Cell phone need covers campus
Promise to lower use before consequences set in

The entire TCU campus is doomed. Because of our need to make phone calls between classes and while driving, we have all willingly signed suicide waivers.

Now that all cell phone makers are going to disclose the specific absorption rates within the packaging of their phones, we will all be faced with large the amounts of radiation seeping into our brains every time we call someone to meet them for lunch. Not only that, but our younger brothers and sisters who feel the need to have cell phones are receiving approximately twice the radiation we are because their brains are still developing.

Granted, there’s no actual proof that cell phones can cause cancer. However, there have been some studies that have demonstrated a strong correlation between cell phones and brain tumors. Besides, we all know how much the major corporations care about the consumers. Thank you Ford and Firestone/Bridgestone.

Two decades ago there was a big fuss about a new technological fad that many people thought caused cancer. However, this “microwave” was never proven to be harmful to people. Still, I expect delayed test results regarding microwaves to surface in the next couple of years as cancer rates rise.

I just know that people on campus are going to suddenly start dropping like flies in mid-conversation. And when this time comes, what are we going to do about it? Well, we’ll make the valiant sacrifice and cut back our talk time from 20 minutes all the way down to a measly 15. Hopefully, such a noble deed will be enough to save our campus from total obliteration.

What other options will we have?

There’s no way we could force ourselves to use the free phones located all over campus. We could never bring ourselves to stoop so low. After all, the people that use those phones are the ones we smirk at and quietly judge for not being able to afford their own 500 minute plan.

Also, we wouldn’t be able to make ourselves wait until we get to our rooms to make calls either. Personally, I don’t know what I would do with anything less than instant gratification all the time.

I was also looking forward to getting one of those cell phones with instant messaging too. You know, for when we’re too stupid to have an actual conversation and we feel as if we need a couple of minutes to respond to people.

I also might have to cut back on checking stock quotes on my phone. What if my Krispy Kreme stock just dropped several points, and I had to call daddy to get him to call the broker to get him to sell? Whatever would become of me if I had to wait five more minutes to make that call?

Anyway, for the good of humanity, let’s all try to cut back on our cell phone minutes. At least for a few months until the controversy dies down and everyone forgets about the potential dangers.

Oh, just screw the whole thing. I’ve got to make a call right now and my dorm room phone is out of my reach. I’ll just use my cell and start with my new promise to cut back afterwards.

Jordan Blum is a sophomore broadcast journalism major from New Orleans, La.
He can be reached at (j.d.blum@student.tcu.edu).

I would like to commend both the recent commentaries by Miranda Nesler and Yonina Robinson. I think they both make some valid points. I believe it is important to be proud of who you are and where you come from as it also important to remember that the United States has been and is profoundly a white dominated society. However, I think they both missed some key points on the issue.

Nesler wrote she wondered what it would be like if the tables were turned and we celebrated a White History Month or had White Entertainment Television. What she fails to see, as do most white people in the United States, is those mediums already exist. As a white citizen of this country, this is sometimes hard to see because it is not considered special or promoted as are black venues. Robinson touched on this, but there is still more to say.

I do not know if it is possible to express the extent to which history, television and other social activities are white. Just because they do not call themselves National White Broadcasting Company or because we do not call months White History Month does not mean this is not exactly what they are.

I believe the worse offense is not putting the “black” into BET, but instead failing to put the “white” into NBC and the other three major broadcasting companies.

At least BET is recognizing that their television station is made up of and intended for a black audience. Of course, this does not mean that people of other races can’t watch it. NBC on the other hand takes themselves to be for the nation as a whole. They assume that everyone should accept this white-oriented portrayal of America as the norm.

As a white American it is difficult to understand this. But imagine how you would feel if the popular image fed to you by the media was white if you were black, Asian, Hispanic, American-Indian, or any race other than white. You would grow up having never seen someone like yourself on the television screen.

Therefore, to you television is a white medium. If the only way to incorporate American society as a whole into television is to have stations dedicated solely to one race or another, that is better than to have them completely excluded. Ideally, the four big TV stations need to wake up and realize they are not giving every American what they need and deserve. In the meantime, I am glad BET is here.

The same idea applies to Black History Month. Granted, there is not a month set aside to celebrate something we would call White History. If you are in college now, you have had at least 144 white history months already. It is taken for granted that history is taught from the white male perspective. White people in America are lucky they are able to learn about our race’s heritage from the time they are in first grade, all the way throughout college and beyond.

People of other races in this country are not as lucky. That is why a special time has been set aside to study and celebrate their history. I regret the fact this has to take place; black people should be a part of history taught in schools from the beginning: every race should be.

If you are a white student on this campus and find you want a time to celebrate something special about your heritage and your race, I say go for it. Yes, we are all Americans — we can celebrate together. But I also think we are blessed to be able to see the differences in each other and celebrate those as well.

I hope there will come a day when people do not feel the need to have separate television stations or history months because all races have been incorporated. We think we are integrated, but we aren’t.

Not yet.

Michelle Thompson is a sophomore English major from Excelsoir, Minn.
She can be reached at (l.m.thompson@student.tcu.edu).

As scientific technology gets better and new methods of healing are invented, the need for blood donations also increases.

Carter BloodCare is a non-profit organization that operates on behalf of patients and their families in 22 counties. Within Carter BloodCare’s 22-county service, a patient receives blood every 90 seconds.

But each day, an average of 800 donors must register to give blood to meet the needs for blood in their community.

Currently, less than 5 percent of the population gives blood, yet nearly 90 percent of our population will need some blood product before reaching age 72.

The greatest part of our blood supply is dedicated to the care of patients who are fighting cancer and heart disease.

Alpha Phi Omega, TCU Panhellenic Council and Carter BloodCare are reacting to the need for blood donations through 7 p.m. today in the Student Center basement.

These organizations called for the support of the TCU administration and sought more publicity than they have received in the past. While Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Don Mills and other faculty members have answered the call and have already donated blood, the student body can make more of an impact.

According to the Red Cross Web site, O-positive blood is usually the most needed blood type. But since Keri Giesler, the president of the University of Texas at Austin’s PHC, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, Carter BloodCare is seeking A-positive blood.

The process of giving blood is relatively quick, and the amiable staff makes the wait bearable. The small sting of a finger and the brief twinge of the needle into an arm is painless compared to that of those people who receive the blood.

In this case, you can put up with a little sting.