The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 14, Ed. 1, Wednesday, October 7, 1998 Page: 6 of 8
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Opinion
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October 7y 1998 Wichmdiiy Page 6
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II EDITORIAL
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Voting privilege must
be actively exercised
J0slnce most students' did hot
exercise their right to vdte. '
j"Les9 than 35 percent of Ameri-
cans voted last year and students
represented an even smaller per-
centage. Like couch potatoes without
physical exercise students be-
come lax and flabby in the area of
politics giving over to mindless
excuses. But you've got until Nov.
'O'to banish all these excuses. Get
ifcforcSed and exercise your right
:3f
The "Whats-New" portion of
the website ricUidcs a voterifi
guide that lisfe ail candidates fori
statewide races alid includes res-J
ponses to a questionnaire sent to
those candidates in contested
races.
The site also states Qualifica-
tions for being candidates duties
salary and a qucstlon-and-answcr
page for Voters.
Sample questions to the guber-
natorial candidates Included;
"What qualifies you for the office
H-
! ( -teocTx -worse lAhfrlwe LoWUf Y5 ' .
'
i if jl i
It li'
Like couch potatoes without
physical exercise students become
lax and flabby in the areas of
;jl politics giving over to mindless
excuses.
jrv K
YV
aNn
to vote which was earned by men
"drrd women who fought for this
'l&rivllcge generations ago. So we
'Have taken care of some excuses
kat may get in your way:
-JCi.'l. fcif we're not voting for pres-
'Jdent and vice president then
?-rho are we voting for?"
'ii'On Nov. 3. vmi will vote for
ma
you seek?" "What specific initia-
tives do you intend to support
which will improve the lives of the
28 percent of the Texas children
who live In poverty?" "Discuss the
role of state government in 'devel-
oping a balance between environ-
mental concerns and economic
interests." and "What if anv.
-)tonr choice of candidates for the changes should be made in the
oilices ol: governor ot Texas lieu-
-tenant governor attorney general
-''comptroller of public accounts
'hfeilroad commissioner eommfs-
'tamer of agriculture general land
officer supreme court justice and
4burt of criminal appeals judge.
T2 "I'm just totally clueless
'labout elections. 1 wouldn't know
fwhere to go or what to do."
M-J'.Well . here are the details'.
When: The primary) election 'is
Nov. 3. Polls are open from 7 a.m.-
ri -- i- .!
p.m. so mam your caienaais
ow. Where: If you're registered
ijjtoth your ACU box you are regis-
i'lcreu 10 vote ai mucrcsi inurcn
tSf Christ on Ambler Avenue. If
i no w
.L
way political campaigns arc
financed In Texas?"
4. "It's too much iroufile to go
vote and'it doesn't have anything
to do with me."
Students vote for Students'
dissociation members and Home-
coming Queen each year. Don't
expect voting for the men and
women who will influence the
future of our country to be as easy
as nilingfui little strips ofipapct?
and dumping them in a Kentucky
Fried Chicken bucket at the end
of Daily Assembly. Most students
have an opinion on President
Clinton the Monica Lewinsky
scandal and what type of political
you are registered vjn your home- platform? atfd moral ground Clin-
Jjlown write your hometown post
ttliice or courthouse to get an
Absentee ballot. Monday was the
tst day to register for elections.
t;i 3. "How am I supposed to
;inpw who to vote for?"
! For further information op
; Texas elections students can
access the secretary ofstates web-
5ltc at http:wWYv.50s.5tate.txus
;fqr much of the information you
tjjieed to form an opinion on each
.candidate and position
ton stands on. The people you
vote for-in November will influ-
ence his remaining two years in
office.
With voting more than a month
away you have the time to re-
search candidates and their plat-
forms and decide for yourself
which candidates to support.
Get off the couch onto your
computer and quit making excus-
es. Show other students you care
about the future of our country.
LETTER TO THE
EDITOR
Exclusion found in
all aspects of life
As I walked around campus
today I couldn't help but notice
some extra decorations added to the
sidewalks. Written in chalk and
printed on flyers were phrases like
"Social Clubs: Systematic Exclu-
sion" "Question the Tradition" and
"Rethink Pledging; Rethink Confor-
rnltyi. Rethink .Hypocrisy.
But there is another side to this
story. Once the student realizes he
or she hasn't gotten the bid wanted
a decision must be made. You see
correct me"lf I'm wrong evcryont is
offered a bid froni one club or
another. So the prospective pledges
must choose whether to accept or
decline the bid given to them by a
club that is eager to welcome them
as a new'brolhcr'br sister.
More often than not the one who
felt rejected for not being good
enough for one club turns around
and rejects a club that did want
them. Us an interesting irony. There
arc clubs on campus right now that
really wanted to admit them and
just didn't have enough room But
for whatever reason they were told
they couldn't join ACUs student
body: Is tlHtt wrong? Should ACU
remove "Christian" from its title
because we don't accept everyone'
who wants to get in? Of course not.
In the same way no one should
label social clubs "un-Christian"
because they can't let everyone in.
Hercs some news for everyone
who hasn't heard yet life Is
exclusionary. Churches turn down
ministers. People get laid off of
work. Couples break up. Its all a
part of life. The secret tq success in
SoWeeding the authors advice 1 ' are r6n tfte'verge of fdltfrfg'T)ecausjirttttfftof llJM pepxived "fall
'Uatised' to 'retdhsldcf the ethical
dilemmas posed by the whole
pledging process that has been part
of ACU for almost 80 years.
On one hand I saw the point of
the? messages. Social clubs are
ex(usionary. Every year a number
of Mudents do everything they cart
think of to win a bid to a certain'
'club only to meet with disappoint-
ment when bids are issued. When
hopeful pledges realize theyhaven't
been offered the opportunity they
wanted tears anger and resentment
quickly followed; The Thursday
before Bid Night is a painful
painful time and in light of the
emotions it stirs up It might be easy
simply to condemn the whole social
club system and pledging process.
people thought they were (od'good
to pledge them. Perhaps those who
didnt get a bid Irom their lirst-
choice club need to take it as a sign
from God that they didn't belong In
that club anyway and should make
the most of the opportunity that Is
afforded them.
As far as social clubs being
slammed for "selective exclusion" 1
have one more point to make. Every
year ACU along with almost every
other school In the Industrialized
world" rejects the applications of
hundreds of students who really
wanted to be! a part of this institu-
tion. Maybe their grades weren't
high enough maybe they didn't
know the right people to get them-
selves Included or maybe the school
ure" is to look for the ways God Is
moving through it. He knows what
is best for all of us. If we don't get
t the job we want then theres anoth-
er one out there. If we get dumped
by someone we thought was "The
One" someone else Is waiting.
If we 'dorvt get into the social
club we wanted maybe its God
telling us that Hes got something
better in mind. In live words of
world-renowned theologian Mick'
J agger "You can't always get what
you want... but sometimes you find
you get what you need"
Preach on brother.
Dave Roland
Junior political science and Bible
major from Huntsvilte Ala.
Optimist
MAI O'NeiH
fLie's goals useful only in pursuit 0 God's mil love
:Sum
t Column
:farrett
iSoczkur
:
& Christians
jj should face
the apocalypse
fe differently
tharj the rest
;Jf th world.
As the new millennium approaches society is
becoming more and more preoccupied with the
concept of its mortality. Hollywood definitely has
helped magnify this excitement with its various disas-
ter films.
Last year a good friend of mine Caleb Camacho
wrote a column that took on the popular notions sur-
rounding the end of the world. Caleb made it clear
Christians ought not share the same fear of death. We
hope of eternal life that overcomes physical demise.
I agree with him fully. Christians should face the
apocalypse differently than the rest of the world One
way of dealing with the brief life span is the classic
Dead Poets Society route. Ever since I saw that movie I
have been keenly aware of just how short my time on
this earth will be. The motto "carpc diem" Is an endur-
ing one. Occasionally the rallying cry of characters
Knox and Nuwanda even inspire me to take some leaps
I would normally not attempt.
Although there Is value In taking full advantage of
our limited time here a questionrrises: "If I seize the
day what exactly should I do with it?"
f
Accompany nje if you dare' on a hypothetical jour-
ney to the future that may offer an alternate view of the
situation in which we humans find ourselves. So take
your watches off human time synchronize with God
time and away we go.
Suppose the world docs not come to a crashing
demise for an extremely long time. Think about it. We
seem to have it stuck in our minds that we are living in
the lost days of this world. Maybe we artj not. Maybe
the world will continue for another say 20000 years.
Of course there is no way of knowing one way or the
other. But it does not hurt to consider our plaqe in
Gods big plan.
In that time the world would most likely see all sons
of war and calamity Just as it has in the past. Very pos-
sibly the culture to which we have become so accus-
tomed would be erased altogether. With all our various
institutions and pastimes long since forgotten and all
the record books destroyed our present lives seem
pretty insignificant. I wonder if the people of tht year
201998 A.D". would even bother to study -oqr century
in history class If such a thing should exist
IN YOUR WORDS: Does your vote matter?
'U U
Ecclesiastes 11:1 reads: "The people of long ago are
not remembered nor will there be any remembrance of
people yet to come by people who come after them."
Apparently our hypothetical journey is not so far-
fetched. Thankfully whether the world ends today or In the
distant future God will remember our lives. Therefore
what is important to Him is what should be important
to us.
All the institutions and activities in which we invest
our precious time are irrelevant unless their basic func-
tion brings us closer to the will of God.
I think the best way to make the most of life is
encompassed by the great commandments Jesus iden-
tified In Matthew 22: "You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind" and "You should love your neigh-
bor as ypurself."
Follow these andyou have truly seized the day.
Barrett Koczhur Ivasophomorc undecided major from
Rochester Hill Mich.
f 't i
gjl think it does. Personally It matters to
Sjie; somebody may not listen but you
! your opinion inH
' " " AprH fckf
freshman elementary education
major from Synder
"Yes my vote matters because If every- "Yes If you want to complain abput
one thought their vote didn't matter our leaders. If you jdon't vote then you
we wouldn't be anywhere. It is our don't have the right to complain."
ngnt ana responsibility as Americans.? "
Junior political science major
frnm W.lrWir Mofnhtt
IWaryStlmwSf'.
freshman history major
from Sugarland
" f v.
'"Irtbirik to an extent you voice your
opinion but you really don't have the
final word in It."
Jacob Fasfce
sophomore psychology and youth and
lamny minairy major irom leanuer
"Yeah I guess it does matter.'
" " Irrytonnr
freshman Business malor
. 'from Washington D.C.
Jwr eel Schroeder
?4tljfctf IrtiralfriM "insjftt all"
V41TVT rTvWWyf vfRW
Amanda Itelter
Ruth Molinar
JWfIi fMBQFtVMm
Robert Bentley
Copy Editor
Sidney Schuhmaon .-
Aaron Tweeton
Shelly Weed
j Caren Joy Lanfct
9wnf Wnifjera
MkheHe Charles
Jess Grey
Ceren Frost
Jennifer SmaHfrtg
MeJerrfe Thomas
- Does Tatlarden
ttmtt -.--
Tonyieiard
Tracey Lhg
Jay Barton
Terrio Bennett
AWVWffWJ flrTvwttCvtvft
Sara Tldrkk
Hillary Whites
Faculty Attvfeer
Dr. Merlin Mann
The untlsncd edHorUfe are the .
opinions of the students on tht
Optimist edHwUI feowd and
do not necesMrty reflect the
poNdes or views of the unKer
tlty. The signed columns car-
toons and letters to the edHor
ere opinions of their creMors
and do not necessarily reflect
the viewpoints of the Optlmkt
editorial board or the universi-
ty administration.
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courages reader response
through letters to the edHor.
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to print letters containing per-
sonal attack obscenity defam-
ation erroneous Information
or Invasion of privacy. We
reserve the right to limit fre-
quent writers and to edit long
letters or letters containing
grammatical errors. Please
limit letters to 400 words or
less. Letter authors will be con-
tacted for verification of cre-
ation. To have a letter published
please Include your name and
phone number. Unsigned or a-
nonymous letters will be
refused. Address letters to the
editor to:
ifTuffmfrf KJttnr
ACU lex 27M2
Aamene TX 79e94
You may also e-mail your let-
ter to the editor to:
eln4stJmcacu.eeki
rlfvt
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rf1allttwgHHllhH INI "IIHttto-tfla-WMr -( j
l"V.
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 14, Ed. 1, Wednesday, October 7, 1998, newspaper, October 7, 1998; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth99811/m1/6/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.