science fiction B-movies produced with less of a premise. This would all seem indicative of going too far as would, say, growing a third lung or an auxiliary heart to make you a better distance runner. Those are the sorts of things easy to agree upon. On the margins, things get a lot fuzzier. Back in the fuzzy, sepia-toned past when I was running competitive track, there were all sorts of supplements too. There were bee pollen, liver tablets, goat's blood and high-altitude training. This was before you could make any money in a sport like track, and only one player on each team made $1 million. I dreamed only of free shoes and maybe my name in the newspaper. Even with those un-lofty aspirations, I must say I would have swallowed just about any pill that would have made me instantly better. Why? Because I was 21 and the long-term consequences seemed like living to 52 instead of 55. What 21 year old cares about that? What is an artificial supplement anyway? Is a concentrated, naturally occurring substance natural or artificial? I used to argue with friends that orange juice was an unnatural supplement because you were concentrating a whole bag of oranges into a glass rather than peeling the oranges and eating all the pulp and seeds as nature had intended. I don't know much about football, baseball and basketball, but I was hip deep in track and field. Blood doping sounds so barbaric compared to today's standards, but that was the drug of choice then. Then it went a step forward to blood doping with your own blood to blood doping with other people's blood. Then came the • I See CHEAT, page 19 damsel in the race W ASHINGTON - My favorite photo of the week — maybe my favorite photo of the presidential campaign so far — showed Hillary Clinton, dukes up, in a pair of bright red boxing gloves. It is iconic Hillary, unafraid to take on a fight. Which is also why the almost anti-feminist subtext of the past few days — a message emanating from the Clinton campaign and its allies — has been so unnecessary, and so disappointing. "Six guys against Hillary/' said Gerald YburTake Midterms • -'{,':?A McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, as he announced the union's endorsement and presented Clinton with the gloves. "I'd call that a fair fight." McEntee's remarks echoed the "piling on" theme the Clinton campaign adopted after Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia in which Clinton was pummeled by her competitors. The cam- USee DAMSEL, page 19 r i * :rr> T* Tell us what you think. . Submit a letter to the editor at www.utahstatesman.com Halfway through. Say it again, halfway through. By this time in the semester, students have a pretty good feel for what the remainder of the semester is going to be like. Students know how teachers will grade and just what's expected of them. Their heads are also full of a lot of information. Just when the homework; papers and group projects start piling up, teachers throw in a midterm to make things interesting. Now, attention has to be diverted to cram half a semester's worth of information in order to regurgitate it on the midterm exam and then promptly forget about it and get back to the Monday Night Football and the start of the NBA season. Are midterm exams effective? Do students need these tests to effectively prepare for final? Do midterm tests accurately measure learning? Should they be worth a j ! heavy percentage of a student's grade? What's your take? Tell us at www.utahstatesman.com/messageboard. ' Tyler Larson Assistant Photo Editor Patrick Oden Editorial Board Seth R. Hawkins Arie Kirk Liz Lawyer David Baker Manette Newbold Brittny Goodsell Jones 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 email address as well as a student identification number (none of which is published). Letters will not be printed without this verification. • 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 statesman@cc.usu.edu or click on www.utah statesman.com for more letter guidelines and a box to sumbit let ters. Online poll What are you going to do for Halloween? Go to the Howl Go to the basketball game Trick-or-treating Haunted House Corn maze Go to a party Visit us on the Web at www.utahstatesman.com to cast your vote. 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