Paige Dickerson Staff Reporter

In preparation for attending college next semester, one of my younger sister’s friends called me the other day and asked me what the hardest part of college is. A long pause on my part followed as a million things rushed through my mind. Was it the late nights after the months of putting off that term paper until the night before it’s due? Was it cramming every “necessity” into a room that takes less than two steps to walk long ways across? Was it going home at Christmas that first semester and finding everyone changed? After several “hello’s?!?” called me back out of my reverie, I replied that there are a lot of adjustments, but the hardest part of all is being brave enough to meet new people. Ever since I was a child, I have been shy and somewhat withdrawn. So when presented with a new environment with completely new people, I was at a loss. My first attempts at introducing myself were less than feeble. Most of them were seriously pathetic. I recall going to a concert where I knew no one. In an attempt to meet a guy whom I had seen around, I walked behind him and “didn’t notice” when he happened to stop walking. When he turned around I apologized with wide eyes and said something like, “Oh sorry. Oh yeah, my name is Paige by the way…” and the conversation went on from there. A couple of months later, when I had several close friends, I nonchalantly mentioned that I created ways to meet people. The more people I met and slyly brought up this topic, the more I realized that I wasn’t the only person who had trouble introducing myself. I heard all sorts of stories--from people dropping books to making up fake class projects just to meet new people (you know who you are!) Last semester I was in line in the cafeteria and decided to randomly introduce myself to someone in line. There was a guy whom I recognized from my hometown, and so I after introducing myself, we started talking. A few days later we were eating lunch together, and I was describing to him how shy I normally am. He started laughing at me and told me that I was one of the least shy people he had ever met. When I told this to one of my high-school friends, he laughed and said that certainly something had changed. He was also convinced that he would go to college and not meet new people. He said he would go to class and do homework and talk to his high school friends but declared that he didn’t need any new friends. According to him, “College is for academics, improving yourself, and preparing yourself for a future job, not to meet people and socialize.” No offense to his theories, or to my professors here (I have certainly learned a great deal in the past three semesters), but the most valuable and important lessons I have learned have not been in the classroom. Plenty of what I have learned so far in college has been about myself and other people, not necessarily stuff you can read in a text book.

Dickerson, a sophomore English major, hails from Canyon, Texas.

Lawsuits are prevalent in America today. But aren’t lawsuits concerning obesity going a little too far? Fast-food companies are taking the blame for an ever increasing overweight America. Like wild fire, people are filing lawsuits against fast-food companies, claiming they are the cause of their obesity. According to Fortune Magazine, Sam Hirsch, a New York City attorney, filed a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s last year on behalf of obese and overweight children. He alleged that the fast-food chain negligently, recklessly and carelessly markets to children food products that are high in fat, salt, sugar and cholesterol, while failing to warn the ingredients are closely linked to obesity, diabetes and other related conditions. This lawsuit was thrown out of court. Hopefully, people will get the message and refrain from wasting the court’s time. The premise is ridiculous. Fast-food companies do not dictate what people eat. These companies put their products in the marketplace and consumers are free to accept them or reject them. Eating habits are solely a personal responsibility. Each individual is responsible for what he or she consumes daily. Every mature individual should know that eating a Big Mac every day will not keep him or her fit and trim. It’s obviously not the same as eating a fruit salad. The USDA estimates the average American consumes roughly 2,750 calories a day instead of the recommended 2,200. Today people cannot be more informed about calories and fat. It should be clear if one consumes too much fat and calories, there is a tendency to gain weight. It is unclear why someone would claim a fast-food company made them fat. America is a free country, isn’t it? The fast-food companies are not forcing people to do anything they do not want to do. One is left to wonder about the real motives behind these lawsuits. Are these people even going to change their eating habits after they have filed a lawsuit? This is just another way people are trying to fatten something other than their bodies--their pocketbooks. People should become more concerned with trimming their figures and eat less instead of gaining big figures in the courts.

Editorial written by junior mass communication major Eleanor Roberts.