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Show Wednesday, March 21, 2012 Page 10 • =Free Speech Zone Opinions on this page (columns, letters unless otherwise identified are not from Utah Statesman staff, but from a wide variety of members of the campus community who have strong opinions, just like you do! This is an open forum. Want to write something? Contact: statesman@aggiemailusu.edu &011illii0 1111 Utah State Universit • Lo • an. Utah • www.utahstatesman.com Ou rView Remember positive acts of U.S. soldiers It has been a long nine years for U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq. Though the vast majority of our troops have served nobly overseas, it is discouraging to see that after years of constant service, the only press individuals serving in the military receive, show them in a negative light. We are ignorant to the actual circumstances our troops have endured while in Iraq. Many left wives, husbands and young children behind for months, living in lessthan-ideal conditions. If you haven't served in the military, you can't act like you understand their lives. While the media highlights the U.S. Marines who urinated on the dead bodies of Afghans and the soldier who opened fire, killing 16 Afghan civilians, the U.S. military's positive impacts are pushed under the rug. Though these tragic occurrences must be reported, narrow-minded viewers who are exposed to only negative media footage about the U.S. military will begin to take on a generalized perception of our nation's military. It is a shame to focus so heavily on the disgraceful decisions a few of our U.S. soldiers made when so many have served with honor and charity. In a panel discussion about the Iraq War held at USU on Monday, one panel member said many Iraqi citizens were grateful U.S. troops were helping in their country. We have friends and family, like many of you, who serve in the military in various capacities. We've seen the emotional turmoil they often experience, and we've seen them fight through it. We've seen their love and devotion for their country grow. We need to respect the fact that their job is to protect us. Soldiers' jobs are more personal to each U.S. citizen than many understand. What a shame it is to have the decisions of a few individuals burned into our minds as the Iraq War ended, after so many years of countless selfless acts our soldiers have performed. If you look hard enough, you can find photographs of U.S. soldiers aiding Iraqi civilians and positively displaying their undying patriotism. While our media outlets decide to display images of everything but the parts of our military that make us proud to be Americans, let's go the extra mile to remember the dedication and perseverance so many of our soldiers show while on duty every day. Not all religious practices are ethical In September 2011, a twoweek-old baby boy unnecessarily died. The cause of death: Disseminated Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1, complicating ritual circumcision with oral suction. The Orthodox Jewish circumcision process called "metzitzah b'peh" is otherwise known as "oral suction," or the suctioning of blood from the circumcision wound directly by mouth. Unfortunately, last year isn't the first time that this particular rabbi, Yitzchok Fischer, caused the death of a child. The same thing happened in 2004, and that same year three other babies were determined to have contracted herpes from Fischer. While Herpes Simplex Virus 1 is usually harmless in adults and manifests itself only as uncomfortable cold sores, because of the virus' association with the nervous system, it poses significant health threats to newborns and can result in brain damage, and sometimes, death. The practice of circumcision is condoned in the Bible and believed by several religious denominations to be one of the most important rituals performed during an individual's lifetime. But outside of a religious context, oral-penile contact from an adult man to a child is considered pedophilia and is punishable by law. Because the contact in question occurred within a religious context, Fischer has not been held accountable for the death of the baby boys. Jerry Schmetterer, the spokesman for Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes, told The Jewish Week that, "Our Crimes Against Children Bureau is looking into this situation. I would not assume what any possible charges would be." I can think of a few possible charges, Mr. Hynes. How about two counts of criminal homicide? Several counts of child molestation? Tortious transmission of an STD by intentional neglect? The behavior of this priest is abominable to any right-minded person, but according to The Jewish Week, the city only filed a legal complaint against Fischer to compel him to stop engaging in the Lizzen Up LIZ EMERY See LIZZEN UP, Page 11 A bou tth Editor in Chief Catherine Bennett Copy Editor D. Whitney Smith News Editor Steve Kent Assistant News Editor Megan Allen Features Editor Allee Evensen Assistant Features Editor Natasha Bodily Sports Editor Tavin Stucki ForumLetters No "A" on the hill? live in the valley that would be willing to get together and work on this as a joint Eagle Scout project? I would bet that you could find at least 10 proud future Aggies willing to take on the task. For every one future Eagle Scout, you can add at least five other people who would volunteer to help. If my calculations are correct, you're looking at 30 willing bodies to work on the project and a total bill of $0 for Utah State University. The Aggie "A" on the Mountain idea isn't just cool, it also has potential to be funny. We could call it "Big 'A' Mountain" and I'm sure that plenty of students would get a kick out of saying, "Hey, check out the big 'A' up on the mountain." The possibilities are potentially endless. I still don't see any good reason for why this hasn't happened yet. Having a large "A" To the editor: With campus elections behind us I think we need to focus on an issue that, unfortunately, was absent from the platforms of the candidates. The issue that I am referring to is whether or not we should put a large Aggie "A" on the side of the mountain above campus. Why has this not happened yet? I want to walk through campus, look up on the mountain and see a 100,000-point font USU Aggie "A." I know what you are thinking; you are worried about where we would get the funds for this project. You need to think outside the box. How many junior high- or high school-aged boys do you think Letters to the editor • A public forum up on the mountainside would just add more Aggie pride to this school. You could see the Aggie "A" from everywhere in the valley, and it would look great in the background of the pictures in our campus brochures and other USU advertisements. We could even light it up during the holidays. Just think about how awesome it would be for our athletic events that are broadcast on ESPN. They could do a panoramic view of our scenic valley and then zoom in on the Aggie "A" on the mountain before cutting back to the action. Everybody wins with the Aggie "A" smiling down on us from the mountainside. Enough talk. This needs to be done. I'm talking to you, Christian Thrapp, and the other newly elected officials. John Mosman Wash your hands so we don't suffer Don't worry ladies, I'm not going to talk about boots or the terrible current fashion trends. Even though I still think wearing the same ratty pair of leggings every day of the week is trashy — especially with Uggs — one of the nice women who read my female fashion piece gave me a pair of men's Uggs, and I have to admit, they are pretty comfy. In fact, the other night I said it was just like sticking my foot into a warm, fuzzy sheep. I've promised to never again openly talk smack on Uggs. Now I'm just going to whine about the unsanitary things people do in lieu of maintaining an acceptable level of personal hygiene. The other morning, while chatting with a journalism professor about the recent Spring Break, we discussed the extraordinarily warm weather, the fact that only six weeks remain in the semester, and we talked about pneumonia and chest infections. That's when we started talking about all the times we've gotten sick this winter at USU. I would like to thank all of the wonderful, clean and healthy people who randomly enter my sphere of existence on a given day and are so considerate of their surroundings that they manage to share their nasty germs with me and anyone who gets near them. This column is for you; and it's especially for the guy sitting in a bathroom stall reading a copy of The Utah Statesman that was hanging on the wall next to the toilet. Just think about the individual who hung that newspaper there in the toilet stall and where that person's hands were before they touched that second-hand newspaper. Ladies, I'd like to blow up the spots of about 60 percent of your boyfriends — pretty much every day I go into a bathroom at USU, I hear at least one dude utilize the facilities and then leave the bathroom without washing his hands. I've got news for those of you who think a handy squirt of sanitizer is a good substitute for thoroughly washing your hands with soap and warm-to-hot water — false. Instead of cleaning your , 1 , IN 'm , to , is w. r In ..: 141•1•1•“.. i; A From the Soap Box D. WHITNEY SMITH an s, you're smearing an alcohol-based, snot-textured goop around on your dirty little mitts with all the microbes that were crawling around on the public restroom door handle you grabbed before exiting the bathroom. For those of you who leave the restroom without washing your hands or using sanitizer — grow up, this isn't middle school anymore, and you have the potential to make one or many people seriously ill. Don't worry readers, this isn't going to be another bathroom column. Tavin Stucki already covered that. This addresses the impure things done by grown children bandying about campus under See SOAP BOX, Page 11 Assistant Sports Editor Tyler Huskinson Photo Editor Delayne Locke Assistant Photo Editor Carl R. Wilson Web Editor Meredith Kinney Editorial Staff: Catherine Bennett Steve Kent Allee Evensen Meredith Kinney Delayne Locke Tavin Stucki D. Whitney Smith About letters • 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 e-mail 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. utahstatesman.com for more letter guidelines and a box to submit letters. |