VIEWPOINTS

Staff Editorial: Suggestive Cheers Draw House Ire

A new bill proposed in the Texas House of Representatives could fine high schools if the cheerleading routines get too sexually suggestive.
This kind of subjective standard is unenforceable, and the bill is a waste of Congress’ time and money. Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, proposed the bill to prevent the girls from being exploited. The question remains, though, what exactly is “too sexually suggestive?”
Trying to define rules for this could lead to a never-ending debate on exactly which moves are explicit and which ones are simply dance moves. The added complication of the music playing in the background and the expressions on the cheerleaders’ faces adds another element to the definition of what is sexual and what is not.
As constituents in the state of Texas, we are, at least in theory, in charge of our representatives. Our tax dollars pay them to make laws to protect and serve us. What purpose does a bill debating the validity of cheerleading moves do to help us?
To top it off, this is not Edwards’ first bill to draw attention for the dramatic measures it demands. In 1989, he proposed a bill that would allow the state to amputate the fingers of drug dealers, and in 1991, he called for a vote to allow corporal punishment of inmates in state prisons.
While the virtues of bills such as these could be debated, they have not and will not draw widespread support. So, instead of wasting our time and money, Congress should focus on bills that serve more practical purposes. Anyone who is a constituent of Texas should contact their congressman to let them know what issues would actually be of importance to us. And while you’re at it, ask them to put a stop to bills, which can’t be enforced because of indefinable vocabulary.


Editor Reflects on Living the Final Day
Paige Dickerson | Managing Editor

This week I was assigned the task of tracking down people to answer The Wichitan question of the week: “What would you do with your last day on earth?”
There were so many people who responded who had no idea or didn’t want to think about it that I began to think of what I would do if I knew I was going to die tomorrow.
Would I spend all my money (little that I have being a poor college student)? Would I fly off to an exotic place I’ve never been, maybe achieving my lifelong dream of seeing France or Italy? Would I give it to a church, preparing for the afterlife?
After many hours of thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that I, too, did not really know, but it seemed none of the things listed above appealed to me.
I hate shopping, so spending all my money would seem a torturous way to live my last day on earth. If I had to spend all my money, I would probably buy lotto tickets so my family would have at least a chance of benefiting from the waste.
If I decided to fly off somewhere across the globe, most of the day would be spent on a plane. What a waste for the last few hours of my life to be spent listening to people lamenting lost luggage and long lines.
Most of my friends might predict that I would spend my time at a church, since much of my current life is spent leading and attending Bible studies. But I’ve concluded that the rest of eternity will be spent in the presence of God, so I would spend my last day with people I would not see again.
So what would I do? An average day for me is monotonous and mundane, so I certainly wouldn’t want to have my last day be just like any other.
The more I thought about it, the less sure I was of what I would do. So I started with what I wouldn’t do.
I wouldn’t go to class or work.
I wouldn’t clean my room.
I wouldn’t exercise.
I wouldn’t get into any fights.
I wouldn’t eat salad.
In the end, I found I could abandon any concern for consequences and just live for what was most important to me. Some would say this is how I should live my life now, but recognizing consequences and thinking reasonably are a part of life. They can be abandoned only without concern for the future, as they would be if I knew I was going to die tomorrow.
In the end, I would spend my last day with the people most important to me. I would gather my sister and my parents and spend every moment with them. I would write a letter to those I could not see that day.
As a generally quiet person, I fear most people don’t know how I love them. I would make sure that my last day was filled with me voicing my love for all of them.
I would voice everything I’ve kept quiet about: from telling the cute guy at church that I was crazy about him for three years and clearing up all the almost-relationships I had to making sure that all my writing and personal journals were available for the right people to read.
I would also do some indulgent things. I would eat as much ice cream and red velevet cake and any other insanely unhealthy food that I deprive myself of today. I would do at least one crazy thing. I’m usually sensible and rational, so I haven’t had the joy of doing something ridiculous just because I felt like it.
Another thing I would do on my last day is giving everything away. From my favorite books to the CDs I never listen to, I would want my things to go to people who would value and use them.
I’m grateful I had time to think over what exactly I would do. If someone had asked me, as I did the people in campus voices, I probably would have said, “Uhh… I guess I would ummmm probably spend it doing something or other with somebody I know.” Although I hope my last day is many years from now, I’m glad I got a chance to think about how I would want it to be.



Celebrities, media Pressure Women to be Thin
August Schuman | Staff Reporter

Why do some girls believe that it is necessary to stop in the middle of their dinner and go to the bathroom to throw up their food?
Getting over the toilet might help you with a few extra pounds but in the long run you are damaging yourself. I understand why these girls feel the need to do this to themselves.  Society puts a lot of pressure on girls today to be someone they are not and that someone is usually a thinner version of themselves.  Every girl, some point in their life, has had a problem with their self-image.
Self-image in today’s society has become a big deal. Pressure has been put on girls to improve their body not only from the media but also from their close peers.  Every girl it seems like is trying to have the perfect fit body. I am not for sure if it started in my generation with diet fads, or when every girl wanted to have Brittany Spears body and every guy wanted their girlfriend secretly to look like her. 
Celebrities have played an important role on girl’s self- image. Many girls look at celebrities for their sense of style, why wouldn’t they look up to them on how their body should be. You hear of many cases of celebrities having a wide variety of eating disorders and many unhealthy habits. Many girls believe if a celebrity can damage their body and still look good than why can’t they. 
 Many girls do not realize that celebrities who lose weight and keep in shape do it because they have too and have the time. It is their job.  Some train everyday to keep in shape, some train over six hours a day and some train all day. Many people do not have the time everyday to do this. Our job is not to look perfect everyday. I would also work out everyday and eat right if I was getting paid for it.
Celebrities and the media can place many thoughts into girl’s heads on how they should look and anything less is not good enough. It is sad that a beautiful heavier girl will be turned down for a job interview to a not so attractive smaller girl. 
 I have also had a problem with self- image before, and I believe that I always will. No, I do not throw up my food, but I do care about the way I look. I know that I am not the only one like me or the gym would not be crowded and even the tanning salon for that matter.  Almost all my friends feel the same way I do about wanting to lose a few extra pounds. I have also heard many other girls in my class obsessing about going to the gym more often to look better before summer.
I have been on a diet for almost my whole college career. My freshman year I put on that wonderfully known “freshman15.” During the fall, I tend to gain roughly 5 to 10 pounds and by Christmas, I start to notice. I spend the entire spring trying to lose the pounds I gained in the fall. By summer time, I stop worrying about my weight because I am already at the pool with my swim suit on. This has happened to me every year.
I know that I don’t need to lose weight, and even if I put on a few extra pounds it still would not make me overweight but like the rest of society, I want to look better. I know that I will never have Brittany Spears body but controlling my weight in a healthy matter does make me feel better about myself. It all comes down to how you believe you should look and how you feel about yourself. Don’t spend all of your time obsessing about your looks because their will always be someone prettier or thinner than you out there in the world. I have learned to accept how I look because I would not be me any other way.

 

Heroes Found in Everyday Life
Nicole Ford | Opinion Editor

A lot of flags were flying at half mast last week to honor the late Pope John Paul II. 
While the last word anyone would use to describe me is “religious,” the pope’s death, and our country’s subsequent show of respect, has made me think. I’ve heard numerous people call the pope a “good man.” He was a role model and, to many, a hero.
Of course, if we flew the flag at half mast for every “good man” out there who died, the stars and stripes would never see the top of a flag pole again.
I say this not to disrespect the pope; he was an important figure to millions of people around the world. However, he had no direct impact on my life. He was nothing more than another name and face on the news.
The heroes in my life have not been pontiffs or any other member of the clergy. They haven’t been presidents or politicians, Republican or Democrat. They haven’t been soccer, football or baseball players. And, while I more than enjoy music, movies and television, they haven’t been singers or actors.
My heroes have always had a much more personal role in my life.
My great-grandfather, Robert Lawrence Woolf, was in the Navy during World War II. While serving on the USS Thomas Stone in the Mediterranean, his ship was torpedoed and beached. For six months, he lived under almost constant aerial bombardment. According to medical reports, he was diagnosed with palpitations, insomnia, anorexia and a “feeling of impending disaster.” He was never the same after the war.
There was no worldwide, weeklong mourning period for this man when he died, even after he had given up so much for his country and the good of the world. Instead, his memory lives on in the old medals my dad keeps safely in his top dresser drawer. 
My grandpa Henry also served in the war, in his younger days. He raised two sons, instilling in both of them integrity and a strong work ethic. The man has lived life for all that it’s worth. At 87 years old, he still drives a Corvette. I can only hope that I will be so lucky.
My maternal grandparents have also been an inspiration. “Grandpa Beard” and “Grandma Fishy” were always up for a good camping trip. They, along with my parents, taught me how to catch and clean a fish. During a camping trip to Idaho, Grandpa Beard taught me that it was okay to play with my food, so long as I ate it. I could always count on my grandparents for a good story, a big hug, and a never-ending amount of love.
My dad was in the Air Force for 20 years. Though he had some wild days, he’s mostly settled down now, except for the occasional speeding ticket. I learned from him that a responsible person accepts the consequences of her actions. He does an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, and he taught me that the only way to hang on to my rights is to fight for them.
My mom served more than 20 years in the Air Force, rising through the traditionally male-dominated ranks to become a First Sergeant. Her dedication to her duty and her love for her family has never wavered.
Of course, not all my heroes and role models have been family members. Many are teachers who have devoted their lives to an underpaid and under-appreciated career. Hirschi High School’s Sherry Lindemann and Linda Fain are two such teachers who left a positive mark on my life. These women came to school every day with a passion for their jobs and a genuine love for their students.
There are a handful of professors here on campus who are doing their part to change the world for the better. These people who have dedicated their lives to educating us, who serve as role models in and out of the classroom, who are not only good teachers, but also good people, are also my heroes.
There is no set day to celebrate the contributions all of these people have made in my life. While politicians and popes will continue to grace television, newspapers and magazines, most of my heroes will never have their stories told by the media. There will be no national news coverage when they pass on. Flags around the world won’t dip to half mast, and heads-of-state won’t attend their funerals.
It is the everyday, often ignored, heroes who make the most difference in our lives. They are the grandparents, the parents, the teachers, the brothers and sisters, the common soldiers, the kids who resist peer pressure and say “no” to drugs, the best friends, the guards at the busy crosswalks, the janitors who always manage to smile and say “hello” while cleaning up a mess.
They are the people who have shaped my life and are helping me become the person I am meant to be. They are people I love, value and admire, and are heroes and role models in every possible way. They’re not perfect, and they don’t need to be.
They are the people in life who make the biggest differences, and they are the ones who should be paid the most respect.



Schools, Students face Bigger Problems than 'Harmful' Red Ink
Wayne Schields | For the Wichitan

They have started to do away with homework because “some students just don’t have time to do it.” They have started to do away with awarding exceptional students the title of valedictorian because “some students learn differently.” They have started to form all-gay high schools because “some students get picked on.” Now, they have started to do away with red ink because “some students see red and get stressed out.”
The wussification of the American student is almost complete. (By the way, my Microsoft Word just underlined “wussification” in red. I’m hurting something bad. I’m such a failure. Where’s my gun…)
At Daniels Farm Elementary School in Trumbull, Conn., teachers have been brutally correcting their pupils’ incorrect answers with (gasp) red ink. Rather than doing the unthinkable and sitting down with their child to (gasp again) help them with their homework, “parents” have instead successfully petitioned the school to get the teachers to stop this Abu Ghraib-like torture.
Joseph Foriska, principal of Thaddeus Stevens Elementary in Pittsburgh, agrees with the Trumbull wusses, “You could hold up a paper that says ‘Great Work!’ and it won’t even matter if it’s written in red.” Oh, the humanity. Foriska, no slouch in his mastery of the leftist vocabulary, has instructed his teachers to use colors with more “pleasant-feeling tones.”
Instead of “I think, therefore I am,” the liberal modus operandi of “I feel, therefore I am” has now become the standard operational procedure for the liberal-dominated public school system. When I asked a teacher what she thought of this, she replied, “We’re underfunded! We need more money!”
Coming soon to a liberal newspaper headline near you: “Man Pleads Innocent to Running Red Light: Claims that traffic light made him ‘freak out.’ Bush to blame.” In a related story, prostitutes file suit, claiming that the phrase “red-light district” inflicts psychological harm on them, preventing them from engaging in threesomes with transvestites.
Purple seems to be the color that most reflects the desire for more “pleasant-feeling tones.” In fact, Bic, Pilot Pen and Sanford, the three top pen and marker manufacturers, are producing more pens of this color because of the overwhelming demand of the “Feelings Police.”
This forces me to ask a few important questions:
1)      How long will it take until the more pleasant purple becomes “stressful?”
2)      Will students get better grades now that red will no longer dominate their papers?
3)      Isn’t this discriminatory against those who are color-blind, you practitioner of “pigmentation chauvinism!?”
Of course, I really don’t expect answers to these questions. But, on a serious note, how are kids going to be able to handle the competitive nature of our capitalist system when they can’t even handle certain hues on the spectrum? I smell a conspiracy.
One of the Communist Party USA’s goals was to “Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism.” Given that the National Education Association gives about 98 percent of its contributions to Democrats, perhaps this is a bit more than coincidental. Nevertheless, the socialist and current liberal disdain for capitalism and competition seems to be rearing its ugly head in school districts around the country.
Why should a child learn about right and wrong and the importance of good grades, especially when, as an uneducated and unemployable adult, he is able to benefit from liberal policies and blame others for his problems? Could it be the cultivating of a voting bloc?
The “It’s not your fault” dogma so prevalent in today’s society is doing harm to our children. But be not afraid, Captain Purple is here! “It’s okay, little Johnny, communism doesn’t look as scary when it is associated with purple rather than red. By the way, two plus two DOES equal five.”
Unfortunately, these same schools will no longer be able to pass out red condoms to their “responsible” students. A red condom makes for an evil, demeaning penis! But at least the students will no longer have to worry about red ink. After all, nothing is sadder than a pregnant teen with hurt feelings.