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Show OPINIONS WWW.UVUREVIEW.COM Nal:111.1M 11111111 11MT4 Road hazard: a warning A plee to participate By CAMERON SIMEK Opinion's Writer You just finished a test in the testing center. You have five minutes before your next class in the GT building. You haven't eaten. The only thing on your mind is grabbing a pizza and hiking up five flights of stairs. You hurry across the crosswalk thinking how nice it is that someone actually stopped for you. The last thing you see before you wake up in a hospital is a flash of silver and an "H" flying at you. You may think to yourself "That can't happen to me. I always wait at the crosswalk." But, do you? I saw someone almost die because a silver Honda decided it didn't want to wait at a crosswalk. Four cylinders of fury, tearing down the road and around my car into the oncoming lane, narrowly avoiding smearing another student across the asphalt. I am not a silent person. I do not forget injustices made against me. Yet, my biggest flaw is that I am silent at the injustices made against others. But no more. This is an issue that can result in serious injury, permanent handicap, or death. I am compelled to speak out. I'm a commuter. I'm only on campus two days a week, but as I make that journey I am filled with great anxiety. I know that when I arrive on campus I will get cut off and almost rear-ended. I'll worry about my doors and bumpers being compromised, all the while trying to focus on what I'm learning. I've driven quite a bit across this nation. Without hesitation I can state that Utah is the worst state I have ever driven in. Rush hour in metropolises like Houston, Dallas and Denver all fall short of the danger that is driving in this valley. You would have to be insane to get behind the wheel of a car here, but I make the commute anyway, because I want to get through school, hopefully without dying. Motorists in Utah drive like they're late for the birth of their child. News flash: Whatever it is you're speeding to, it's less important than staying alive. Driving is a privilege. It's a very easy one to obtain, but it isn't a right given to you by God. It can be revoked. Also, how you drive may well be representative of other aspects of your life. Maybe you should just sit back and enjoy the ride, instead of being in such a hurry. It feels better that way. A few small changes to your daily routine will prevent the constant hurry that everyone seems to be in. It may also alleviate school stress as well. Double whammy First, wake up a little earlier. Just waking up five to ten minutes earlier will give you that extra time you need to stop for pedestrians, who are just trying to get like class like you. You'll also be more alert before that first class. Waking up early only helps, though, if you leave the house earlier as well. Try it. It may not seem like much, but it will make all the difference. Second, don't drive angry. You're not Nicolas Cage, so in Student Elections GREG BENSON/UVU REVIEW This is all too common a scene on UVU campus. there's no need to rage behind the wheel. This one will be a bit difficult, as others may still commit vehicular transgressions against you, but forgive them. To err is human. When someone cuts me off, I get upset for a second, curse violently, then breathe in and continue on my way. Does it really matter? I am not more important than everyone else. Third, remember that you aren't more important than anyone else. There is a person inside every one of those other cars. They have lives, families, and responsibilities just like you. Don't see the car as some machine you have wronged when you run a stop sign. See them as people. People behind the wheel aren't the only ones to blame though. Pedestrians, the crosswalks are there for you to be able to traverse the street safely. It's the area that is marked with flashing lights and thick while lines. Cross there. Not near them. In them. Please. To those that already drive patiently, take this advice, and remember it. Pass it along. Honking at someone who drives poorly isn't wrong. It's a way of saying, "Hey, other drivers, look at this idiot." When people are on display, they're more likely to think about what they are doing. There may be those among you planning to profit from this possible surge of drivetime patience, but think before you do. Getting to class early, or on time, is great. Getting there alive is even better. 2011 ACCIDENT REPORTS • • • • 150 accidents 6 involved injuries 38 hit-and-run 106 with property damage • 15 occurred in roundabout provided by UVU Campus Police On bread and circuses in America By JOHN-ROSS BOYCE Opinion's Editor "... Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions, everything - now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses." - Juvenal Last week, the American people actually did their job. Somehow, two tremendously bad ideas called SOPA and PIPA wormed their way into the serious consideration of our elected officials. SOPA designed to expand law enforcements ability to fight online trafficking in copyrighted material. PIPA was supposed to allow the US Government to disappear offending websites like Orthodox priests in Stalinist Russia. Here today, gone tomorrow. SOPA and PIPA had all the characteristics of a terrible bill — murky language, vague targets and a suspiciously aggressive amount of support from a gargantuan lobbyist — in this case, the RIAA and Hollywood. SOPA and PIPA would mean the end of a free and egalitarian Internet. It would turn from an information su- perhighway to a second life death march, where g-men computer nerds pick off websites left and right, according to the interests of David Geffen and the Weinstein Brothers. We rallied together. We screamed our throats raw in one collective chieftain's holler. We reminded our people in Washington that they were expendable. We told them they'd be wouldn't be legislating the drive-thru at Burger King if they didn't watch their step. And it worked. Most of our senators and representatives backed down. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) slithered back into their burrows, to lick their wounds and dream of more terrible bills to someday sponsor. But let's not polish our laurels just yet, America. Where was this mass outcry, these threats of full-blown revolution when the Office of Legal Counsel decided that waterboarding isn't a form of torture. Where were you when George W. Bush and his cadre of fiends started tapping our phone calls and fighting illegal endless wars? Where were you when Obama bailed out the vampires who sent us into the Great Recession? Did you know that under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, the military and whoever gives them their orders can indefinitely detain any U.S. citizen they please? Where were your protests and your Twitter campaigns and your ire and your righteous indignation then, America? In Rome, the phrase was "bread and circuses". As long as ancient politicians kept the bellies full of food and the mind distracted with entertainment, they could get away with murder. So they made sure the baskets had bread in them and that there was always a chance to watch two gladiators slice each other in half. That story ends with a city on fire and a rabid emperor playing his fiddle. By letting all that garbage slide, and then only getting angry when your Tumblr account is threatened, do you know what you did? You've reminded The Powers That Be that nobody cares who the farmer is as long as the trough is full. What do we care if CIA stooges can listen to our phone calls, decide we're suspicious characters, summon soldiers to round us up and waterboard us until we chokingly confess to a crime we probably didn't commit? As long as I Can Has Cheez Burger and Youtube are up and running who cares what legislative storms come our way? Here's a harsh fact, folks: the Government isn't doing its job. Not Republicans. Not Democrats. But here's a harsher truth: the Government isn't doing its job because you haven't been doing your job. You're not reading up on what's happening in Washington. You're not calling congressmen out on their crap. You're not telling senators what you want. You're not fighting for your rights. And rights aren't rights. They're privileges. If you don't put in the effort to fight for them, they will be taken away. You can complain all you want about the state of our nation. You can lament and weep and wail and gnash your teeth and very loudly pine for a time like unto the days of our beloved founding fathers. But until you start actually operating on Jefferson's notion liberty exists when government fears its people, you're going to get the same results. I'm not saying you didn't do a good job, America. You did a great job. You saved the Internet. But don't put down your pitchforks yet. Don't douse your torches. We've only won one battle, and there's a whole war to fight. Onward. On Feb. 6, applications to run in this year's UVUSA elections will be due. They will be due precisely at noon in the UVUSA Office, which is in SC 105. The applications are to be returned to John McClure, the Elections Committee Chair. Questions? Please call 801863-8652 We're telling you this because it's our job. And because of the faint effort being made by other parties to inform the students. The UVU Review wants to make sure that every student here at Utah Valley University has the opportunity to participate in these elections, be it as a candidate or as a voter.. You need to know these elections are happening because, believe it or not, student government does have some sway at this school. They are responsible to ap- propriate students fees. Twelve million dollars, to be exact. They decide what gets done with that money. They plan our events. They work closely with our Academic Deans, the UVU Board of Trustees and President Holland himself. We need to tell you this because, frankly, we dropped the ball last year. Last year we didn't know packets were due until a singular, uncon- tested group began their cam- paign. So, it's partially our fault that last year one party ran in an uncontested race and won by default. But, at the same time, it's ultimately not our job to advertise upcoming student elections. That's UVUSA's job. We need to tell you this because it might be the only place you'll see this information. Yes, there are a few scattered posters around campus., but their coloring is not anything that readily attracts the eye — pale green letters on a white background. They have also been found in odd locations, like a cluster by the ground floor elevator in the Sparks Automotive Building. Or above the urinals in some of the men's restrooms. The info is in the middle of the page. So read fast or pee slow. You're not going to find UVUSA 2012 ELECTIONS • Packets available in SC-105. • Packets due Feb. 6 at noon. • Packets include elections time-line, positions available, campaign rules, qualifications and officer applications. • Elections begin March 5. OPINIONS EDITOR ASST. OPINIONS EDITOR OPINIONS DESIGNER jrboyce@gmail.com felicialartey@gmail.com tjmendenhall@q.com JOHN-ROSS BOYCE FELICIA JOY them unless you're consciously hunting them down. We have a giant banner in the Sorensen Center about the video game "Skyrim". It spans the width and length of an entire wall across from the bookstore. But for some reason, we don't see too many posters urging students to run for student office. Why don't we see a giant sign across from the bookstore advertising these elections? Why didn't they put one up there last fall, when it wouldn't have to be a last minute mad dash for an ambitious yet uninformed matriculate? We have a giant electronic billboard overlooking our little stretch of 1-15. We're a commuter school. Yeah, UVUSA only has 12 million to work with, but surely they could afford to design a quick ad and slap it up there for all to see. Would it even cost them anything, or is the electronic billboard a resource readily at their disposal? Look on UVU's website. Front page. Check the rotat- ing news banner. See any- thing about elections? Be- cause as of press time, we did not. The deadline for applica- tions to run isn't even on the calendar. Even if a student found out today that running for office was an option, they'd have a week to get the signatures and letters of support and resources necessary to run. Compare that to the chances of an incumbent candidate, who has known about elec- tions for possibly a year in advance. That candidate has had ample time to prepare. Who do you think has a bet- ter shot at victory? A default victory is only considered a victory by dictators and other generally unscrupulous people. A default victory is either something not worth winning or something fishy is going on. And democracies that don't enjoy a lot of participation eventually become dictatorships before our very eyes. Be cool to your school, kids. Participate in student elections. Campaign. Vote. Win. Make like Eagle Scouts and leave this school better than you found it. Go you Wolverines. TARALYN MENDENHALL |