The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, September 26, 1991 Page: 2 of 8
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Page 2/Thursday, September 26, 1991/theJ-TAC
OPINION
(.
; !
.I
t !
Jury duty
perplexes
columnist
Jordan Cannady
Around the Bend
The other day a professor men-
tioned to me that he'd recently been
called to jury duty. As happens in
most cases he was not selected for
the jury; however, he says he would
have served had he been selected.
He mentioned that there were a
number of Tarleton students who
had also been summoned for jury
duty.
Apparently, students are granted
an automatic release from jury duty
if they request one. He pointed out
that teachers were not given the same
option. While he had no problem
with serving, he questioned the eq-
uity and the logic of giving a waiver
to students but not to teachers. I
wonder about that too.
The state legislature is some-
what like Larry, Darryl and Darryl
having been blessed with a couple of
hundred other siblings all sharing
the same name and brain. They
develop idiotic policies and notions
like the one regarding jury service.
Hasn't someone pointed out to
them that it is not a huge problem for
a student to be absent from a class for
extended periods of time (just go
down to the student center and look
at the cobwebs attached to the be-
hinds of the coffee and CMT ad-
dicts) and yet a cktjs minus a. teacher
is no class at all.
In the same dicussion he told me
that he favors the concept of a pro-
fessional jury. This would consist of
men and women, recruited, selected
for their outstanding character and
intelligence and then carefully trained
in a broad overview of our legal
system to help them through the
fnuddle of legal mishmash the law-
yers will throw at them.
I think his suggestion has valid-
ity. Imagine a jury made up of noth-
ing but college students. Of the
twelve collegiate jurors: three would
be fast asleep, two would be absent
since Friday morning, one would be
in a different courthouse because the
trial there is easier and two jurors
would be looking over their neigh-
bors shoulders to see how they should
vote. This is a scary thought
Perhaps the legislature is on to
something after all. I'm not sure I
want my fate decided by a panel of
individuals, most of whom need more
than five minutes to decide what to
Order at McDonalds.
The notion that somehow I could
find twelve men or women that would
qualify as my peers is ridiculous.
Webster's New Lexicon Dictionary
defines peer as "someone having the
Same status in rank, age, ability, etc.".
No doubt of it, there are plenty
, of people out there who share my
age, rank and perhaps even abilities.
Abilities can take many strange
forms.
I can fit my entire fist into my
mouth, can sing a Czechoslovaks an
cow calling song, draw inane and
offensive cartoons, play the nose flute
and twelve string guitar and deliver
a fifteen minute monologue on why
I think Dances With Wolves (a.k.a.
Field of Pemmican) is an insipid,
boring, two dimensional, vanity film
while at a dead run with half of the
English department swinging their
rulers at me.
I'm a father, student, husband,
son, businessman, former cubscout,
lapsed Catholic, former hippy, for-
mer democrat, former Californian
and I hate cheese.
If you qualify or know someone
else that does to be my peer, please
contact the J-TAC. Charlie Rey-
nolds would be happy to find a sub-
stitute.
Jordan Cannady Is the Editorial
Cartoonist for the J-TAC.
r-r-r-r-r-r-r-
ADVISOR - Charlie Reynolds The J-TAC EDITOR-Julie Grider
MANAGING EDITOR - Christy Moore
FEATURES EDITOR - Tina Horton SPORTS EDITOR - Mike Marbach
PHOTO EDITOR - Marc Parks ADVERTISING COORDINATOR - Meredith Foster „
STAFF WRITERS - Pmanuel Alvear, Kelly Boren CIRCULATION MANAGER - Justin Boswell
EDITORIAL CARTOONIST - Jordan Cannady
Blood Alley
Homecoming should raise pride and spirit
Activities for Homecoming '91 at
Tarleton State University begin on Monday.
Out of all the weeks in the school year, this is
the most important time for students to put
aside their apathy and promote school spirit.
Throughout next week a huge variety of
activities and traditions have been planned.
Dances, the Bon Fire, the parade, the beating
of the drum and the Midnight Breakfast are
just a few of the many activities students can
participate in and it is important that they do
so. Not only will participation promote school
spirit, which our football team probably needs
this weekend, but produce a beneficial school
image as well.
Next week many Tarleton alumni will
be visiting the campus and reminiscing old
times and school traditions. TSU students
should be friendly to everybody they see next
week and possibly even dress nice for school.
After all, its not just alumni visiting the
school, its future peers, employers and
benefactors.
Homecoming week is a fun time of the
year which should be taken advantage of by
students, alumni and neighbors. Hopefully
students will be chanting and cheering this
year while beating the drum at 4 a.m. rather
than moaning and groaning.
Around th&Bend
© 1991 by
J. Jordan Cannady
TRINITY o
MEADOWS
Track owners to blame for conditions
Julie
Grider
W 'J*
■-X
Last Friday at Trinity Mead-
ows race track in Weatherford, jock-
eys refused to ride after the fifth race
due to bad track conditions. Re-
maining races for the weekend woe
forced to be called off and in retali-
ation track owners banned 27 jock-
eys "now and forever" from the
track's premises.
Track owners say the jockeys'
actions were "indefensible and out-
rageous." I say the owners actions
were outrageous.... and imature not
to mention uncalled for. The entire
situation could have been avoided if
some listening skills were performed
earlier rather than money making
skills.
Not only jockeys, but owners
and trainers as well have been com-
plaining about the tracks conditions
for more than a month. Especially
after a rain, the track becomes very
inconsistent and dangerous. The dirt
dries unevenly, holes appear, along
with hard spots in some areas and
wet, slick spots in others. These are
very dangerous running conditions.
Many horses have broken their legs
and died over the past month.
The sight of a horse breaking
down is one of the saddest sights I
have ever seen. Granted, I am a
horse lover, but I don't think it is a
pretty sight for anyone to see. The
horses aren't the only one's in danger
either. When a horse goes down the
rider goes down with it
Another complication of a bad
track surface is unpredictability in
race out comes. Serious bettors al-
ready have a hard time predicting
winners of a race, but there is no
logic in guessing which horse will
step in which hole or slide in which
puddle.
After all the complaints, and
still no accomplishments, it was time
for someone who cared about more
than making money to take a stand
and do something. Unf^iina'Jy the
jockeys had to pay the conseqs enees
for their concern.
At least their complaints were
ii:""' , * 'n seriously and spawned
a series ..vents:
♦Since la«t Friday, crews have been
working coi. nuously to improve
track conditions. The base, officials
say was perfect, but the entire top
layer or cushion has been replaced.
*The racing secretary, track superin-
tendent, and assistant to the execu-
tive committee have resigned.
*Some trainers, jockeys and owners
have packed up and moved to a dif-
ferent track or state (I know two
specific trainers who had half a bam
rented in Weatherford. About a
month ago they packed up and took
their eight race horses to Arizona,
due to bad track conditions.)
♦Meetings have been held between
the Jockey Guild and track mange-
ment.
Track officials and owners
should have been more concerned
with the welfare of the animals and
the jockeys earlier. Without them
there is no business.
Horses will run today at Trinity
Meadows. Now the track is "safe"
and the jockeys and track owners
have reached "agreements." Its too
bad it took the loss of animals, money,
and time for the already stuggling
track to make it happen.
Julie Grider is Editor In Chief
of the J-TAC.
The J-TAC is published on Thursdays during the regular semester, with the exception of university holidays and
examination periods. The printer is the Stephenville Empire-Tribune,
Only articles in the Opinion section of this newspaper express the opinion of the J-TAC staffi Columns and/or news
articles do not necessarily express the opinion of this university or this newspaper.
Inquiries regarding deadlines may be made by telephone to: Euitor: 968-9056; Newsroom: 968-9057; or the Faculty
Advisor: 968-9058. The offices of the J-TAC are located on the third floor of Davis Hall, rooms 303 and 304.
"Lights on"
issue debated
,* *.•''.T'-r-rvvf-.-T-r-T
'fry
Campus
Marginalia
Lisa Hendon
Lanell Gonzales
"Blood Alley", the hostile
stretch of black ribbon connecting
Dublin and Stephenville, has
justifiably concerned its users
(among whom Tarleton com-
muters comprise a sizeable num-
ber). Local citizens clamored for
more lanes. However, THEY (the
THEY who make such decisions)
concluded that the \yrecks were
caused by human error. These
seeds of conflict bore rather
strange fruit.
Soon blue signs appeared
along the edge of the highway ad-
vising motorists to drive with
"Lights On for Safety." Our ini-
tial reaction was somewhat con-
temptuous. If driving with lights
on during the daylight hours made
us more alert, we pondered, per-
l.aps driving without them at
night would sharpen our senses as
well. We could drive with our
heads protruding from a vehicle
windows listening for oi\coming
traffic, or we could scream and
perceive the rebounding sound
waves with our foreheads.
A member of the faculty,;
conversely, suggested that we
drive with our lights on bright so
that oncoming drivers would be
infuriated," and le^s, l|kely; to fall •
asleep at the wheel. v
For a few days the "lights on"
looked like an eternal funeral
procession. One afternoon, a wo-
man obviously not from this area
pulled to the shoulder as a show
of respect for oncoming traffic.
It's an innovative concept, but we
don't expect it to catch on. It's
hard to get anywhere that way.
As time progressed, however,
motorists began to ignore the
signs, and now a handful of
people drive with "Lights On for
Safety." The highway has re-
turned to its pre-illumination be-
ginnings.
In all fairness, THEY did
respond to our concerns. And
given time, THEY will undoubt-
edly widen the highway. In the
meantime, however, the sign's
serve as a catalyst not only for
jokes but for thought as well. ■
The incident highlights
interesting points about our rather
schizophrenic relationship with
THEM. (The THEM, who despite
our proclaimed democracy, are un'f
deniably separate from US.) We;
see THEM as an omnipotent en-
tity with inexhaustible resources!.
A force to whose paternal care we;
must resentfully acquiesce. ;
However, just as any child',;
we expect THEM to immediately
solve any problem. We expect
adequate social services, medical
care, education for all. We whine
for contracts and pork barrel legis-
lation which benefits our area, j
We encourage THEM to tak$
a lead in world affairs. Yet we
also force politicians to lie to us
and to legislate hidden "revenues"
because we don't want to pay for
all of these services. It is no
surprise that we end up with
staggering deficits and band aid so-
lutions.
Certainly some problems cry
out for government assistance, but
we need to realize that THEY
cannot alleviate all of the world's
woes and often our demands
merely result in unwanted gov-
ernmental intrusions in our lives;
and pock r
This said, do we drive with;
our "Lights On for Safety"? Of
course. When our car gets run
over by a steam roller and we are
compacted into half an inch of
junk metal, we don't want those
left behind to cluck their tongues
and whisper that we didn't have
our "Lights On for Safety." I
Lisa Hendon > antf
Lanneil Gonzales are stu-
dents at Tarleton.
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, September 26, 1991, newspaper, September 26, 1991; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141757/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Tarleton State University.