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Show : & • • • • SquantoDay: The Holiday that Should Have Been injured by a hostile group of Wampanoag, who then took Squanto prisoner. When some new white folks showed up, Squanto was sent to them to make sure they know no one wanted any trouble- and the new settlers liked him so much, they decided to keep him. He proved indispensable in knowledge of the land, planting crops, and pretty much everything they heeded to know to survive — which was, pretty much everything. Remember, these are the same guys who stored their food in lead containers. They needed all the help they could get. Now, Squanto was not perfect. Once he couldn't be easily dismissed by the English, he did everything he could to annoy Massasiot, chief of the group of Wampanoag who had killed his boss and enslaved him, and he didn't always make the wisest decisions. But he is probably the first and last Na- tive American in history to willingly bequeath his small property to a white settlement, and did everything he could to help people. He contracted a fever of some sort while giving the white folks a tour of Manhattan, and died a few days later in 1623. Now doesn't this guy deserve a day on the calendar more than that genocidal maniac, Chrishtopher Columbus, who enslaved several tribes of Natives and managed to wipe one of them out completely? Shouldn't he be on the $20 bill instead of that racist Andrew Jackson, who went against the order of the Supreme Court and rounded up thousands of Native Americans and forced them from their homes on the notorious Trail of Tears? I'm celebrating Squanto Day. Thanksgiving is apparently for a lot of ill-fated birds. ironic. In the early days, MTV was revolutionary, I a pioneering station doing Music fans across the something no other station nation probably stopped had dreamed of doing bewatching MTV post 2000 fore. But in its later years because "Hit Me Baby One fell into a trap of reality More Time" didn't carry the shows involving extravagant same amplitude as "Smells birthday parties and datLike Teen Spirit," not only ing lie detector tests. Music on a sonogramic level, but fell out of the picture long also on a quality level. Some ago and message boards on MTV generation fans left MTV's Web site show that when Carson Daly did, and audiences are happy to see some may only remember it go, rallying for more of the days of Spring Break spe- The Hills and Road Rules. cials in Ft. Lauderdale. As MTV's music caters entirely the show progressed over its to popular music and has bedecade run, the music videos come embarrassing to admit became sparser and the com- you watch the channel. mercial; breaks seemed to be TRL's finale was filled increasingly more frequent with nostalgic celebrities than music. and past hosts relishing past MTV canceling its only successes. But the death of remaining music show, on the music video was actually the station supposedly dedi- what the party represented. cated to music, is incredibly What is music television This year has been a rollercoaster of sorts on many grounds: the stock market, presidential election, economy and gas prices. With so many things to worry about, it would be hard to worry about them all at the same time. Who is honestly thinking about the high prices of gas, because who can remember the last time gas prices were so low? do you like or disut Thanksgiving? I may be a little biased because my anniversary and birthday fall right around or on Thanksgiving, but I love Thanksgiving. What could be better than hanging out all day with family and friends, eating, watching movies and playing games? —Merinda Davis, Lead designer I dislike the Thanksgiving fixation: turkey, Satan's animal. But I like that at least we are encouraged to kill and eat them. -Greg Wilcox, Web editor Six different football games to watch on six different channels. -David Fullmer, Life writer My mother's Puerto Rican flan and cinnamon yams. -Matthew Jonassaint, Asst. Life editor I am in support of any holiday that provides me the opportunity to devour mashed potatoes. -Jack J. Waters, Editor in chief I love how the first few bites of mashed potatoes are amazing. But I hate how the last bites of pie are horrible. —Parker Donat, Sports writer I don't like Turkey. It's the feathers. Anything that once had feathers I seem to be afraid of, and feathers only add to the creepiness of the animal. -Amie Wells, Asst. News editor Illustration by Jordy Kirkman/ UVU Review without music videos? MTV seems to have adopted the ideology that music television is a vehicle for gaudy reality stars and excessive commercial breaks. But the transformation seems to have followed a predictable pattern of harvesting money from the youth of America. Fair-weather environmentalists During the summer when prices were above the fourdollar mark, that was all everyone could think about, and a sense of the need to become a conservationist kicked in; people started driving less, walking more, and using public transportation. But that was the summer, it was warm, and it might have felt Jike the way to help out in that time of need. Driving still emits the same amount of pollution, and burns the same amount Staff -Robbin Anthony, Office manager Editor at large SPENCER SHELL ernment - many have been wrong — but I am still proud to be an American. Those who claim that Thanksgiving is an arbitrary holiday do not fully understand the traditions of the American people. The tradition of America is to look out for number one. That is exactly what the pilgrims did. Looking back, the majority of decisions made by the American government support this theory. The white man dominating hierarchal government tradition, while extremely wrong, is what America has traditionally been. Like most American holidays, Thanksgiving has become another commercialized tradition. But that is the beauty of this holiday. We can celebrate gluttony and laziness while hiding behind a pretence of commemorating the pilgrim's survival of their first winter. I don't know about you but I feel extremely grateful that I am given this opportunity. With all of the famine in the world, I am thankful for the chance to have a valid excuse to eat until I can't eat anymore, then eat some more and not feel guilty about it. So eat up, and have a very happy Thanksgiving. Family Drama. MTV completely ousts music Opinions editor Opinions wriler Much like the story that Christopher Columbus discovered America, the story of the first Thanksgiving is a tale that was taught in history classes to increase nationalism. Christopher Columbus never set foot in North America -- the closest he made it was the West Indies. The first Thanksgiving was more of a traditional harvest festival rather than a celebration of surviving their first winter. They were about to enter winter when the 'first Thanksgiving' was celebrated. The relationship between the native population and the pilgrims could be described as having been rocky at best. Unknowingly the pilgrims set precedence for what America would become. The fact that the pilgrims stole food from, the Native population is beside the point. Thanksgiving is a great American tradition. Personally I am thankful to live in America. Although the American government has not been the most brutal in history, it has its fair share of past indiscretions. Personally I disagree with many of the actions taken by the gov- Opfntons wriler There's a reason Thanksgiving is the most boring holiday on the calendar -- unless your family is the food fight variety, of course. We all know that the Pilgrims and Indians worked hard to produce a great harvest together then partied to enjoy the resulting feast ~ a longtime tradition among most Native American tribes. About a year later, Captain John Woodlief's son decided to start warring with the Wampanoag. So much for peace and all that "getting along" stuff. Still, every year, we're required to think up what to say to those annoying folks who inevitably ask, "So, what are YOU thankful for?" Well, I'm thankful most of my known relatives didn't grow up on a tiny bit of land with the government doing everything it could to pull bits of it away here and there until they're sitting on a rock with a shotgun and a bottle of whiskey. But aside from that. Thanksgiving has pretty much lost all its luster, with the more recent acknowledgments that we white folks were very, very nasty to the natives -and that celebrating the one afternoon we were polite to them for saving our lives while ignoring the rest of history is just a tad condescending. So I'm proposing that we replace Thanksgiving with the holiday that should have been celebrated in the first place ~ Squanto Day. For those of you unfamiliar with Squanto, let me first say that he should have been an iconic figure and should be a household name. Few people in history have put up with so much crap for so long and been so devastated, and yet come out of the mess with a magnanimous spirit and generous heart, serving til the end. Squanto was a strapping young Patuxet when he was kidnapped by the British and enslaved in Spain, and was rescued from this plight by a group of Spanish friars, who were disgusted by the institution of slavery, and Squanto found his way to England where he quickly got a job. He was sent by his boss on expeditions to the New World, and on his second trip he decided to go home. There he found his tribe had been mysteriously wiped out. He tried in:vain to find survivors, but went back to help his boss who had been mortally Thanksgiving, a great American tradition of gas and oil. It still has the same impact on the environment, but who's thinking about that now since prices are down. People only care about the environment when by taking care of the environment they are taking care of themselves, in terms of limiting monetary expenditure. This trend could be viewed in Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid. Only after we're feeling good, have money in our pockets, and feel safe and loved, then do we start thinking about things around us or about how we can have a positive impact. Who can blame us? We need to survive, don't we? The irony in all of this is that in order to survive we need to start taking care of the world around us. If we look out for the environment, the environment will look out for us. Most of us know all of this but just don't care, myself included. I don't just like sweet potatoes -- I love them. But I detest working at 6 a.m. the next morning just so that lunatics can shop. Don't they know that stores open at 9 a.m.? Why not sleep? -Jennie Nicholls, Editor at large I like trying to get as much free food as possible. I like that it's not materialistic. I dislike how everyone is thanking God. —Diego Ibanez, Opinions writer Thanksgiving is only a holiday for men. But the leftover mashed potatoes aren't too shabby. -Mel Sundquist, Life editor Weighing yourself before and after the meal to see how much weight you have put on. How American. -Spencer Shell, Opinions editor O Family, food and football! 75 edito -Matt Beaudin, Sports editor I dislike the feeling I get after eatin Thanksgiving dinner. 0 -Britnee Ni The racist jokes. o O -Trent Bates oo much |