Students should take action
Complacency gives campus false sense of security

Complacency is a means to our end, no doubt about it.

When we hear about cases where someone’s personal security was compromised or threatened, we take steps to strengthen our security, only to let such measures fall by the wayside in a short amount of time.

Take the TCU rapist, for instance. Back when the rapist was making numerous attacks, security was increased campus-wide. Women started jogging in pepper spray-carrying gangs and the Froggie-Five-0 was getting extra assistance from several organizations on campus. All over the campus, flyers were being posted trying to inform people how to keep from being a victim of assault.

Now, things have receded back to the point they were before, with it not being uncommon to see a TCU woman jogging alone late at night.

This may or may not come as a surprise to most students, but from all indications, the individual known as the TCU rapist is still a viable entity, perhaps just gearing up for the chance to strike again.

Another example of complacency getting the best of us would be with computer viruses.

Every few months or so, a new virus emerges that destroys data files across the globe and prevents many a TCU student from checking their precious e-mail accounts. When a virus strikes, people all over can be heard wondering how they are going to purchase the latest anti-virus software available, and keep it constantly updated to prevent any further mishaps.

Of course, this grand idea is easily forgotten once someone’s system is back up and running. As a few months pass by, everything seems to be running smoothly until the next whiz kid in some third-world country concocts another digital disease to wreak havoc on our PCs.

The people and things that threaten our existence revel in the fact they know we will once again become complacent with our surroundings.

Scares like the TCU rapist and computer viruses become a distant problem when confronted with dealing with day-to-day situations like midterms and homework.

However, the minute we lower our level of concern, we put ourselves back into a susceptible stage.

Just because you are not hearing about a new assault or new widespread virus doesn’t mean those evils have ceased lurking out there.

By no means am I advocating we should live our lives in some sort of glass bubble. But the things that pique our concerns about personal safety should remain a constant reminder in our minds.

After all, none of us can afford the luxury of thinking that such harm will not happen to us.

Frederick Nietzsche’s famous quote about what does not kill you making you stronger becomes appropriate at this point.

Do not allow complacency with your surroundings to return when a threat still exists. Doing so only makes you the next target.

Robert Davis is a senior computer science major from Garland. He can be reached at (r.d.davis@student.tcu.edu).

Imagine: the phone rings at 3 a.m. and you roll over, answer it and hear the voice of a man on the other end. It’s so early in the morning your head is too groggy to determine whose voice it is.

At first you believe it is someone you know, since he knows your name and speaks to you in a familiar tone, asking how you are. But then he begins to ask you personal questions about your family income and your social security number, and he starts demanding to know what you are wearing and what you look like.

It isn’t a prank call, and it isn’t coming from campus.

For the past few weeks, calls like this one have been made to girls living in both Colby Hall and Sherley Hall. Security concerns are important to everyone on campus, and as my friends have become victims, I have begun to notice the situation more.

Recently I realized all of our information is accessible through the TCU web page; our names, phone numbers, mail boxes, e-mail addresses and even our permanent home addresses. I heard this and could barely believe my ears. Excuse me, but do you mean to tell me that just any Internet psycho could find out where I live and decide to make a visit?

It makes sense to me that certain information be available to everyone on campus; access is helpful when a phone number or box number is needed. But home addresses? I fail to see how that is relevant to my life at TCU. If I want someone to be able to gain access to me at my permanent home, I will give them that information myself.

It seems ridiculous that we undergo so many measures for personal security — from locking doors to escorting guests of the opposite sex through the halls — when we just broadcast information that makes us vulnerable again. For girls especially this causes worry since they are generally more vulnerable when physically threatened by a larger male. Girls who have received the calls do not know how much the man knows about them, but the information is there for him, and that is frightening.

The whole of the information-access question has pros and cons to be measured. On one hand, we can’t exist in a closet away from technology and lacking trust in the world. We must be realistic and realize the information is out there. But we also must be responsible about how and what we display.

No one can really hurt you through a phone call or e-mail. Someone can hurt you if they know where you and your family live and can easily get there.

he story of the TCU rapist is still fresh in our minds, and we must be aware of our personal safety. TCU is a safe campus, and its students are wonderful people. However, there always exists a chance one person may not be so good.

If anyone calls you in this fashion or threatens you in any way, please report it to your hall director immediately. He or she may also request that you file a police report. Likewise, whether you’ve received a call or not, be careful when wandering campus at night. Froggie-Five-0 is there to act as an escort to anyone.

Always be aware of your surroundings, and if someone calls with personal questions, do not answer them or give out information.

Miranda Nesler is a freshman English major from Houston. She can be reached at (m.g.nesler@student.tcu.edu).

Over the past 50 years there has been an increasing intensity among political leaders to unite the world. Through the United Nations, formed in 1945, the world has, for the most part, progressively moved toward economic and political unity. Now, there seems to be an even greater focus to unite the world religiously.

No one has come right out and advocated a worldwide religion. That would be foolish. But they have advocated that religions as a whole need to cease their exclusivity and realize all religions share certain common truths.

The United Religions Initiative (URI), a parallel type of organization to the United Nations, gathered 300 people from 39 religions at the Global Summit 2000 to sign its charter, officially launching the organization, on June 26 at the Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh. The United Religions Initiative charter states they “respect the differences” and “sacred wisdom” of each religion. The purpose of the URI, stated in their charter, is to “end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace.”

About a month ago, the United Nations held the “World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders” in New York. One thousand religious leaders gathered to promote global peace. Leaders came from religions including: Ba’hai, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Indigenous, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, Wicca and Zoroastrianism, all of whose symbols are featured on the United Religions Initiative symbol.

One of the proposed issues at the millennium summit was the banning of proselytizing (trying to convert a person to one’s own religion). Insight Magazine quotes URI President, Bishop Swing saying “agreed upon neutrality will be exercised in terms of proselytizing, condemning, murdering or dominating. These will not be tolerated in the United Religions zone.”

It seems the UN and its counterpart, the URI, view what many religions call “witnessing or sharing one’s faith” or what Christians might call “spreading the gospel” as being on an equal level with murder. They are advocating that since religion causes conflict and sometimes war, all religions should take a neutral stance with their beliefs and accept all religions as being equal.

That should be something that scares every American — no matter what your religious beliefs are.
In essence, our leaders are promoting the idea that freedom of speech and religious expression are two rights even Americans must sacrifice in order to bring about global peace. If global peace (which in reality is an impossible fantasy) means giving up personal rights and religious freedom, I would rather not have it.
In 1995 Bishop Swing said we were moving toward “unity in terms of global economy, global media and global ecological system. What we need is a global soul.”

Having a global soul means having a global mindset — a mindset that sees the needs of the global community as more important than those on a national or personal level. Apparently, these needs can’t be met unless we all reject our personal religious beliefs and adopt the New Age belief that God is all of us and we can all reach God, The Great Spirit, or whatever spiritual deity that exists.

The hypocrisy in the attitude of the UN reminds me of the pigs in the book “Animal Farm.” It seems to me their overall belief is all religions are equal but some are more equal than others. I think it is important we oppose the politically correct-everyone’s right attitude that the UN and URI are advocating.

We need to recognize that diversity is important in our society and we don’t need to respect everyone’s beliefs, but we need to respect everyone.

John Sargent is a freshman computer science major from Fort Worth. He can be reached at (j.w.sargent@student.tcu.edu).

More than the sweet vapors of victory was left behind in Amon Carter Stadium after Saturday’s football game. Along with the fading sound of cheers ringing through the stands were the more sour vapors of eight truckloads of garbage.

Fortunately, Army ROTC cadets stayed behind after fans left for an extensive stadium clean-up. It took 26 ROTC cadets six hours to clean the stadium. However, keeping the stadium clean is not their job.

Littering is not just confined to highways, as we toss our drinks out of car windows. Every time we knowingly leave our garbage any place but in the proper receptacles we are littering.

We’ve all entered a classroom with soda stains in the carpet, empty bottles under desks and discarded papers on the floor. We’ve all walked into a dorm bathroom to find shaving cream on the mirror and other unmentionable substances on the stall floor or in the showers.

It seems for many of us, the world has become a private wastebasket. We leave our trash where we will with the haughty attitude that someone is being paid to pick it up. Oftentimes, this fact leads us to leave messes we would otherwise be ashamed of.

The fact is, however, when we pay for a meal, a game ticket, a dorm room and an education, we are not paying for a personal maid service. It’s no one’s job to follow behind us as we leave tissues, papers and candy wrappers in our wake.

It takes only a few seconds to pick up your tray and throw away your trash in The Main. It is not a huge task to take your garbage with you as you leave the stadium. Chances are, you’ll be passing a garbage can on the way out anyway.

Littering your dorm shows disrespect for the janitors and housekeepers, whose job is dirty and hard enough already. Littering your classroom shows disrespect for this institution. Littering the stadium shows disrespect for your home team.

Sure, people are paid to keep this campus beautiful. But they aren’t paid to have garbage piled in their faces by spoiled, lazy adults.

When all is said and done, cleaning up is a personal responsibility — one each of us is able and obligated to carry out..