| Speaking Out
The Leftist Students Union is a group of students trying to gather enough student support to form an official campus organization. Their first meeting will be at 7 p.m. today in Sadler Hall, Room 210. Andy Fort, professor of religion, will speak about student activism at their first meeting. The goals of the group include becoming a group of free speech and thought and to come up with an alternative point of view. Phil Doan, co-founder of LSU, said the ultimate objective of the group is to educate people. "We want to emphasize education so we are offering an outlet for those that complain about TCU being monotonous and boring," said Doan. Chris Dobson, a junior political science and history major, said students have the power to cause great changes in society. "Student activism (was) fueled in 1960s," he said. "Student activism can fuel things now, so we want to find people that care." The phrase "student activism" is one that is not heard often on TCU's campus. But these students are doing what they can to make a difference at TCU. They're trying to start an organization, and they're seeking out other students to join their cause. But what it all comes down to is that they are taking action. They're not sitting on a ratty couch in a residence hall complaining about current events. These students are getting off the couch and are doing something about important issues. We applaud their efforts to improve their campus and their education.
Ventura ventures too far "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers," -Jesse Ventura This quote is from an interview the governor of Minnesota gave Playboy magazine (I can tell you the source without embarrassment, because the actual issue is not available yet). I struggled for a little while trying to decide whether to write about the statement itself or about why a major politician can make such an openly bigoted statement about a huge number of the nation's population without any real media backlash. I decided to talk about the statement itself, because you'll hear several different forms of this statement from several different sources, from Freud's "The Future of an Illusion" to Marx's "opiate of the masses" remark. Plus, it's more fun for me to talk about the God that I love than the media that I love less. Although I've read Victor Frankl's writing on the power of faith and hope for the Jews in Nazi concentration camps, I can really only talk intelligently about the form of "organized religion" that I have experienced, namely having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I assume that when Ventura says that religion is a sham he means that God's life-changing power is not real. I can tell you from my own experience that he is flat wrong. We all were touched by the way the people closest to and most affected by the Wedgwood shootings were able to grieve with hope and rejoice in the assurance that their loved ones were now in God's presence. But God's peace is not reserved for times of tragedy. Through all the pressures of college life, from tests to résumés to transferring all of your available balance from your savings to your checking account and still not having enough to cover this month's rent check, God is a refuge. I cannot express to you how assuring it is to know beyond a doubt that my savior lives and that he will provide for me - that I don't have to worry or be "stressed out." We don't sing "because he lives, I can face tomorrow" for nothing. Ventura not only said religion is a sham, but also a "crutch for weak-minded people." Now I'm not exactly sure what "The Body" meant by weak-minded. Did he mean weak-willed or stupid or both? My whole family believes very strongly in Jesus, and they are the smartest bunch of people I know. Abraham Lincoln was devoutly religious. I don't think he qualifies as weak-willed or stupid. Perhaps Ventura just meant "weak." I am most assuredly weak. What sets Christians apart is that we realize that we cannot hope to find God - and therefore our purpose in life - on our own. It is through this weakness that we become strong enough to face the kind of persecution Christians face around the world. If Ventura means this kind of weakness, my relationship with God is not only a crutch, it's a wheelchair. And we also find strength in numbers. From the replenishing pleasure of a good worship service to the doctor who gave my brothers, sister and me free medical service for the year and a half my dad was out of work, my life has shown that I can rely on other believers. Really, I am more saddened than anything when I hear people make statements like Ventura made. He just has no clue that he's missing out on what life is really all about. God put him on the planet for a purpose, and it wasn't to pretend to beat people up or even to be a governor. I don't know how I would live without the hope I have in Jesus - how my life would be if, like Ventura, I didn't ask the designer of life how life is supposed to be done. Praise God I don't ever have to find out.
Stephen Suffron is a senior broadcast journalism major from League City, Texas. He can be reached at (sdsuffron@delta.is.tcu.edu). Dorm sign inspires action "How are you going to change the world?" A resident assistant in my dorm wrote that on a piece of paper and hung it in the hall. It caught my attention, for 10 seconds, then I was off to class. It's not that I wanted to ignore it, but I'm pretty busy. But it's still there. It has been about a week now, and no one has taken the sign down. So I see it every time I leave the building. The magic-markered words dance on the page and taunt me, hollering at me to fix something, to contribute. It is getting impossible to ignore. That question hangs over my head. If I let it get to me, it could change my life. Because right now the answer is that I'm not. I'm not out to change the world; all I want to do is survive my freshman year. And I was happy with that - sliding by kept me satisfied. But now there is the question, "How am I going to change the world?" I don't know, but I have a feeling that I won't get any peace until I do. My mind has been racing. It is like I suddenly have this intense inner voice pushing me to make the world a better place. It talks to me. Lately, I've been talking back. (Hey, it's perfectly healthy.) I even took the liberty of making a transcript of the conversation. -What? -How are you going to change the world? -Hey, who said that? Get out of my head. -How are you going to change the world? -Change the world? What? -Are you going to change the world? -Am I? Well, sure, I guess I mean, I'd like to and all, you know, sometime. In the future, maybe. -How? -How? Oh, well, I don't know. I guess that I really hadn't thought about it. -So think. -Oh, OK. Well, uh, oh, wait - my fraternity has this charity, see, and Campus Crusade does these trips and -No, not your organization. You. -Me personally? -Yes. -OK, I've got a good one. Boy did you come to the right person. It just so happens that I'm a columnist for the Skiff, see, so all I have to do is write a column about changing the world. Yeah, that'll do it. -But what are you going to do? -No, I don't think you understand. I'm a writer, see. I don't do things, I just write about them. -Do something. You have to. -Oh, OK. I'll work really hard and get a good job and make lots of money so I can give it to charity. -No, do something now. You don't own the future. -What do you mean I don't own the future? Sure I do. I'll have plenty of world-changing time after college. I own the future. -Then why do you have a memorial service rose drying in your room? -Oh. Good point. Maybe I just own the present. Here we go. I'll date as many cute freshman girls as possible so they don't feel lonely. -OK, now you're just being stupid. We went on for a while like that, but it's not over. I hear it every time I see that sign. But every time I see that sign, the voice gets louder, and more urgent. And I think I'm starting to understand. You're responsible now. You've heard the voice. Things are busy, classes are crazy and college is stressful. But there's a world out there, and it's dying. "How are you going to change the world?"
John-Mark Day is a freshman religion major from St. Joseph, Mo. He can be reached at (jmday2@delta.is.tcu.edu). Letters to the editor Article on gun control well-written, but flawed I must applaud Corby Miteff for his column about gun control in the Skiff on Sept. 29. It seems a rare instance in a semester when a TCU columnist actually writes about a controversial subject that affects more than just our bubble. However, at the same time that I congratulate Miteff, I must also vehemently oppose his stance on the issue. Miteff falls into the trap of many other gun control zealots when it comes to arguing that the Second Amendment was put in place for militias and not private citizens. A 1982 report by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution dispels this dispute best by declaring that, "In the Militia Act of 1792, the second Congress defined 'militia of the United States' to include almost every free adult male in the United States. These persons were obligated by law to possess a (military-style) firearm and a minimum supply of ammunition and military equipment ... There can be little doubt from this that when the Congress and the people spoke of the 'militia,' they had reference to the traditional concept of the entire populace capable of bearing arms, and not to any formal group such as what is today called the National Guard." In light of the recent church shooting in our city, I must also retort to Miteff's insistence on mandating a three-day waiting period for firearms purchases. I'm fairly sure that these shootings prompted this comment, however, a waiting period would have been worthless in the case of Larry Gene Ashbrook, since he purchased at least one of his pistols back in the early 1990s, years before he initiated his massacre. On the topic of trigger locks and gun safeties, trigger locks are designed to keep a firearm from discharging by immobilizing or shielding the trigger, however contrary to what Miteff is indicating, most trigger locks in existence are not designed to "lock up guns" in the way you would lock an item up in a safe. Finally, in regards to his article's observation that "living in a society without harm is far more important than having the freedom of owning a firearm," I believe it is imperative that we look back to a wise saying by founding father Benjamin Franklin. "They (who) can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Robert Davis senior computer science major
Returning student appreciates university's commitment Entering TCU in the fall of 1992, I found myself believing that I worked for the university. TCU was doing me a favor by allowing me to attend college. Every task completed by the faculty and staff was in vain and merely to make my college days harder. During a five-year leave of absence from TCU, my only connection with the school was through my parents, alumni and TCU staff. While listening to staff conversations, the common theme that remained intense was "for the students." All of the structural, academic and social changes were being done in the best interest of the students. I returned to TCU in the fall of 1998 as a student, yet I came back with a completely different perception. I realized that TCU wasn't against me, it was here for me. TCU wasn't paying me to grace its halls, but I was paying TCU. It was then that I knew that TCU students need to do something about the things they disagree with instead of whining behind closed doors. Through listening to staff members, as well as hands-on experience, I know that my voice is heard at TCU. This is not only because of my mature senior age (you do the math), but because I have chosen to use my voice. If something isn't working for me, I find the proper avenue to pursue and approach that person with my situation. Horned Frogs must get up and be proactive. Don't be afraid of the next tier on the purple and white hierarchy. TCU is here for us. Without us (or our money), they would all be forced into a life of servitude to Longhorns, Aggies, or, God-forbid, Mustangs!
Jennifer L. Harrell senior psychology major |
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