The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 42, Ed. 1, Friday, February 18, 1994 Page: 2 of 19
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i
t
Opinion
Optimist
m.
WAJJI
IliltiS
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&
Sharla Stephens Editor in Chief
Serene Goh Managing News Editor M
Debbie Crawford Opinion Page Editor
Melissa Stalliiigs Opinion Page Editor
Dr. Charlie Marler Faculty Adviser .
Editorial Board
Serene Goh Kathy Colvctt Brian Shaw Mark Houston
John Carroll Jodi Bain Melissa Statlings Debbie Crawford
Marty Reves Sharla Stephens Eileen Tan
The Optimist is a twice-a-week 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.
The unsigned editorials are 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.
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OOPS! Sofry! I thought w wr recommending a wntnc for Tonya Harding!'
Access to buildings a plus
The university should install in all ACU
buildings computer access systems
like those currently in use in the Foster
Science Building and the Don H. Morris
Center.
The Foster Science Building was the
first building to have the system installed.
Such a system was installed in the Morris
Center at the end of last semester and was
ready for use in January. The system
allows the expensive technical equipment
housed in both buildings to remain pro-
tected while at the same time allowing
students access to the buildings' facilities
Bill Shaw ACU telecommunication
analyst said the system which requires
students to slide their IDs like Daily
Assembly check-in has worked very well
in the Science Building. The system also
lias functioned well at' the Morris Center
after some early problems.
"It had a lot of problems with the moth-
er board" Shaw said. The mother board -is
the computer that controls who has
access into the building he said.
"We normally don't have those kinds .
of problems. Usually they work the first
time" he said. The third mother board
Shaw installed has worked well he said
adding that most trouble with these sys-
tems occurs during power failures.
Students must have their names entered
into the computer to gain access into a
building with the electronic locks which
prevents unauthorized people from enter-
ing the building. The system reduces the
likelihood of having equipment stolen.
Because these computer access systems
have worked at the Science Building and
the Morris Center ACU should install
computer access systems in every build-
ing on campus.
Shoe polish art not sign of maturity
Can you say "Grow up?" I knew you
could.
Now if we all act out these words wc
might make it through the next few days
without offending our visitors.
Last weekend some members of our uni-
versity spread their immaturity throughout
the campus as graffiti in the form of various
letters and numbers that symbolize a group
of underclassmen who ivc on a certain
floor in a certain dorm or so I've heard
it means that.
Although vandalizing may have brought
a rush to the irresponsible students it also
brought additional work to some mainte-
nance workers and embarrassment to
everyone Thanks to our campus artists
ACU looked like a cheap run-down ghetto.
Forgive me if I don't jump with joy
Perhaps in the coming days preferably
in the coming lifetime wc all can be a bit
more considerate and more like mature
Christians wc ought to be
wjJBHBBBJflHBBJ
kWWwr niBBH
hBEv iTBBj
'Etch one of ut
represents
Christianity and this
establishment'
Sharla
Stephens
Free to Be
Our visitors for Sing Song and Lecture-
ship arc going to view the university and all
its new renovations. Leave the art show to
Shore Art Gallery. And the vandalizing
incident isn't the only immaturity being
flaunted around campus.
Lost weekend as I toured the art show on
the windows of the Campus Center created
by our newest decorating crew I encoun-
tered a girl who appeared to be missing a
.vital piece of clothing pants. On a double-take
I saw that beneath her long coat
were a pair of barcly-therc shorts. She must
have been pretty proud of her leg-shaving
job.
' Surely we all have seen our peers violat-
ing the dress code with too-short shorts or
skirts and too-tight pants or tops. Students
on our campus sometimes look like they're
dressed more for a night club than a Christ-
ian university.
Some people may be proud of getting
away with breaking the university's dress
policy but consider this: Each one of us
represents Christianity and ACU If we arcS
seen dressed immodestly wc hurt not onlyS
ourselves but the school as a whole. Amfj
Christ probably isn't too proud cither. ';
I realize none of us is perfect but by
everyone contributing to the struggle
toward maturity we can and will grow up
into what ACU is supposed to be a fclloW
ship of members of the' Christian family.
' The Optimist 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
privacy.
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
Abilene Texas 79699
or bring the letters to Room 308 of the
Don H. Morris Center.
Small town residents depend on one another
s students wander the campus and
lattend various meetings a frequent
statement is heard. There's nothing to do in
Abilene.
These bored people usually grew up in
large towns where endless hours can be
3pent driving around town searching for
activities in which to participate. These
complainers usually have large sums of
money that they arc dying to spend reck-
lessly freshly supplied by Mom and
Dad of course.
But for individuals raised in small towns
Abilene provides a well of opportunities.
These people remember their roots; they
remember Friday nights in small towns.
Schools are the centers of most small
towns. The wealth lies in the lives of the
youth. Most parents who choose to live in
small towns have faith in the atmosphere
and believe they can perform more active
roles in their children's lives there.
Town activities stop on Friday nights
while citizens pore into stadiums to watch
another display of talent as boys force every
muscle to perform for their crowds. Foot-
ball is a game but it is more than a game.
The young heroes know every eye is on
them and the town will know if they play
below their abilities. Failure to exhibit
'BBBFBBBK
Bh a sBBBBJu
'Smati towns present
a wey of life that
aHowf one to grow
rich In friendships.'
Marty
Reves
Hands Off
weekly improvement is inexcusable.
The boys will hear about the game
throughout the next week. At gas stations
restaurants or even the banks town mem-
bers will praise or subtly reprimand players
for each Friday night.
I'm convinced God is a devout football
fan because he created so many men of the
church who know everything about the
game and tell young men what they should
have done in every play of every game.
Athletic events in small town schools
continue throughout most of the school year
with cars parked nightly at some arena of
athletic competition.
Sundays arc the small town athletic com-
petition day of rest.
During the summers youths drive con
stant circular patterns around the drag
Some stop to eat; some stop to talk; some
inevitably stop to drink alcohol or smoke.
But those activities occur in large towrrs
too.
They really have no other form of enter-
tainment besides watching rented movies
with Mom and Dad No movie theatres pro-
vide entertainment. No bowling alleys are
available.
Teens just want to have fun. Few serious-
ly consider the results of their actions will
affect them. They search for the unfound
unfindablc thrill to end all thrills.
By the time most teen-agers are seniors in
high school the beauty of the small town
has faded leaving negative feelings in the
pits of their stomachs. The town is not fun
anymore. The thrill is gone. They just want
to leave.
They cannot wait to leave the small
towns where they were raised but some-
thing strange happens after graduation. Half
of them maintain their stances leaving
town for colleges and breaking their moth-
ers' hearts as they move forward without
looking back at what they leave behind.
The other half after watching their class-
mates leave and uttering the "I'm leaving!"
phrase over and over remain cemented oK
their a-ots not even really trying to feavlfi
the town. They usually marry within thlC
first two years following graduation and!
remain where they arc comfortable where?
uicy Know evenuung aooui cvcryootiy.
A small town is like one huge famil
When one person hurts the whole towjg
hurts. If a house burns the town collects
funds and clothes to help the family regain
its footing.
Children all know each other and a con-
stant flow of life is maintained. The senior
citizens remember when the town was
founded and each generation changes their
home considerably creating greater facet?
of life. !
Tins life follows a .pattern of friendship
and'lovc and the inevitable bitter argument?;
and hate. The town remains the same small
and self-sufficient 3
People from small towns will defend;
their homes. Small towns represent a way!
of life that allows one to grow rich ifc
friendships and service as individuals livtf
together depending on one another for'
existence and entertainment. X;
Small towns don't need movies or bowlr'
ing alleys or other forms of entertainment;'
They have people. !
Top 10 good things about the U.S.; remember the negative
The Washington Post 1094
A constant gripe about the press
is that we say nothing good
about anyone or anything. We
revel in sleaze and scandal and
glory in human frailty. We special-
ize in character assassination. We
enjoy natural disasters. Is it true?
Of course.
The news about the press is like
everything else; bad-and getting
worse. Our news standards are
sinking lower.
Well America here's an anti-
dote; an unabashed good-news
editorial.
If you're tired of mayhem and
misery this dose of straight opti-
mism is for you. I have received
my latest edition of the Statistical
Abstract of the United States pub-
lished by the Census Bureau
which is full of intriguing facts
about America everything from
the share of U.S. households with
pets to the number of libraries
Following are 10 trends you
actually can smile about.
1. American industry is now pro
ducing more than ever.
In 1992 manufacturing output
rose 39 percent over 1980 and 95
percent over 1970. Things that
were hardly made 20 years ago arc
now produced in massive amounts.
In 199 J for example U.S. facto-
ries shipped 10.2 million personal
computers. But we need roughly 1
million fewer people than in 1970
to make all these things This
greater efficiency releases more
Americans to produce consumer
goods
2. The United States still leads
the world in Nobel prizes.
Between 1976 and 1991 Ameri-
cans won 63 of the 102 awards in
chemistry physics and medicine.
The next closest countries Britain
and Germany had nine each.
3 We are healthier and less acci-
dent prone than ever.
Since 1970 the death rate in auto
accidents is down one-third; cars
are safer; more people use seat
belts. On-the-job deaths have
dropped by more than one-quarter
since 1960 although the labor
force has doubled. With cancer and
AIDS as glaring exceptions death
rates from diseases are down; heart
disease is down 40 percent since
1970. Since 1970 life expectancy
has increased from 71 years to 76
years.
4. One reason we're healthier is
that we smoke less and take fewer
drugs.
The demise of smoking as a
social institution is one of the great
events of our era. In 1965 42 per-
cent of the over-18 population
smoked; in 1991 26 percent did.
Casual drug use also is on the
wane. Among 12- to 17-year-olds
marijuana use is down from 23 per
cent in 1979 to 13 percent in 1991.
Our diets have improved also.
We're eating better Compared
with the late 1950s wc cat 1 1 per-
cent more protein and 4 percent
more Vitamin E per person. Mean-
while cholesterol intake per person
has declined 14 percent.
5 Consumer complaints against
airlines arc way down.
Airlines mav be losinn ions nf
money but they must be doing
something right. In 1987 passen-
gers lodged nearly 41000 com-
plaints with the government. About
half involved flight delays or can-
cellations. In 1992 complaints
totaled only 5600.
6. Most children still live with
both natural parents and the
divorce rate may be stabilizing. '
For all the talk of family break-
down roughly seven of 10 children
under 18 live with both parents.
The number of divorces has actual-
ly dropped slightly from the peak
year 1981.
7. We've improved the environ-
ment and energy use enormously
The air is cleaner than it used to
be. Since 1970 lead emissions
have decreased 97 percent; particu-
lates such as soot and smoke have
dropped 61 percent and hydrocar-
bons; have dropped 38 percent.
The record in energy use though
not as good is still impressive.
Homes built in the late 1980s use
nearly 30 percent less energy than
those built in the 1950s.
In 1991 cars got an average of
21.7 miles to u gallon of gasoline
up from 13.5 mpg in 1970.
Population and economic growth
have offset some efficiencies; still
total energy use in 1991 was only 4
percent higher than in 1978.
8. Foreign tourism to the United
States is booming.
Whatever's wrong with us it
isn't deterring foreigners Since
1985 the number of overseas
tourists has more than doubled to
14.7 million in 1991. Two-fifths
are from Europe; Japan sends more
than any other country.
9. Wc remain remarkably gener-
ous with our lime and money.
About a fifth of adults do volunteer
work Of these 37 percent work
for churches and religious groups
while 15 percent work in schools.
In 1991 wc gave $125 billion to
charities. Most came from individ-
uals. Americans now give more of
their disposable income to charity
than in 1970. '
10. Our homes are getting bigger
.
and better equinned.
In 1992 the typical new home
had 1920 square feet up from
1385 in 1970. Three-quarters had
central air conditioning compared
with only one-third in 1970. Over
the years there has been a constant
shift from smaller to larger houses.
The message from all this is not
quite what you think. One might
think that amid all our national pes-
simism we must be a"oing some-
thing right. Or possibly the press
preoccupation with the latest social
pathology or political scam is miss-
ing deeper social trends that more
directly affect most of us. Maybe
our much-maligned governmcrit
actually succeeds once in a while.
The message might be all of these
things; but it isn't.
The real point is that good news
is boring. I mean how much more
ofthiscanyou'stand?
The Statistical Abstract also is
full of lots 6f bad stuff. In 1991
1.8 milliort'cascs of child abuse
were reported. Now that's real
news.
c
T
Y
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 42, Ed. 1, Friday, February 18, 1994, newspaper, February 18, 1994; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth92226/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.