| Take the time During the 1920s, a black man named Carter G. Woodson created and promoted Negro History Week. This period in February was chosen because it included the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, a month-long celebration was implemented, and it became a time for Americans of all races to reflect on both the history and teachings of black people whose contributions to society have been significant and substantial. It is the month in which we reflect on the accomplishments of well-known black figures such as W.E.B. DuBois, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and Thurgood Marshall and learn about the contributions of lesser-known figures such as tennis star Althea Gibson, college founder Mary McLeod Bethune, astrologer Benjamin Banneker and singer Marian Anderson. It is the month in which we bear witness to the progress, richness and diversity of black achievement. TCU is not exempt from this celebration, but historically, these events at TCU have not been well-attended. In fact, Bertice Berry, a speaker who mixed comedy with a discussion of racial stereotypes, did not even draw a full crowd last February at Ed Landreth Hall Auditorium. And members of the TCU community should be embarrassed to say so. Taking two days out of one month to celebrate the accomplishments of such an important group of people is not asking too much. In fact, celebrating the achievements, progress and contributions black people have made to the world is something we should strive to do on a daily, not monthly, basis.
Bush's nomination in jeopardy Sure, George W. Bush may have the most respected name in the presidential race. He may also have more campaign funds than his competition, a great deal more endorsements from his party and the advantage of not having been faced with any viable opposition until late last September. However, there is one vital thing that Bush has failed to do: Anything remotely unique. It was expected that George W. would virtually waltz his way into the GOP nomination, but he hasn't given the voters any reason to support him. Meanwhile, John McCain, Steve Forbes and all the other Republican candidates have repeatedly attacked Bush, allowing McCain to rapidly claw his way into a tight race with the front-runner. After McCain's ingenious move of skipping Iowa and focusing on the New Hampshire primary, he reaped the dividends of a massive upset victory that proved to voters he has a legit chance to topple "Goliath." Now that Bush appears beatable, and he still continues to ignore the fact that he is indeed in a very tight race, more and more Republicans will continue to turn to McCain as they realize they have a more charismatic choice that won't turn out to be a wasted vote. McCain's confidence has skyrocketed as of late, while Bush's ego continues to bruise. Also, McCain's grassroots campaign continues to gain him more support as he travels with the media from city to city on his touring bus. I am not trying to turn McCain into a savior. I simply believe that he has many of the intangibles that our society often innocently craves. He has a heroic past, and he fits the role of the underdog that all Americans love to root for. Also, because of this stout image, he hasn't been faced with many media attacks, as the media wish to avoid criticism from the public. Also, the "in" thing to do right now is to attack the proclaimed front-runner, which is the status that Bush has been pegged with. America is sick of all of the Clinton administration's scandals, and Bush desperately needs to make a move to erase his party-boy image and transform himself into a powerful, confident leader. At this point, America wants someone who is able to combine wisdom and leadership with an outgoing captivating personality. I'm not saying I have the answers for him, but Bush must give the voters a reason to choose him. His "born with a silver spoon" past isn't working to his advantage anymore. For now, America is still enthralled with McCain's heroic military past. On the Democratic side, we also have a tight race, albeit one going in the opposite direction of the Republicans. Although candidates Al Gore and Bill Bradley are in a close race, Gore continues to maintain virtually all of the Democratic congressional support. Even though I have trouble buying into it, Gore has been fairly successful in his attempts to force some sort of personality out of his dull zombie image. He has done all the right things in his campaign so far, but he will continue to have trouble outdistancing himself from Bradley as he continues to be hounded by the labels he acquired as vice president. Many young people see Bradley as a fresh face who represents a much-needed change from all of the scandals that have plagued Clinton's years in office. Also, Bradley has the support of many liberals who see Gore as being too conservative. However, Gore's more conservative stance may work out for him better in the long run. Personally, failing to see any of the candidates truly stand out at this point, I suddenly wish Bob Dole were running again. In the last presidential race, I was very impressed with many of his ideas and policies, but his lack of charisma and allure inevitably caused his downfall. Now that he has run the talk-show circuit and has revealed some of his physical flaws in commercials, most of America has come to realize that he is very charming and witty. If he were only a few years younger, I would support him in a second if he were running again. On a final note, I would like to wish former GOP candidate Gary Bauer farewell after having dropped out of the race. Let's just say his lack of balance was always good enough for a laugh.
Jordan Blum is a freshman broadcast journalism
major from New Orleans. V-Day can mean D-day for some Before I begin, I want to thank God for putting Valentine's Day on a Monday, not because I hate Valentine's Day and all the candied crap for which it represents, but because I would be compelled to write a column on V-Day if God had scheduled it for Thursday. Then again, who am I kidding? I've gotten started already, and I might as well hurtle forward to this ignominious and inevitably spiteful-sounding end. As far as useless holidays go, V-Day is actually more useless than St. Patrick's Day, but that's only because I'm Irish. Initially, it was my understanding that Hallmark and the rest of the greeting card lobby (which continues to pressure Congress to promulgate more insipid holidays) were behind V-Day, but it turns out there is an actual history behind it. Apparently it started in Rome, back when lions ate Christians on national television (it was usually safe to bet on the lions - their record was something like MCCCLXIX and IV). Boys and girls were matched for the day by pulling names out of a hat, and oftentimes they fell in love and married. Marriage, unfortunately got in the way of war, so Claudius II canceled marriage in order to draft effective (read: Not whipped) troops. (As an aside, Claudius had many other great ideas, such as conquering the Goths in A.D. 269.) Enter Valentine, meddlesome priest and love broker extraordinaire, who opened an underground drive-through wedding chapel of sorts. Leave it to some sleazy priest to get in the way of noble aims like conquest. Well, naturally, Claudius found out about this, and in true "COPS! In Las Vegas" style, he had Valentine clubbed and decapitated. If only he could have seen what Valentine's execution would spawn. By getting martyred, Valentine got sainted. I don't know what miracle he performed, but maybe that rule wasn't in effect then. In any case, St. Valentine became a hero of true love, and now we have to venerate him in the form of a cheesy holiday. What is particularly irritating about St. Valentine and his stupid holiday is that even though it started in Italy, I don't think Italians celebrate it! Yet another reason why I wish I were Italian. So now we men who have girlfriends or wives or mistresses have to think up something incredible that tops all the other guys ideas and appears as if we thought of it all by ourselves over many, many days. I shouldn't complain because I am free of the aforementioned entanglements. However, I am trying to be their voice, since none of them would dare gripe about V-Day, lest they suffer dire consequences. If a guy succeeds in doing the right thing on Valentine's Day, then more power to him. The rest of us heave exasperated sighs when the whole thing blows over. And so do the lonely. I won't quote Roy Orbison directly, but the lonely know what I'm talking about. If you are male and lonely on Valentine's Day, all I can say is suck it up, crybaby, because wimps don't pull any skirts! If you are male and alone on Valentine's Day, then I suggest the fleeting and, ultimately, hollow joy of one of the 5 million strip clubs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. You'll probably feel worse later, but men don't need to have that sort of foresight. I realize that single women don't like this holiday either. It stands to reason that Valentine's Day is fun for a minority. If no one gets a day off anyway, and the single, lonely and disenchanted are bothered by it, why are we keeping it around? Why not end the vexation of the masses by eliminating Valentine's Day and making the 14th special for what it actually is - a hump day. We should celebrate the 14th as being the midway point in a mostly cold and crappy month. If we had to make it official, I suggest, nay demand, that it be called Super Hump Day. Celebrate it however you want.
Steve Steward is a senior political science
major from Lodi, Calif. and is neither lonely nor desperate, Thanks & Spanks Spanks: To the administration in the M.J. Neeley School of Business for requiring the Wall Street Journal to be paid by each business student through their school accounts. How come books are optional to buy, yet no one has a choice in the subscription to the Journal? What happened? Has TCU run out of ways to charge students on their own? Here's an idea: Institute a desk fee, which charges students for the PRIVILEGE of sitting in class instead of standing. It's more believable, and it will cut out the middleman. William Amos senior accounting and finance major
Spanks: To the builders of Reed Hall for not connecting stairs from the second floor to the third on the building's main staircase. There's nothing worse than running up the steps in front of the building at 10:59 a.m., mounting the steps closest to that entrance and then realizing you have to run all the way to the stairwell to get to the third floor and make that 11 a.m. class on time.
Thanks: To the Leftist Student Union and the College Republicans for trying to shake campus apathy.
Spanks: To the university for having an unrepresentative number of women on task forces for the Commission on the Future of TCU. |
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