| Circle of Life "You form a symbiotic circle. What happens to one of you will affect the other. You must see this." Truth be told, this line originated in a motion picture. But its relevance transcends the bounds of a 70 mm reel of film. All carbon-based forms on planet Earth are inexplicably tied to each other. Even in death. Organ donation has enabled the dead to give life to the living. We encourage all TCU students to become organ donors. People will die today. Not enough of them will allow others to go on living. According to statistics from United Network for Organ Sharing, one person who decides to become an organ donor can save up to 25 lives. Twenty-five people will live because one person had the vision to see beyond himself or herself to see that life does intertwine. Urban legends exist about organ donation. They are wrong. n Myth: My family will be charged for donating my organs. Fact: Donation costs nothing to the donor's family or estate. n Myth: Donation will mutilate my body. Fact: Donated organs are removed surgically, in a routine operation similar to gallbladder or appendix removal. Donation doesn't disfigure the body or change the way it looks in a casket. You may become an organ donor by informing your family or by indicating so on your driver's license. Something so simple it can be done in a matter of seconds. Something so simple it will pass the intrinsic gift of life to another. As of Jan. 31, 2000, over 67,340 humans were waiting for an organ to save their lives. People will die today. What will they do with their organs? Allow them to return into the symbiotic circle of life. Affect someone else by giving him or her life.
Who wants to get some perspective? Lately, American television has seen the re-emergence of the game show in prime time viewing slots. Ushered in by the success of Regis Philbin's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," other shows such as Fox's "Greed" and, most recently, the deplorable, "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire." In an ironic twist, television has even brought back the '50s quiz show "21," which ended the prime time viewing of such shows with its first failure in the realms of question doctoring. We cheer on these contestants weekly, and yet we are not asking the question: Why are we cheering such shows that feed the American public's fascination with what has variously been called the American dream or, more specifically, the 'self-made man'? We watch these shows because we love cheering on our fellow citizens. These are regular people, we can only guess, who have, through some fortune and minimal knowledge, been given the chance to win a new life. But is winning a new life something to be cheered on? After all, isn't the American dream built upon earning a life? I'm not sure the networks fully understand the message they are propagating. It's a message that money can buy happiness. That may or may not be true, but it's also a message that hard work, being a productive citizen, voting and earning an honest living are not enough. Here is where we run into problems. Cheering for fellow citizens, our American brothers and sisters, is fine enough. It's keeping the notion of community alive in America. But why can't we cheer on more noble causes? Why must the American people tune in nightly to a game show to find community? Why must our dreams be based around greed? These are the questions we should be asking every time we cheer the contestants on, or when we see their pictures on the cover of magazines. After winning a million dollars, however, these people are basically like you and me: fairly boring. Not that the typical American life is boring in itself, but it shouldn't warrant any kind of fame. Its the old Andy Warhol adage, "15 minutes of fame," for everyone in the future? Perhaps Warhol was being more literal than we expected. People are getting the chance to be famous. It's as if answering 15 rather elementary questions could be considered an achievement. It worries me when even in my own classes, people will refer to things such as "lifelines," when stumped on a question, as if knowledge in higher education could be reduced to such elementary inquiries. Perhaps we are simply repeating the past. After all, the economy was booming in the '50s, and so Americans had time to stuff themselves with get-rich-quick fantasies, as if there were enough wealth to make everyone rich. However, we can't forget about the families on welfare who tune in every night and watch people, much like themselves, earn millions of dollars in a matter of minutes. How must this make them feel about Americans' priorities? Instead of using extra wealth to start social programs, we are using it to amuse ourselves and make more money for the media, which help propagate such messages. The message lies within the show, but it's masked by the smiling faces, the high-dollar prizes and the stories of families who were able to start a new life thanks to good old Regis. We are too well-equipped for social change to waste it on advertising profits and false idols. For Americans, the greatest of these idols is money. As regular citizens, we must make it a point to believe in the real American dream.
Matthew Colglazier is a freshman news-editorial journalism and English major from Fort Worth. He can be reached at (mscolglazier@delta.is.tcu.edu). Inject some romance in other holidays The shortest, coldest-in-more-ways-than-one month of the year now cloaks us. Yes, the gimp of all months on our calendar, February. Old Man Winter finally decides to get cranky and turn down the thermostat for us Americanos del Norte - with exceptions made to Texans. Blah, I say, to the cold weather, a more prevalent evil takes place in February, and I'm not talking about honoring dishonorable presidents. I'm referring to a pagan holiday deemed by the greeting card industry as a life saver, if not a god-send - Valentine's Day. I've decided to list a few holidays that are so keenly better than Valentine's Day just so that the public is aware that even on such holidays such as Boxing Day, a little bit o' romance can be thrown in. Let's go in chronological order: Super Bowl Sunday: Technically, this isn't a holiday, but so what? If one can find a member of the opposite sex a.) (for guys) find a woman who loves football just as much as you do; b.) (for women) find a guy who could care less about the game, then good golly, you've got quite a find. St. Patrick's Day (March 17). Aye, lads and lassies, t'is'ere dae, be from the mer'ry folks of Irelan'. Green is mor're a romantic colur than that shade o' red. Am' think abour it, if one donnot wear green, they gets a wee pinch. O' an' let's not forget how swell a five pound chocolate shamrock is. April Fool's Day (April 1). If you want to pull a good prank, this is the mother of all days to do it. Heck, use your prank to your advantage by asking someone out. I mean, a sense of humor livens relationships up, right? May - Yet another holiday to which true Americans mean remembering those that served in the armed forces with a big ol' four alarm barbecue. But where's the romance, you ask? Well, come on, you can't ask for romance every day of the year. Yeesh, you hopeless romantics Independence Day (July 4). "Born in the USA " Um, well, since we're good Americans, the due course of this holiday is to become a pyromaniac for a day. What better a way to impress somebody with a bouquet of pyrotechnic genius, whether it be your own (I would not recommend this) or someone else's. Most of the time it's better to find a spot and observe with someone. Makes great for a first date. The both of you can regress to the state of 4-year-olds and watch in awe of the emblazed sky. Labor Day (the first Monday in September). Every hard-working person deserves a barbecue. If you failed to try the whole barbecue thing over Memorial Day, now's your chance. All Hallow's Eve, a.k.a. Halloween (Oct. 31). Costumes. 'Nuff said. Turkey Day (last Thursday in November). This one combines food and football, with, to add a little spice - family. Just think about all the things that can be done with food, football and family. The possibilities are endless. December let's face it. The entire month is just chock-full o' good stuff. You've got Hanukkah, Christmas, snow (depending on where you live) the crisp air and let's not forget, Boxing Day! I know what you're thinking. I'm attacking the institution of the romantics. I'm a romantic myself. I'm assaulting the institution of Valentine's Day. For those who need an excuse to act on a whim of so-called, romantic things, I pity you. Don't send cards, don't send chocolates there are plenty of other days out there to be spontaneous, recite sonnets, send a bushel of flowers and consume mass quantities of chocolates.
Patrick Harris is a freshman graphic design major from Houston. He can be reached at (pjharris@delta.is.tcu.edu). Letter to the editor Don't consider priesthood as glass ceiling to be broken I am writing in response to David Becker's well-intended criticism of the Episcopal bishop of Fort Worth and his position on the ordination of women to the priesthood. Contrary to the common misinterpretation of the situation, the bishop makes no judgment as to the capability of women to minister, preach or play vital roles in the life of the church. In fact, he strongly encourages women to assume various leadership roles and is rarely seen without a female deacon assisting him. The issue is not about the inferiority of women, but about maintaining the sanctity of the sacraments. The bishop chooses not to ordain women as priests because he believes, in accordance with Catholic tradition, that during communion, the priest represents the figure of Christ. We cannot presume why God chose a male form for the incarnation, but we acknowledge (the fact) that he did as important. The celebration of the Eucharist is the only role a woman is disallowed from, and it requires no special talent or ability. I read no belittlement of women in this theology, and as a woman in this diocese, my voice has not been silenced, and I have not been prevented from ministry. Criticizing this issue outside the context of Catholic tradition is counterproductive to understanding and church unity. The priesthood as we understand it is not just another glass ceiling to be broken, but an institution traced back to Christ himself which will not be improved upon by sociological studies or secular political activism.
Sheryl Yeomans senior studio art major Quote unquote Quote/Unquote is a collection of quotes from Skiff news articles during the past week.
"I'm hoping to spend an intimate night together I don't mean intimate in a bad way." - Jennifer Jost , sophomore English major, on her Valentine's Day plans.
"Students who want to know about it have to seek out the event, but it's not getting the amount of publicity it deserves." -Katie Kirkpatrick, junior special education major, on the importance of celebrating Black History Month.
"I think Cupid should start using a 9 mm because he shoots me in the heart every Valentine's Day." - Brad Biggs, sophomore biology major, on his views on Valentine's Day |
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