Saturday is Earth Day. This day encourages us to evaluate how we treat our planet. We can do so on several levels: individually, nationally and internationally. As individuals, are we trying to avoid using those Styrofoam boxes in The Main? Are we tossing soda cans into the recycle containers? Are we trying to reduce, reuse and recycle? As a nation, are we properly disposing of toxic materials, including used nuclear materials? Are we confronting the air pollution problem caused by our heavy dependence on automobiles? Have we made a commitment to developing alternative, eco-friendly energy sources? Will we actually impose fines and demand that industries comply with strict environmental codes? As part of the international community, are we feeling a little guilty for producing a ridiculous proportion of the world's waste? Are we committed to holding American companies in other countries to environmental standards? While personal responsibility is essential, we must also realize that national and international measures are necessary to fight an entrenched, widespread disregard for our Earth. Many individuals recycle but are reluctant to tell companies to stop polluting. But it is our place as citizens to make sure everyone, including industries, does their part. Some companies have traditionally been resistant to strict environmental standards because of concerns about the cost of initiating eco-friendly measures. But today, some businesses find benefits when they adopt such measures. Sometimes, though, environmental protection will have a high cost. Maybe the question for this Earth Day is, "Are we willing to pay?"
Someone's got to rock the boat Faultfinding may save the world from alien enslavement, capri pants "To each his own." "Live and let live." "Whatever floats your boat." Man, have I heard those a lot, usually whenever I have begun to rant or gripe in the presence of those who are more tolerant than I. If everyone lived according to these sappy platitudes, the world would be a much happier, peaceful place. I contend that that world would be ripe for conquest on the part of some smarter, strife-filled race of beings. Thankfully, there are plenty of people like me who find fault with everything, therefore, saving the human race from extraterrestrial enslavement. And, in keeping with my obligation to keep the earth out of trouble, I have much with which to find fault. I don't like current fashion trends, but I really don't like a couple in particular. Recently, I visited the GAP, and I discovered men's 3/4 length shorts, which are really capri pants for men. These are not cool. I shouldn't have to explain why, but I will anyway. Only recently did I decide that capri pants look OK on women; don't expect me to grant them the same status for men. Not only that, but they aren't properly named; if they were really 3/4 length shorts, your butt cheeks would hang out of them. The bottom line: You might own a pair of these things and think you're way cool, but you're really not. The only men who can get away with wearing capri pants are pirates, and I know pirates don't shop at the GAP. I'm also tired of seeing T-shirts that advertise the Abercrombie Surf Classic. When I see these shirts, I wonder how Kelly Slater placed. I mean, the guy's a six-time world championship surfer, so he probably did pretty well. I also wonder who is on the Abercrombie surf team. Needless to say, these shirts suck because Abercrombie & Fitch surfwear is about as authentic as a white guy at a Black Panther meeting. While I'm on the subject of subcultures, I think the whole marijuana culture is really annoying. It bothers me on several counts, the most annoying of which is how it brings people together from other subcultures. As a professional misanthrope, I should not have to tell you how I feel about togetherness. For instance, since today is April 20, hippies, preppies, gang members, young suburban white kids who dress entirely in FUBU, and any other person who wastes entire afternoons smoking weed, will all hunch over and click their lighters into blown glass at the same time. Minutes later, the country will abound with stupid ideas and ridiculous conspiracy theories, and the national supply of munchies will drop dramatically. I've discovered many of my grievances with my human brethren while in school, which brings me to my next beef. I've been to the computer lab a lot lately, but not at a different time than the 300 or so marketing groups that congregate there like so many mindless worker bees. Just in case you guys didn't know, the whole idea behind the computer lab is to get work done and not bother other people while you're doing it. It's a tricky game, balancing both of those tasks, but multi-tasking shouldn't be a problem. Nevertheless, there are always 10 or 12 of you socializing in front of a PowerPoint display, keeping me from carrying on the conversations with the voices inside my head. I haven't been able to make out what they've been saying, but it sounds like "throw...bricks...at...marketing groups." If you happen to fall into any one of these categories, you might reconsider what you're doing because you bother me. And if you fall under all three, you're positively evil.
Steve Steward is a senior marketing major
from Humboldt, Calif. and rides an Abercrombie 9'.
James A. Ryffel, a Dallas businessman and TCU alumnus, gave $5 million to the entrepreneurial center last month, along with $1 million for venture capital. Surely there's no better time to give your pocket change to the university to get your name on yet another incredibly long title or building at TCU. The James A. Ryffel Entrepreneurial Center will go quite nicely with the Tom Brown/Pete Wright Residential Community Commons Building and the Mary D. and F. Howard Walsh Center for Performing Arts. The entrepreneurial center will teach students everything from pre-startup procedures to how to gather resources necessary for a company to grow, said William Moncrief, interim dean of the M.J. Neeley School of Business, in a March 22 Skiff article. Well, la-ti-freakin'-da. To the students majoring in business, accounting, finance, marketing or any combination of the above fields that are destined to provide them with 2.3 children, a Chevy Suburban and a dog named Fido, this must seem like a big deal. However, to the rest of us, it seems like a kick in the pants, but with less of those darned boot marks and more of that oddly pleasant sting. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what the hell the words "venture capital" mean when they're put together, but I'd "venture" to say a "capital" is a big letter. But I guess that's just the journalist speaking in me. That's just the journalist in me who is going hungry because the journalism department can't afford to buy us pizza once a week and pay late fees when we miss deadline, even though our advertising department sold $200,000 of ads this year. That's just the journalist in me who walks by the sociology department's trailer right before I pass the massive business building every Tuesday and Thursday on my way to class. It's a good thing the March 28 tornado didn't "venture" closer to campus, as tornadoes are notorious for destroying trailer parks. The March 22 Skiff article also reports that business students, undergraduate and graduate alike, will be able to have hands-on experience and exposure to real-world business. "Only when students are allowed to make decisions will they find out what it is like to make good and bad business decisions," Ryffel said about the venture capital program. There is certainly no way to beat hands-on experience when it comes to preparing students for the real world. That is why education majors have to be student-teachers and why journalism majors have to work for the Skiff. But there is a difference when it comes to the budgets these programs are allowed. The $1 million the venture capital program was given could go a long way if it were distributed evenly throughout the university. What's the point in keeping it holed up in the fat piggy bank that is the M.J. Neeley School of Business? It's high time the proverbial wealth is shared. Sure, it's great that Ryffel had both the desire and the ability to donate mucho dinero to the entrepreneurship program. Sure, it's great that in the three years I've been a horned frog, a handful of mouthful-named buildings and centers have popped up on campus, and it's great that the business school gets most of the attention in recruiting magazines. But there are other programs here, too. There are other schools that need money and other educational groups that need funding. And I'd venture to say that $1 million could buy a lot of pizza.
Opinion Editor Laura Head is a junior news-editorial
journalism major from Shreveport, La., and she likes pizza a whole lot.
Thanks: To Brite Divinity School students who built the shack to show some of the effects of globalization. It is wonderful to see students investigating international events and bringing their findings back to campus.
Spanks: To student protest groups in Washington, D.C. who are demonstrating against the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. It's interesting to see mostly upper- to middle-class college students, who have basic needs, protesting to restrict companies from investing in developing countries. Most of these companies are providing food and jobs for the poor in countries that can't provide these basic needs to the people.
Thanks: To the social work students and the TCU athletics department for attempting to show local elementary students that school can, indeed, be cool.
Spanks: To those lawmakers who think that a few new requirements will curb gun violence. Loopholes still exist and will continue to be exploited. We need major change and soon - does anyone have the courage?
Thanks: To TCU baseball player Levi Groomer for taking "21" for the team. The senior infielder has been hit by the baseball a school-record 21 times in just 17 games. We would say keep up the good work, but the cost to Groomer's body may be too steep.
Thanks: To the anonymous donor of a $1.5 million endowment for a TCU program that will focus on the specialized needs of children with Down Syndrome.
Thanks: To junior marketing major John McConnell for finally showing potential thieves that crime is not tolerated on our campus. May McConnell save a few tackles for future perpetrators.
Got something to say? Send your 'thanks & spanks' to the Skiff at (skiffletters@tcu.edu). Be sure to include your name and a phone number. |
The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |