NEWS

Families participate in Campus Life, Events
Konnie Sewell | Staff Reporter

Relatives and friends flocked to MSU to participate in MSU’s Family Day festivities.
Family Day gives MSU students the chance to invite their families and friends onto the campus to see what college life is like, as well as give them a chance to socialize and catch up with each other.
Special events of the day included a tour of the campus, multiple screenings of "Shrek 2," a sketch artist, 3-D photos, tie-dyed T-shirts and obstacle courses. The festivities lasted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Joy Howard, mother of junior Kristi Howard, believes that despite the long drive from Fritch and the long lines for certain events, Family Day serves a great purpose.
“It's a good way to get the families actually involved with what their students are doing, especially if they’re far from home, because otherwise that might not happen,” she said. “Too many families don’t keep contact with their kids.”
Gretchen Russell, mother of sophomore Jessica Russell, agrees.
“I haven't seen Jessica in about a month, so it was nice to see what she's been up to and how she's settled into another year of college so far,” she said.
Most parents who attended Family Day were pleased with the MSU campus and approved of their child’s choice of school.
“It's a smaller school in a small town, so it's more student oriented,” Gretchen said. “I went to a big college, but I wish I could have gone to a school like MSU. At the big colleges, all you are is just another number. Here, the teachers know their students’ names and treat them like individuals. All the staff seem very friendly and approachable.”
Jessica said it’s hard to have a bad opinion of the school, as different groups on campus make sure the students feel welcome and supported.
“They always make sure the students have something fun to do, like Family Day,” she said. “They always come up with great ideas and they bend over backwards when they really don’t have to. It’s good to know that they care more than other schools do.”
High school senior Kevin Razgill, 17, and his father Joe traveled from Oklahoma to visit a friend of Kevin’s who is attending MSU.
“We don't get to talk as much as we used to, because he's either studying or I'm working, or something like that,” Kevin said. “Today's a day we just get to relax and hang out like friends again."
Joe feels Family Day is more than just receiving a campus brochure or visiting with friends.
“The atmosphere is really laid back,” he said. “It shows that college is a place to learn and gain the skills for the future, but you can also make new friends and have new experiences. I think Family Days really bring that out, and show that college shouldn't be so intimidating to people.”

Letter to the Editor: Half-naked Photographs Unnecessary

I'm no prude, but weren't there other photos of Uauna Indians that could have graced the front page of the Wichitan? Sheesh!

Susan Cardwell, M.A.
Assistant Director, Institutional Research and Planning

As a student who has been following the 2004 presidential race one of the most frustrating things that I have witnessed, and unfortunately was clearly illustrated in your September 22 issue, by your special contributor, is the continuous political slander.
I know slander and “mud-slinging” is all a part of the political process, but fact is we live in a very fragile age group that straddles the line between being politically involved and utterly callous about our future president. Shouldn’t we, as young people who are susceptible to tuning out the presidential race focus any sort of political coverage on the issues rather than the trash talk?
Mr. Schields in particular being older should know better than to produce a journalistic product which is merely composed of right-winged slander. Sure, it’s his opinion; but fact is, the political race is winding down and numerous young people in our college age group still know very little about either candidate’s position on the topics that will be affecting us the most. 1 in 5 MSU students wouldn’t be able to tell you Kerry’s exit plan for the war or Bush’s take on college tuition…among other things that will affect us the most in the future. Focus on the facts Mr. Schields!
In my humble opinion, I think as journalists you should consider not falling into the trend of political slander and disregard what happened/didn’t happen in Vietnam or the National Guard and focus on the future of our country and its people.

Sincerely.
Lauren Clennon
Freshman
Mass Communications

Parties are the Reality
In a more perfect world there would be no need for political parties. 
Who fits these categories anyway?  How can you be both pro-war and pro-Christ?  How can you be both pro-social welfare and pro-abortion?
Jesus wouldn’t approve of the murdering of Iraqi children, even if by accident.
Using welfare and other social programs to offer dignity during life seems hypocritical if you sanction murder at the start of it. 
And yet we all draw these circles around ourselves.  I’m Republican; I hate you.  I’m a Democrat; you’re stupid. 
In partisan times like these, the system really seems to suck.
But then again, it’s what we’ve got.  This is not a more perfect world and ours is a far from perfect system.  This is reality.  And I’d personally like to invite Wayne Schields to join us here.
In his editorial last week, Mr. Schields expressed a great deal of outrage about something called the race card and about true-red liberals.  His point seemed to be that liberals use race as a tool to capture minority votes.  He was very cynical about it all.  Race in politics?  Ugh.  Those commie, liberal bastards!
But honestly, Mr. Schields, who do you think you’re kidding?  While I’m somewhat liberal in social matters, except abortion, I consider myself a true-(what? blue? green? orange?) conservative when it comes to financial issues.  Down with taxes!  Up with personal responsibility!  Keep your hands out of my wallet!  Get a job!
So I’m not anti-Republican by any standard.  But let’s get real here.  It is no mere coincidence that the fall of the segregationist Dixiecrats in the South happens to have come right before the rise of the Southern led GOP.  Are we to believe that the Sons of the Solid South and their sons simply set aside centuries old convictions of racial superiority in a decade and rebuilt their political power structure—which had been built on segregation, remember—on a new platform of inclusion? 
No, Mr. Schields, they didn’t.  Those good old boys didn’t just shrivel up and blow away.  There are still racists in the U.S., still plenty of them in the South, and more than a handful of them have made the Republican Party their party of choice.  You called racism a societal scourge, Mr. Schields, which makes me less cynical of your own personal motives, but to make the Republican Party out as the open-armed friend of the minority is just silly, or naive, or worse.
To be fair, there are racists in the Democratic Party too (unions are filthy with them).  But make no mistake:  there are decidedly more racists in the Republican Party.  Which means if you’re a minority voter, either party you choose, you’re sleeping with the enemy. 
Know this.  Remember it.  It’s reality.
Then again, if you’re an intelligent, thoughtful minority (like myself), you’ve long since learned to stop letting race run your life.  You believe in yourself, and you have taken your destiny out of the hands of the genetic crapshoot.  If so, then when November rolls around you’ll think it all through and vote issues, not party.  What matters to you should be what matters to you.  Period.