| Lying to Fight
When high school students lie about their age today, more often than not, they are just trying to buy cigarettes. Fifty years ago, high school students also lied about their age. But during that era, the lies were not because of a desire for nicotine. Rather, the lies were because of a desire to fight for their country. These are people we know and trust, and people we interact with every day. But they are not only our parents and grandparents, but respected members of the TCU community as well. Larry Charlesworth, who works as an engineer in the radio-TV-film department, and Jack Raskopf, an associate professor of journalism, are veterans. "In World War II they were enlisting to save their own rights," Charlesworth said. "If Hitler got much further, he could have taken the very things we take for granted today." American veterans sacrificed their time and energy for your country and your rights. But now war has become a cool theme party idea and a box-office hit. "The movies have glorified war," said Raskopf, a Vietnam veteran. "Today's youth think war was a day at the beach." War is certainly no "day at the beach." Unless, of course, you're thinking about Normandy. The American 1st Division at Omaha Beach confronted the best of the German coast divisions at 6:30 a.m. June 6, 1944. Americans suffered 2,400 casualties at Omaha, the code name for the second beach from the right of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion. Of a local WWII veterans group, the youngest member is 83. They have told their tales, but it is now our responsibility to carry on the stories. Today, we often forget the reason we have rights. Today is Veterans' Day so spend some time remembering those who thought your rights were worth lying for and, more importantly, worth dying for.
Learn to drive or get off road Our government is more entertaining than people think. And the entertainment has nothing to do with the president, the first lady or Sen. Strom Thurmond's memories of the Civil War. The intriguing aspect of our government lies in its problem-solving ability. Only in these United States would there be a week called "National Stop on Red Week." The "red" refers to the traffic signal that all people are supposed to stop at - a red light. Is this new information? It seems rather odd that people would need to be reminded to stop at a red light. The whole program has a feeling of redundancy. And the use of redundancy is only a way to help less-educated people learn an idea. Our country must have some kind of driving problem, because there are 1.8 million intersection crashes a year, according to the Federal Highway Administration. The administration also reported that about 7,800 lives are lost each year because people have problems navigating intersections. However, the root of the problem is not people having a blatant disregard for red lights. The real problem is the quality of drivers in our country. People drive like morons. We would have no purpose for our middle fingers if we didn't have cars. And why are people such bad drivers? Well, it doesn't take much to earn a license these days. It appears that all potential drivers need to know is how to work a gas and a brake. And sometimes they don't even know how to do that. Young drivers work so hard to earn a ticket away from the parental ride that they usually forget about one important thing - the signs on the road. Now, some signs have rules that are meant to be broken. An empty highway is the perfect place to exceed the posted speed limit; the theory being that the only idiot you'll hurt on your way to the speed of sound is you. Other signs have laws that are less flexible. The "Left lane ends, one mile" sign is not a joke. This sign is basically screaming, "Hey you! Get over in the right lane!" It seems that most people think this sign means, "Wait until you get to the very end of the left lane and then cut somebody off. Don't let the middle finger of the person you cut off hurt your feelings." However, the young, daredevil driver is not the only one to blame. Older people are terrible drivers too. People over the age 75 cause 29 fatalities for every 100 accidents in which they are involved, according to 1997 National Safety Council statistics. Those same statistics also revealed that drivers between the ages of 25-44 caused roughly nine million accidents a year. It looks like no one in this country can drive. The government needs to be more careful monitoring the people who own driver's licenses. Older people need to give up their licenses at a certain age. That might sound mean and degrading, but people who have vision that bats aren't jealous of don't need to be behind the wheel of a car. Everyone else merely needs to take a crash course in driving education. We cause about 20 million car accidents a year. Something needs to be done because it is obvious that we are not coexisting well on our roads. People, it's time we remembered one bit of driver's etiquette that will no doubt get us on the path to better driving. It sounds like stupid advice rolling off the lips of anyone, but it looks like everyone has forgotten. So, here's some quick advice: Left lane fast, right lane slow.
Michael Moy is a columnist for the Indiana Daily Student at Indiana University. This column came from U-WIRE. Touring 21st-century TCU campus couldn't be better Ladies and gentleman, we have arrived in the future. When I was a little kid, I expected that the turn of the century would bring meal pills and flying cars, but what we have now ain't too shabby. Sometimes I am leery of technology, but I choose to embrace it nevertheless. This week, come along with me on a quick tour of what the future has brought with us. I hope you will be as big of a fan of the future as I am. TCU is now a paragon of technological advancement. In the time I've been here, I've seen this campus rocket from the Stone Age to the 21st century at the speed of a purple-hued laser beam. Four years ago, there were two ancient dwellings that have since been replaced by futuristic apartments. These apartments are replete with 21st-century curtain rods and the hallways are reminiscent of those found in Cloud City in "The Empire Strikes Back." Dining at TCU has never been better either. The cuisine is scientifically and futuristically engineered so the total daily allowance of fat is dispensed in about three bites! The freshman 15 has never been easier to achieve! Not only that, but TCU now sports a state-of-the-art snack facility. On first glance, one might think one walked into a 7-11, but on closer inspection, one finds that this on-campus convenience store has COMPUTERS! Computers and nacho cheese dispensers under one roof! Take that, Stanford! What do you have in your snack-shop? Snacks? Get on the future train with us! As far as student government goes, it has miniaturized and its efficiency has been doubled. What was formerly known as the House of Student Representatives is now known as SGA, which takes much less time to say. We have also chosen B2K as SGA president. According to its schematics, B2K is a student-leader droid that intends to replace the archaic Telnet system with a sophisticated e-mail computer that doubles as a Taco Bell chalupa-dispenser. Student politics have improved with the times as well. In 1996, TCU students had decidedly primitive, apathetic attitudes. In 1999, apathy has been eradicated by the technologically superior Leftist Student Union. This group of cyborgs was saved from a painful death by having their bleeding hearts replaced by coordinated rhetoric circuits and picket-waving servomotors. Registration is now completely automated, as the drudgery of registering for classes via the cheerful humans of the Registrar's Office has evolved into the faceless efficiency of FrogNet. Now a process that required me to stand in line for 20 minutes has improved to my sitting at a computer for 30, provided the system is up. Sitting instead of standing?! It makes my head swim! Athletics have also faced the future. Way back when, the football team was directed by Sullitron-5UX, an outdated coaching robot. He has since been replaced by a beta version of WinsomeCoach 2.1. Initial tests were encouraging, and recent performance has been relatively successful. With regards to the other sports (no, other non-football sports are not new), sophisticated track and soccer facilities are under construction to replace the antiquated vacant lots on which these sports used to compete. I am pleased to know that TCU is well ahead of the times, what with its President-droids and snack-mail facilities. I only hope that the student body is as ready and accepting as I am of these new innovations. We all have to face the future some day, and unless we change now, it will be nearly impossible for us to handle the flying saucers, marauding robots and cloned pterodactyls that are inevitably going to rule the world.
Steve Steward is a senior political science major from Lodi, Calif., who is hoping to get robotic pincer arms. He can be reached at (haoledubstyle@hotmail.com). News should focus on young heroes instead of youth violence Hidden somewhere underneath tabloids of teen violence, random school and workplace shootings and diminishing role models, there is goodness in this world. It's time that we are reminded of this. I am tired of opening the newspaper and reading a new, disturbing tale that somehow managed to top yesterday's horrifying trauma. I watched a recent Oprah Winfrey show titled, "Children Making a Difference." Regardless of a person's opinion of Oprah, this particular episode was, to say the least, unique. Oprah interviewed some heroic teen-agers and pre-teens who proved age is not a factor in making a difference in this world. When Rashad Williams, a San Francisco high school student, heard about Lance Kirklin - a Columbine student who survived shots to his legs, face and chest - he wanted to help Kirklin. Williams had never met Kirklin but knew his family had no medical insurance to pay for the surgeries that would allow him to walk again. Williams had no money. Instead he used his track ability and entered a race in San Francisco. Through donations, Williams raised $40,000 for Kirklin's medical expenses. Closer to home, Southwest High School senior Mary Beth Talley was one of the people hiding in the pews of Wedgwood Baptist Church from gunman Larry Ashbrook. Instead of concealing her body from gunfire, she used it as a shield to protect her best friend's sister, Heather MacDonald, who has Down syndrome. Talley was struck by a bullet in the shoulder but continued to cover a fighting MacDonald who does not like to be in small, enclosed spaces. Talley only began to get help for herself after she helped get MacDonald outside of the church. Craig Keilburger was only 12 years old when he began "Free the Children," a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting education, collecting medical and school supplies and building schools in rural and developing countries. Keilburger works on behalf of the 250 million children forced to work as slaves or for slave wages. "Free the Children" is now the world's largest organization of children helping children. Fourteen-year-old Ryan Tripp rode 19,000 miles on a lawnmower mowing all 50 state capitols in order to promote awareness of organ and tissue donation. He rode from Salt Lake City, Utah to Washington D.C., raising $15,000 for a 3-month-old girl who needed a liver transplant. Ryan drove the lawnmower 10 to 12 hours a day persuading people to save lives. These are just a few examples of kids who have demonstrated hope in what some would call a hopeless generation. Many of them had not been directly affected by the causes for which they chose to crusade. Remember the idea that sex sells? Lately, murder and heinous crimes are beginning to top that. Television stations are turning these events into 24-hour marathons, and people are stuck to the TV like glue. Meanwhile, little Jimmy down the street is watching and realizing how much attention the kid on TV receives, and he decides people will pay attention to him if he does something drastic. The cycle continues, yet the media do not relent. If the media would stop promoting these events by giving them so much airtime, it might not be such a norm. These people don't deserve the attention they are getting. The focus they are getting in the media should be turned to those who are making positive impacts on the world.
Courtney Roach is a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Springfield, Mo. She can be reached at (caroach@delta.is.tcu.edu). |
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