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Show Views&Opinion Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009 Page 11 Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com OurView I ForumLetters To the editor, The Aggie vote t has come to the attention of The Utah Statesman that some Logan residents feel USU students – who by nature come and go every four to five years and rarely stick around for summers – should not vote. Many of those who hold this opinion feel it is unfair for longtime Logan residents to be forced to live with a public official that was voted in by a group of people who come and go with little vested interest in the city. We believe this is to be a valid point. However, this opinion does not take into account two major factors. First, while it is true USU students come and go, college students as a whole share the same needs. Some of the issues that have been brought up during this election include landlord licensing and parking-strip issues. These issues are important to students, and the truth is, the student population makes up a significant portion of Logan. Yes, we students as individuals do not root ourselves in the valley for very long but our predecessors and their predecessors will likely have similar concerns. By going out and voting on the issues that matter to our demographic, we are ensuring the residents who call themselves Aggies are fairly represented. Furthermore, any students who’s taken the time to become educated on the issues, registers and is willing to vote has shown they are invested in not just USU but the city that houses it. While we do not advocate blind and uneducated voting, we believe residents of Logan who understands the issues should cast their vote. If you would like more information on the upcoming election call 716-9002 or visit www. loganutah.org. I want to take a minute to respond to Mr. Caines’ column entitled “Church and state” that appeared in the Oct. 12 issue of The Statesman. When I first began reading the column I was glad to see him point out the fallacy of believing that Jesus is a Republican. As a Christian I have thought on this topic, and I came to conclusions similar to those that Mr. Caines presented. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m LDS and I’m a Democrat. That said, I’m also not claiming that Jesus is a Democrat. What disappointed me however was Mr. Caines’ conclusion that one might “give (their) heart and soul to Jesus… (but) on Election Day (they should) leave him at home.” His argument was that religion should Letters to the editor • A public forum be separate from government. I agree with that, however, Mr. Caines’ interpretation of this idea is incorrect. The idea of “separation of church and state” mandates that the government is not controlled by a church or religion. However, this idea does not mean that people should ignore their beliefs when it comes to voting. Indeed, people should vote based on their views, whether those views come from religion or from any other source. Doing so doesn’t mean that the people are creating a religion controlled government. It means that they are creating a government based upon their values, which is the goal of democracy. If some elements of the government are based on religious beliefs, then so be it. Blaine Myers hope to open a practice in sports medicine or orthopedic surgery. I started getting involved in the service center with the United Campus Volunteers. I helped organize the efforts to build Ryan’s Place Park in River Heights. After loving that experience I applied for a position as Storytellers Director. When I realized I wanted to be more involved, I ended up applying for a position on the Programming Board and helped plan Stuff a Bus. After such rewarding experiences, I decided to apply for service vice president and fully submerge myself in the service center. We had a busy summer planning how we could engage in more service experiences and bring them to USU. This year we have a lot of new ideas that we’re bringing to the table. Among these new ideas is USU’s version of “Biggest Loser.” Aggie Health, one of the service center’s programs, is going to lead this effort in recruiting and helping students and faculty lose weight this year. We are also in the process of Ask Miss Jones Dear Miss Jones, My roommates and I are getting so fed up with a roommate. She has a huge annoying problem of complaining about EVERYTHING. She complains about the most ridiculous things. She tells us everyday that she is sick, and it is always a new sickness. She’ll complain about the weather, her clothes, other people, etc. All of the attention has to be on her all of the time. She really shouldn’t have anything to complain about either. She isn’t going to school right now, doesn’t work and her parents pay for everything ... She seems to be living the life right? So my question for you is should we say something to her or should we just keep making fun of her behind her back? Tired of Bitchin’ Dear Tired, What is your roommate doing if she isn’t working or going to school? Gads, back in my day if you weren’t being productive you’d practically get thrown out of town. I’ve seen that absurd “My Editor in Chief Patrick Oden News Editor Rachel A. Christensen Assistant News Editor Catherine Meidell Features Editor Courtnie Packer Assistant Features Editor Greg Boyles Sports Editor Tim Olsen Assistant Sports Editor Graham Terry Copy Editor Mark Vuong Photo Editors Pete Smithsuth Tyler Larson Web Editor Karlie Brand About letters Introducing you to ASUSU Service Vice President David Knighton As an introduction to myself, I have lived in the shadow of USU my whole life. I was born in Logan and moved to the great metropolis of Providence just 5 miles south campus. My parents, grandparents and great grandparents have all earned degrees here, including my great grandpa H. Cecil Baker, who was a famous coach during the ‘50s at USU. My choice to come to USU is founded in my love for this university, as well as my parents’ threat of disowning me and cutting off all financial support. Because of the long line of Aggies in my family and my love for this institution I wanted to keep the tradition alive. I started my Aggie career in spring semester 2007 after serving an LDS mission in Houston, Texas. I started out following in my dad’s footsteps wanting to be a civil engineerer but soon figured out that it wasn’t the career for me. I switched to a major in nutrition and food science with a goal and desire to go to medical school. I anticipate I will graduate in May 2011. After graduation, I AboutUs doing a statewide service project with every college in Utah. The event is scheduled for Service Week which takes place April 510. This spring, 11 universities and colleges are putting together care packages for children at Primary Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Salt Lake City. Saturday, April 10, we are replanting trees, flowers and bushes outside of the medical center. We need donations of the materials necessary for the care packs and we need hundreds of volunteers to help put them together. Our much anticipated Stuff a Bus project is going to happen every Monday this November. We are going to “stuff” as many Aggie Shuttles with canned goods and nonperishable items as possible and donate them to the local Food Pantry. Last year alone we donated over 11 tons of Food Pantry. We also do a fundraiser for the Sub for Santa program, last year we accumulated $10,000 with the support of many Aggies, former Aggies and community members. Super Sweet 16” show on MTV, and what those kids – and from the sound of it what your roommate needs – is a swift kick of reality. I’d love for them to do a follow up 40 years later special on one of those brats and see how messed up their life and priorities are. Your situation reminds me of an old African piece of folklore that I picked up during my 11month trip when I was backpacking from Mount Kilimanjaro through Zaire to the coast of Congo. It goes something like this: Many years ago in a village not far from here there was a giant who would eat villagers by the dozen. Soon the villagers decided something must be done so they gathered all the able people, distributed spears and went hunting for the giant. The giant saw the group coming for him so he fled, looking for somewhere to hide. He came to a house and demanded the people hide him. They refused and called loudly for the hunters. The giant again went running until he reached another house. When he asked to be hidden the people barricaded the door, forcing the giant to move on. A woman was the only one home in the third house he got to. She let him in and hid him well. Not long after the hunters reached the house and asked the woman if she had seen the giant. She told them she saw him running over the hill. The hunters thanked her and went in the direction she pointed. When it was safe the woman told DAVID KNIGHTON I would encourage you to come visit us on the third floor of the TSC and help out in any project of your choice or join one of the 19 service programs. Also look for our newsletter that will be dispersed throughout campus every month with updates and new service opportunities. “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein the giant who came out of hiding and, without a second thought, ate her. The moral of this story, if you didn’t get it, is that the things that you hide will eat you. Don’t hide your true feelings, kiss that boy who keeps flirting with you, tell the professor you think she’s wrong and for heaven’s sake tell your roommate her constant bitching is driving you up the wall. However, remember that you will most likely have to continue to live with her so be gentle, give her subtle hints. Next time she begins to complain try to ignore it. Respond with a new topic or gently cut her off with something that’s been going on in your life. If it gets to the point that you feel like you’re going to explode, have a house meeting, go over problems, chores, etc. Good luck and remember: “With as many times as Miss Jones has been around the block, her directions must be good.” E-mail your questions to be answered by Miss. Jones to statesman.miss.jones@gmail.com • Letters should be limited to 400 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@aggiemail. usu.edu, or click on www.aggietownsquare.com for more letter guidelines and a box to submit letters. (Link: About Us.) Online poll Fall Break is Friday and the extra day at the start of the weekend seems to be causing a frenzy of excitement. What will you be doing? • Going home to visit family. • Weekend getaway somewhere fun. • Studying. • WoW, hours and hours of WoW. Visit us on the Web at www.aggietownsquare. com to cast your vote. |