The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 38, Ed. 1, Friday, February 4, 1994 Page: 2 of 8
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The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
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Opinion
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Optimist
Sharla Stephens Editor in Chief
Serene Goh Managing News Editor
Debbie Crawford Opinion Page Editor
Melissa Siallings Opinion Page Editor
Dr. Charlie Marler Faculty Adviser
Editorial Board
Serene Goh Kathy Colvelt Brian Shaw Mark Houston
John Carroll Jodi Bain Melissa Stallings Debbie Crawford
Marty Reves Sharla Stephens Eileen Tan
The Optimist is a twice-a-wcek publication of the students of the Department of Journal-
ism and Mass Communication of Abilene Christian University and serves as a journalism
laboratory for the department's students.
t The unsigned editorials arc the opinions of the students on the Optimist Editorial Board
and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the university.
The signed columns cartoons and letters to the editor arc the opinions of their creators and
do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist Editorial Board or the university
administration.
Noise in the library is distracting
Friendly interaction among students is
wonderful but the library is not the
appropriate place for social gatherings.
The library should be the best place on
campus to study but the noise is distract-
ing. For instance during the Super Bowl
the only sounds in the library were the
gentle sliding of books occasional
rustling of paper and muffled treading of
diligent students. But with the Cowboy's
victory secured the library's noise level
climbed as students braved the weather to
go to the library and presumably study.
As the semester progresses more stu-
dents will need to utilize the library's
research facilities. Unless they cooperate
by holding down their conversations the
Writer questions
article's objectivity
To the Editor.
I was disappointed in on article in the
Jan. 28 edition of your paper ... about
Rep. Bob Hunter.
The story is biased in favor of Hunter.
I have nothing against either Hunter or
Gloria Goodrich but a news story should
only present the facts or balanced opin-
ions. Goodrich got two paragraphs that
say nothing about her position and then
the rest of the article praises Hunter.
I don't believe this is fair and ethical
reporting. It hurts the students if they
v- aren't given all the facts to base an
''important decision upon and it hurts
Cyour paper because it puts your credibili-
' 'ty on the line. If the Optimist is thought
'of as a Hunter lover anything you report
ion the issue will be dismissed.
I'm sure ACU isn't 100 percent
r -Republican. Encourage students to
become involved with the elections and
learn about their leaders. A democracy
l doesn't work if the voters aren't
informed.
Magazines have begun having adver-
tisement sections look like actual news
h articles. People read about the latest mir
acle drug and get excited about the news
I and then discover the little "Paid Adver-
; tisement" disclaimer in small print at the
; bottom of the page. What worries me
Americans
By Charley Reese
r Orlando Sentinel Tribune 1994
One of the problems with multicultural-
ism is that too many American citi-
y zens are not being educated about their
own culture.
;' One should learn about other cultures
after learning about one's own. All the insti-
tutions of American government are
! derived from our European culture. None
! comes from Africa or Asia or from Ameri-
i can Indians. People's ignorance of Ameri
can and European culture was reflected
recently in an otherwise excellent 1 urner
Broadcasting him about the Iroquois. The
film implied that our forefathers derived the
idea of the U.S. Constitution from the Iro-
! quols confederation.
. One of those preposterous products of
jhe pseudo-intellectuals of the 1960s the
example is not worthy of comment except
to point out that only a person nearly 100
subsequent noise increases will handicap
their studies.
Most of the library is designed for soli-
tary study not rowdy spontaneous con-
ventions. In particular study carrels are
designed for private work not for gripe
sessions or flirting.
If loud conversation is imperative
study rooms the atrium and the lobby are
available but the book stacks and carrels
should be inviolate. Conversing quietly in
designated areas such as group study
tables and the check-out desks is fine as
long as participants maintain low volume
and do not disturb other people.
Be considerate in using the library
because eventually you may find yourself
needing quiet unbroken concentration.
with the Hunter story is that there isn't a
"Paid Advertisement" disclaimer.
Phaedra Allen
Sophomore interdisciplinary studies major
Abilene
Christians should
take part in elections
To the Editor:
I was glad to sec a story about Bob
Hunter on the front cover of the Optimist
last week. I am rather surprised that over
the lost three years I have not seen the
Optimist take a more active role in
encouraging students to vote.
A lack of Christian voters results in
Christians having less freedom of speech
than anyone in America. We are accused
of trying to stuff our religion down
everyone's throats if we speak up.
Hunter has been accused of not being
conservative enough.. Good for him and
good for us. When he docs not vote the
way the Republican Party is pressuring
him to vote he votes his conscience.
This country would be a better place to
live if we had more Christian representa-
tives vote according to their consciences
ACU get out and vote Christian.
White H. Marriott
Junior English major
Abilene
need education about own culture
percent ignorant of American and Euro-
pean history could make such a dumb
statement.
Tribal alliances for the purpose of mak-
ing war against other tribes are as old as
human history. The superbly educated
authors of the American Revolution had
nothing to learn from a primitive tribal
alliance. Try Montesquieu's Spirit of the
Laws instead. The American Revolution
intellectually was the culmination of a
great intellectual ferment that began in
Europe with the Renaissance
No one can be said to be educated about
Western European culture who has not
read Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill and The
Social Contract by Rousseau. No one can
be said to be educated about American his-
tory who has not read The Federalist
Papers.
We in the twilight of the 20th century are
generally less literate and well-educated
Bud Bowl
Beer bottle football sad imitation
The Super Bowl came. The Super Bowl
went.
Millions of eyes watched hit after hit as
men dressed in padded jerseys and form-Fitting
pants threw each other into the solid
green turf. Players performed in this game
the ultimate test.
Millions of eyes watched commercial
after commercial that highlighted the
screen between plays of the game. The Bud
Bowl was back.
Once a year Americans allow beer bot-
tles dressed as football players to parade
across TV screens. Entertainment at its
height football at its finest.
These long-necked bottles of amber .liq-
uid sported jersey tops and helmets The
commercials throughout the first half illus-
trated the teams playing their own version
of football. Plays were run and hits were
made." -' .
Pne commercial break showed a play in
which the runner alias the beer bottle
moved through the pack of players. His
uniform his label was ripped from his
body oops bottle The screen showed
him after the play censored with a black
covering across mid-bottle.
Former Chicago Bears football coach
Mike Ditka and former Houston Oilers and
New Orleans Saints coach Bum Phillips
Keep eyes on the blind
CAUTION: OBJECTS IN MIRROR
ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.
As we begin our adult lives no longer
plagued by the trials of adolescence our
gazes fall on the youthful images in the
mirror.
We have achieved the perfect balance of
adulthood and youth with all the benefits
of both worlds and none of the problems.
Despite the seemingly rosy reflection
many of us have a blind spot as we cruise
life's highway. Like a car mirror the blind
spot appears right about where those words
of caution ore pasted.
Take a moment and focus on those
words; then look through them to the infa-
mous blind spot to discover to what we've
been oblivious.
Examine the world in which we're living.
Nearly all we hear on the news is negative:
corruption murder violence drugs. Now
compare this scene with the book of Reve-
lation and you'll find great similarity.
Depending on interpretation the end of the
than Americans of the 18th and 19th cen-
turies. The Frenchman De Toqueville remarked
about his travels through America in the
1800s that no matter how humble frontier
cabins nearly always contained two well-
worn books the Bible and Shakespeare. A
Frenchman touring today would find a TV
and Nintendo.
Thomas Jefferson spoke the truth how-
ever when he said one cannot expect to
remain free if ignorant.
Virtually all the problems that beset us
including the deficit and public debt
are basically a results of our general igno-
rance of our own history and of the philos-
ophy and principles of the American Revo-
lution. Unless we educate ourselves and
reverse the process our dwindling liberties
soon will disappear.
Liberty is the freedom to make decisions.
Laws are a restriction on the freedom to
make decisions. Americans have been
'Chrltiien must be
the people wtio
refuse to accept
football playing beer
bottles as
entertainment'
Marty
Reves
rHHH
Hands Off
performed the roles of coaches for the
opposing teams. These two men actually
were paid to bark orders and encourage-
ment to teams of cartoon long-neck bottles.
The suspense of the commercials built to
the conclusion of the cartoonO during the
third quarter of the Super Bowl. Finally the
game was finished; Relief! A victor
emerged.
Yeahl Beer bottles beat beer bottles in a
true contest of strength. America can rest
assured. The great-taste-less-filling contest
was decided or was it?
If only one could know that the final vic-
tor was chosen that beer drinkers across
the nation had decided which beer is better.
If only one could know that beer drinkers
across the nation decided the propaganda
'Imagining today's
atmosphere being
replaced with
beautiful singing and
happlneta Is pun
heaven ItteraHy.'
Sharla
Stephens
Free to Be
world is predicted to be characterized by
death and destruction.
The violence evident by the evening
news the AIDS epidemic the fallen morals
of society all seem to point the way
toward the end of this life.
Scary thought?
By no means I hope. As Christians we
should look forward to the change of
scenery. When this world's end seems
somewhat beguiled because freedom to
make decisions has been restricted over a
period of time in little bits and pieces
rather than in one fell swoop. But death by
a thousand small cuts is just as dead as
death by one forceful chop.
The tendency toward more restrictions
and less liberty is obvious. We hod better
decide soon if we wish to remain free.
Freedom involves risk for it means we
must assume responsibility for our own
lives.
The subtle siren call of the oligarchs is
"Relax we'll take Care of you." Sure like
the slave owner took care of his slaves and
livestock. He fed and sheltered his slaves
just as he did his livestock and if they got
sick he doctored them just as he did his
livestock. The question isj do you wish to
be a human being or livestock?
If you wish to be human you must take
care of yourself The first step is to educate
yourself about your own revolution.
of actual event
plot was nonsense and beer is not only
detrimental for the body but also leads to
sin.
The ridiculous beer bottles dance across
the television providing a clearer view of
society. Society not only accepts alcohol
it embraces the liquids and their advertise-
ments as forms of entertainment V
Millions of dollars were spent to create
these advertisements. Companies pay for
commercials through profits from their
products. If people do not buy alcohol Bud
Bowl will die.
The end of Bud Bowl should provide a -brighter
perspective for Christians. The end '
would mean the beginning of change in
millions of lives in the nation.
That end won't happen.
One beer company found a successful
chain of advertisements that the public
anticipates yearly. The company will not
surrender its ads for the sake of a few com- J
plaining people.
Christians must be the people who refuse
to accept football-playing beer bottles as
entertainment.
When these bottles empty the game is
over and no victor emerges. We must rec-
ognize these symbolic bottles. The bottles
on screen may remain full but those pur-
chased will not.
spot of life
j
frightening we can look to the Bible for
numerous references to a better life waiting
for us.
And to be honest I am ecstatic. The foul
news drifting around these days is enough
to make anyone nauseous; imagining
today's atmosphere being replaced with
beautiful singing and happiness is pqte
heaven literally. I '
In the meantime we will be bombarikd
with nasty news immoral conduct in bur
community death and destruction. What td $)
do? The choice is ours. We can choose -tp
focus on the present or look forward to the
future.
In our little self-absorbed lives we tcndto
become bogged down with so much of the
world's irrelevance that we lose sight of.
what is to come. t ''j
The more important aspects of living tend
to take a back seat to the real reasons for
living. Pay attention to the caution eyeing
you from the mirror - the next life may be
closer than you think.
The Optimlsl encourages reader
response through letters to the editor
but we reserve the right to refuse to
print letters that contain personal'
attack obscenity defamation erro-
neous information or invasion of pri-
vacy. The Optimist refuses to print any
letters that do not include a signature
or letters that bear requests for the
writer's anonymity.
We reserve the right to limit fre.
quent writers and edit letters when
length or grammatical errors become a .
problem.
Letters submitted to the Optimist
should be limited to 350 words or
less.
Address letters to:
"Optimist Editor"
ACU Box 7892
or bring the letters to Room 308 of fhc
Don H Morris Center! '
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 38, Ed. 1, Friday, February 4, 1994, newspaper, February 4, 1994; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth92222/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.