The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 23, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 19, 1997 Page: 3 of 6

The Rambler November 19, 1997 3
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We want to know what you think. What you really think. So we send a photographer to
randomly stop people and ask them a question that somehow relates to college life and
all that fun stuff. Beware! When you least expect it, we might stop you and ask you to
tell us what you think!
Question: If you could change anything'you've done , what would it be?
Jennifer
Kilcrease
MBA
Student
Raymond
Turner
Sophomore,
Music
"My freshman and sophomore years
of college. My study habits didn't
kick in till about the second semes-
ter of my sophomore year. 1
could've done a lot better."
Jennifer
Burchell
Daniel
Kilcrease
Resident
Director,
O.C.
Armstrong
Hall
"1 would've met my wife a lot soon- "1 would'\ e got a smaller meal plan
er." ' so I wouldn't have to eat at Dbra's
;is much.-
Sophomore,
English
Eric
Nelson
Assistant
Tennis
Coach •
"1 wouldn't have been the third gun-
man on the Grassy Knoll."
"I wouldn't have filed for bankrupt-
cy a year-and-a-half ago."
All photos by Jon McKenzie
Sharla
Morning
Sophomore,
Mass
Communication
"Going to this school.'
Bookworms become butterflies 11 s the end of the worlci as we
I love to read. One of my
favorite places on earth is the
Eunice and James L. West
Library. I considered going.to the
University of Texas at Arlington a
couple of
years ago. but
decided
against it
because its
library felt so
cold and
impersonal to
me.
1 recently
paid a visit to Tekisha
my old high Slack
school and ____________
guess where the first place was
that I visited? Yup, it was the
library.
I actually spent the whole
time there looking for the books
that I have not read since 1 gradu-
ated. In high school 1 was labeled
a stuck-up bookworm but felt vali-
dated a few months later when 1
found a bookmark reading,
"Bookworms turn into butterflies."
But lately it seems to me that
pure leisure reading like novels or
magazines or even articles in the
TV Guide, has become a lost art.
1 was having a discussion
about this the other day with a
friend of mine, Wesley Hutchins. a
Wesleyan education major, who
happens to be the Reading
Councils treasurer. I asked him if
he thought 1 was off the mark
when I say that most people gener-
ally don't like to read if they can
help it;
I mean after all. bookstores
seem to be doing great business
these dass and evct-'S tune I Visit
the Arlington Public library it is
full of people.
Wesley pointed out that we
are an information heavy society,
there are tons of information out
there; but much of it is condensed
and easy to swallow. There is, of
course, the Internet, radio, televi-
sion, and "news" magazines that
make Entertainment Weekly look
dull. Which brings me right back
to my point, people don't have or
take the time to do hardly any
leisure reading.
Reading to me and to most
other people who. enjoy it, is an
escape. In fact, I don't understand
why people use drugs when there
are. so many good books to read.
And it really does not matter
what you read as long as you read
it for pure enjoyment and relax-
ation. I often take breaks in
between studying to read one of
the many novels that 1 either buy
from a bookstore or borrow from
the library on a weekly basis.
I suffer from the holiday blues
every year and books are the only
thing that save me from climbing
the walls and losing what little
mind 1 do have.
Hutchins mentioned that he
saw an interview with a TV per-
sonality who said society is afraid
of silence. That probably, accounts
for the lack of leisure reading
because it is something that you
do alone.
I am somewhat of a loner by
nature so that is probably why I
enjoy reading so much, but the
television personality has a point,
because even though I see all of
these people in the libraries, they
almost never are alone, so 1 very
seriously doubt if they are doing
any leisure reading.
I am not knocking television
and other forms of entertainment.
Personally, 1 feel that some people
have been bashing TV a little too
much lately, but the phrases "sen-
sory overload" and
"desensitization" comes to mind
when I think about anything else
besides reading. We are so accus-
tomed to everything being so
flashy to jog our senses or catch
our attention that we don't really
pay much attention to content or
detail. 1 think that we have become
desensitized by all of the informa-
tion available to us so much that
we lake it for granted.
I know that you are probably
thinking (among other things) that
you as a student don't have time to
read anything besides textbooks
and notes. Well, my advice to you
would be to not let that be too
much of an excuse. 1 mean what is
the harm in taking maybe 30 min-
utes to an hour just to read
something of your choosing?
1 know a lot of "junk" novels
that are written a heck of a lot bet-
ter than some of these overpriced
textbooks.
So in the hopes of not sound-
ing to "preachy" my advice to you
would be to read for pleasure as
much and as often as you can, and
when you have kids someday, or
for those of you who already do.
read to them every single day or
night, because bookworms really
do turn into butterflies.
Tekixhti Slack is a junior major-
ing in psychology.
know it (and I feel nauseated)
The sky is falling! The sky is
falling! Or is it? Every mil-
lennium or so since the
dawn of time, human beings have
felt this way, believing that the
years immediately facing them
would be this planet's last.
They were wrong.
In case
you didn't
notice, the
Earth is still
here, alive and
kicking and
spinning away
on its little
axis. So why
does everyone
think it's on its
last legs?
All you
Julie
King
have to do is turn on the TV or log
on the Internet, and you'll find all
sorts of information about the
imminent destruction of Earth.
Why the sudden interest in dooms-
day? Well, it's not so sudden—just
. read the book of Revelation or the
predictions of Nostradamus and
you'll find that the study of the
apocalypse is not all that new.
The staying power of dooms-
day fear doesn't make Judgment
Day any less terrifying, however. I
remember seeing a documentary
about the prophecies of
Nostradamus (narrated by Orson
Welles) that scared the living day-
lights out of me. The Statue of
Liberty, the White House and the
Capitol exploded before my 8-year-
old eyes: For weeks 1 had visions
of a man wearing a blue1 turban
pointing a nuclear missile at my
house. The dreams of a centuries-
old Frenchman were quickly
becoming my worst nightmares.
Two years ago I saw the movie
Failsafe for the very first time. The
very mention of the film makes my
mother want to "duck and cover"
beneath a table somewhere, as she
was taught as a schoolgirl during
the early days of the Cold War.
As a baby boomer, she has
every right to feel terrified of an
nuclear holocaust—a right
Generation X, with all of its mind-
numbing video games and violent
TV shows, can hardly understand.
Failsafe involves the accidental
release of atomic bombs over the
city of Moscow by the U.S. Air
Force. To prevent a global con-
frontation, the President (played by
Henry Fonda), orders New York
City to be bombed by our own mil-
itary, thus killing millions of •
Americans, including the First
Lady.
Unlike Independence Day and
other disaster films of the 90s;
Failsafe does not show any explo-
sive mass destruction, leaving it up
to the audience's imagination. That
in itself is.the most horrifying ele-
ment of the film.
I suppose the Cold War is
largely responsible for this current
wave Wf Apocalypse-phobia. After
all, most of the people decrying the
earth's destruction are baby
boomers. Older generations have
heard it all before and many in this
generation don't really care if the
world ends or not.
What if the Four Horsemen of
the Apocalypse came riding tomor-
row? Would we be ready for the
ensuing wrath of heaven and hell?
Probably not. Nothing really mat-
ters, anyway, right?
But the nihilists don't have the
final say in this matter, God does,
whether God's name is Allah,
Jehovah, or whatever. And as long
as we believe God is in charge, we
will be taken care of, one way or
another.
I have a feeling this world will
go on spinning even without
humankind. As Jurassic Park's Ian
Malcolm says, "The planet is not in
jeopardy. We are in jeopardy. We
haven't got the power to destroy the
planet—or to save it. But we might
have the power to save ourselves."
Julie King is a sophomore major-
ing in marketing and the opinions
editor of The Rambler.
Letters to the editor
Matthew Schruni
At church this morning, our Associate Pastor announced the death of a young man named Matthew Schrum.
I think he was a 'Student at TCI What t do know for sure is that he was Jake R, Schrum'* nephew The father of
the young man who took his life served as a < Mcthodisi) chaplain at Carswell some time ago. My associate pas-
tor worked for him. pruyr to her ordination, The death occurred Friday. Oct. 31. I don't know any other details.
The reason I am w riling to let you know is because I am aware that Amber Causey did an article about sui-
cide for Th<r Rambler It might have heen poor liming I then again, maybe quite timely ) to have included her
piece in the edition so soon after the death of Dr Schrum nephew
I really like being able to send you information via e-mail, t hope this proving beneficial to you all .as
well. ' •
Mary Ann Long
Junior.
Mass communication
The Rambler
Founded in 1917 as The Handout
Jake B. Schrum. Publisher
Dr. Marian Haber, Adviser
James Pfajfengut, editor in chief
Lou Ptichner, managing editor
Tracy Wilson, Hie and sports editor
Sarah Gibson, news editor
Lydia Sloniger. advertising manager
Kelli Parker, entertainment editor
Jon McKenzie, photo editor
Julie King, opinion,v editor
Brad Ball, graphic artist
Member of (he Associated Collegiate Press and the Texas Inicrcollcgiale Press Association.
Opinions expressed in The Rambler are those of the individual author only and do nol necessarily reflect the views of the
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