The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 157, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 4, 1999 Page: 2 of 6
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February 4, 1999
The J-TAC
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Library noise
Have you visited other college libraries lately?
I have, and there is a stark difference between
the Tarleton library and other college libraries.
NOISE!!!
When entering the Texas Christian University
library, you meet with a sign that alerts the stu-
dent "YouAre Now Entering A Quiet Area!"
Whether you are in the computer area, reference
area, or the stacks, the signs are present and
"silence is golden." Staff members are present in
all areas who can and do enforce this policy of
mutual consideration.
I challenge you to find any area in the
Tarleton library where a student may study in
peace and quiet. The staff members do nothing
to encourage rowdy students to quiet down. The
chatting students force other students to do the
job of the librarian and ask fellow students to be
more quiet, or else vacate the one area of campus
designed for the industrious to do research and
study.
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against
"cooperative learning," As a prospective educa-
tor, I am well informed as to the advantages of
this technique. However in OUR library it
should be reserved for those rooms designated
for group study, as in the case of TCU's, TCJC's,
and Weatherford College's libraries.
"Visiting" should be done elsewhere.
Respectfully,
Margie L. Wilson
Being responsible
Always look out for #l...yourself
STAFF
COMMENTARY
Are you responsible for your own actions? Do you trust your friends to look
out for your safety? Do you really know who your friends are? These may
seem like simple questions with simple answers, but if you are a Tarleton stu-
dent don't be so quick to dismiss the questions.
Most of us come from high schools of less than 6,500 students. Many of us
come from high schools of less than 500 students. Those of us from small
towns are used to knowing our classmates inside and out. If you come from a
small school district you probably knew every single person in your graduating class. It is also quite
possible that you went to school with the same people from kindergarten through high school. In
fact, for many people their days at Tarleton are their first extended trips away from home. Let this be
a little reminder to people about the real world.
Lesson' 1 - A person who you know from class is not necessarily your friend.
Lesson 2 - There are people that you know who do not always have your best interests at heart.
Lesson 3 - Your friends will usually assume that you know exactly what you are getting yourself
into.
Lesson 4 - A friend does not want to tell you something that they think will upset you and make
you mad at them.
Hopefully, these four little reminders will serve to make you better prepared to be responsible for
your own actions. So don't think that just because your friend doesn't tell you that you don't need to
have another drink it means that you should have one, or that since you know a person from class it
means that you can trust them to make sure, that you are O.K.
Now, why do I talk about the above information? Well, with the semester less than a month old
we have already seen an increase in alcohol-related incidents on campus. There have been at least
four alleged cases of alcohol poisoning and public intoxication, and more recently a report of sexual
assault involving people that you go to class with, and see on a daily basis. Take the time to know
who you can trust and find out who your real friends are. You wouldn't want one of these things to
happen to your friends, and you wouldn't want one of these things to happen to you. Be a good
friend to others, and be a better friend to yourself. You never know when a decision you make today
could impact your entire future. If you are going to drink, drink responsibly. If your friend is not
drinking responsibly, let them know. You owe it to them, and you owe it to yourself.
Youthful rebellion ain't what it used to be
By Alex Ross
Tulane University
A sorority girl hefting a backpack adorned with Phish and Bob Dylan patches walked across cam-
pus the other day. Her outfit consisted of a GAP shirt, Tommy Hilfiger black high-heeled shoes, an
Abercrombie and Fitch hat, and black tights. I shook my head.
An interesting paradox has emerged in 1990s youth culture: rebellion via conformity. Corporate
America has directed our natural tendencies to rebel into consumerism, and we've let it. Thus,
teenagers and 20-somethings are straying way from activism and the useful rebellion in which their
parents engaged during the 1960s. What is consumer rebellion anyway?
To understand it, you have to look at the activists of the '60s, who fought for world change via
peaceful protests. They set out to conquer the world and to radically alter the greatest government
on Earth. Their success may not have been absolute, but the resonance still is felt today No doubt
that was useful rebellion.
' The 1990's version of rebellion isn't as useful to the world. It's good for corporations that feed
teenagers spoonfuls of rebellion, but not to the dirt, sky, or water. The rebellion of the 90's is useless
to you and me - and pretty much to anyone else. .
Young people routinely buy baggy jeans, Grateful Dead T-shirts, hemp necklaces and anything
else considered outside the norm. They wrongfully believe those things will set them apart from
everyone else.
Ironically, they're not rebelling against anything, but they are indeed conforming. After all, goods
often thought to be outside the mainstream are everywhere. Rap music thrives in upper class, white,
suburban neighborhoods. Grateful Dead T-shirts are absolutely everywhere - even Asian rice farmers
are wearing them. Virgin Megastores carry every Phish CD; Even corporate lawyers sport Bob Dylan
bumper stickers on the backs of their cars. Hemp is no longer underground. It's an industry.
Marketing tells people that these goods are outside the mainstream - a ploy designed to make
young people feel they're exercising their freedom of choice and expression when they buy them -
and we fall for it. One contemporary song makes fun of us: "They buy a bottle of rebellion ... buy a
bottle of nonconformity," it says.
Thomas Jefferson once said "a little rebellion now and then is a good thing." But is today's con-
sumer rebellion whait he envisioned? Perhaps he saw us fighting one of the most corrupt presidents
in history. Or the censorship that abounds in middle schools and high schools these days. Or a justice
system that allows criminals to walk free. Or loggers who will ensure that rain forests are gone in ,
our lifetimes. Or the corner of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, center of the "Summer of Love," and
the symbol of the 1960s counter-cultural rebellion - a corner that now has a Ben and Jerry's ice cream
shop and a GAP. 1
Guns under fire
Lawsuits aiming at wrong target
Now that I am in the final semester of my undergraduate studies, I feel I
have learned some fundamental truths about this world we live in. Rap music
does not cause people to actively shoot other people. McDonald's hot coffee is
always hot. The use of tobacco products will not help your overall health.
Guns do not kill people. People kill people. Finally, people will do anything
for money, whether it lying, cheating, stealing or suing. Oh yeah, and very
few people want to take responsibility for their own actions.
What am I talking about? This past week several cities have filed lawsuits against gun manufac-
turers and industry groups due to the incidents of people getting killed with firearms. Imagine that a
tool that fires a little projectile faster than the speed of sound and when it hits people, they get hurt!
Last year New Orleans and Chicago became the first cities to sue the gun industry for allegedly not
doing enough to curb gun violence. Bridgeport, Connecticut and Miami-Dade County also filed sim-
ilar lawsuits. These lawsuits are being called the next Tobacco Suits due to their close relationship to
past judgements against the Tobacco Industry.
I see several problems with these lawsuits. First, I have never met a gun that on its own accord
loaded itself, pointed itself at some one and pulled its own trigger in an attempt to do harm to that
person or object. In my experience, guns are just pieces of metal that lie still until I personally pick
them up and use them. Secondly, no one wants to take responsibility for their own actions and strug-
gles to find a scapegoat for all the bad things that happen. The cities that are filing these lawsuits are
making the gun industry their personal scapegoats and hoping to make a chunk of cash along the
way.
What these public officials are failing to realize is that it is not the guns that are the problem, it is
the stupid people using the guns in an inappropriate manner that are the problem. I was raised
around guns and learned at a young age about gun safety. At the same time I learned that people
using firearms under the influence of stupidity will hurt you.
Let's clarify things a little here. I am not a gun-toting fanatic. At least half of that is incorrect. I
am no longer a member of the NRA, because they have become a little too radical. I do not see the
need to have a weapon that is fully automatic. That's not to say I have not seen, used and enjoyed
these weapons. I am a member of Ducks Unlimited, The Wildlife Society and numerous gun clubs. I
am an avid hunter and shooting sports shooter. I like guns. I believe that used properly guns have a
purpose and a place in people's lives if they choose.
In what I believe is the ultimate act of hypocrisy, the city of New Orleans traded 7,200 confiscated
weapons and old 9-mm pistols for about 1,700 new Glock handguns for police use. If you will
remember New Orleans is also the city that is one of several suing gun makers, like Glock, for violat-
ing state gun safety laws by failing to install high tech gun locks to keep unauthorized users from
using them. Guess what? The guns they traded for new ones did not meet the state gun safety laws
either.
Chicago is suing for "contributing to a public nuisance". That is obscene. It is not the guns caus-
ing the nuisance; it is the gang-bangers and other idiots that are causing the nuisance.
It is time that we put the blame where it belongs, on the people use the guns to cause crimes.
What is next? I could sue Ford Motor Company because they failed to put a safety device in my
pickup that kept me from driving after drinking a twelve pack of beer? Maybe that's a thought. It
could keep me from having to get a job...
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Staff
Editor in Chief
Kisty Hoffman
Managing Editor
Melissa Marshall
Sports Editor
Kathryn Forst
Ad Manager
Vanessa Fox
Staff Writers
Christ Rodriguez
Kristi Lloyd
John Lowe
Wyatt Glade
Joy Roya
Laura Rankin
Daniel Taylor
Marily Durban
Steve Gast
Opinion Editor
Tohma Morrison
Copy Editor
Brent Sutherland
Web Editor
John Kerby
Photographers
Laura Rankin
Tom Pledger
Daniel Taylor
Micheal Smiley
Brandie Green
Adviser
Rachel Cruthirds
Letters To The Editor:
If you have any suggestions, com-
ments or responses about the J-TAC,
Tarleton or world events, you can either e-
mail us at our e-mail address or mail a let-
ter to:
The J-TAC
Box T-0440
Stephenville, Texas 76402
Letters should contain a name, phone
number and student I.D. number.
However, the name may be withheld by
request if the previous information is
given.
Letters must be received by 5 p.m.
Monday.
The J-TAC reserves the right to edit
letters for content, style, length and gram-
mar. The J-TAC also reserves the right to
refuse to print any letter in poor taste.
The J-TAC is published on Thursdays dur-
ing the fall and spring semester with the
exception of university holidays and
examination periods. The editorials
express the opinions of the J-TAC staff.
Other articles in the opinion section do not
necessarily express the views of this uni-
versity or this newspaper. Content is
copyrighted material of the J-TAC.
Written permission must be granted for
article reprints.
Non-profit organization, Bulk Rate
USPS No. 133, Stephenville, TX 76401
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 157, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 4, 1999, newspaper, February 4, 1999; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141943/m1/2/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.