The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 4, Ed. 1, Wednesday, September 7, 1994 Page: 2 of 8
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j; Amy Daugherity Managing News Editor .
Melissa Stalling Opinion Page Editor
; Dr. Charlie Marler Faculty Adviser
j tl- Editorial Board
IJ '"' Kathy Colvctt Debbie Crawford
! Amy Daugherity Sybil Johnson Kelly Perkins
J ' Melissa Stallings Travis Whisenant
The Optimist is a lwicc-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.
The unsigned editorials arc the opinions of the students on the Optimist Editorial Board
kjnd do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the university.
tl The signed columns cartoons and letters to the editor are the opinions of their creators and
I jlo not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist Editorial Board or the university
C "administration.
fi Confederate flag flies for prejudice
Jj TTistory can never be separated
:ajl
from the present even in the
I; symbols we display. South Caroli-
. nn'f. AnMtnim1 fit. Inn nf Inn f"VnfAr4
' IIU 3 kUIIIIIIUbU UjTlIIg Ul MIV V.UII1WU-
j erate battle flag over its Capitol is a
oiniani remmacr 01 an ouensivc era.
Its nresence above the main law-
jfr making building of the state also
; reminds ait wno iook on it ot tne m-:t-
tie things that still separate races.
:- I he Dallas Morning News reported
fj Monday on events occurring in South
K- Carolina both opposing and defend
3-ing the Hag. We are grateful the
't- events were peaceful but historically
K the Confederate battle flag and many
rl of the Old South values it symbolizes
"Z have led to fury brutality and war.
Z lhe debate boils between people
; who want to move ahead and those
ih.who clinc to the past both statewide
S'and personally The Dallas Morning
iXNews spoke with AI Smith oi Hilton
Head. S.C.. who said. "Mv relatives
7 . . - j
;-- iuuiii 111 iiiu ivu iui ... iu mi
'r this has nothing to do with racism."
And yet also according to The
Dallas Morning News most of the
marchers in the anti-flag demonstra-
' tion were black. They apparently
found this symbol of a heritage in
which their ancestors were treated as
property not men offensive.
' Enough members of the state Sen-
t ate agreed that the flag has no place
T
Sports stars carry
-To the editor:
I would like to respond to
' -Travis Whisenant's naive
Ibut thoughtful August 31
column on role models.
I disagree with his posi-
'tion that athletes should not
be expected to act as role
y models for their young fans.
.- Without their fans these
' 'athletes would not be stars.
. 'These young fans buy tick--'ets
to games in order to see
.'them play. They buy prod-
ucts endorsed by their
sports heroes they wear
'-sports jerseys with their
-favorite player's number
' The Optimist encourages reader
response through letters to the ;di-
r.tor but we reserve the right to
.refuse to print letters that contain
.'.personal attack obscenity defama-
tion erroneous information or
invasion of privacy.
. j The Optimist refuses to print any
.letters that do not include a signa-
'jture or letters that bear requests for
ithe writer's anonymity.
" We reserve the right to limit fre-
quent writers and edit letters when
'ength or grammatical errors
(become a problem.
Letters submitted to the Optimist
v' should be limited to 350 words or
'less. Address letters to:
"Optimist Editor"
ACU Box 7892
J" Abilene Texas 79699
r'ot bring the letters to Room 308 of
the Don H. Morris Center.
Editor in Chief
atop the Capitol to pass a plan favor-
ing the flag's removal but the mea-
sure did not pass the South Carolina
House of Representatives.
If the flag is removed from the
dome of the Capitol one compro-
mise proposes that the state fly it
from a monument on the statehoUse
lawn and build a civil rights monu-
ment nearby to appease both sides of
the issue. I his construction or a civil
rights monument in exchange for a
Civil War monument shows that resi
dents are aware of the flag's racist
overtones. Pride in heritage and sim-
ple remembrance of the past are
acceptable but to elevate or maintain
an offensive symbol in such a promi-
nent political position is in poor
taste.
Perhaps by juxtaposing the two
monuments in a park or lesser pikwic
Elacc South Carolina residents' -will
e able to better gauge their state's
historical mistakes and honors. 'But
the Confederate battle flag must
come off the Capitol dome and
grounds.
The United States cannot escape its
past. The Civil War helped shape this
nation but until we isolate and
remove symbols of prejudice from
United States culture we cannot
aggressively move forward to a unit-
ed future.
responsibility; drummers get credit
they decorate their rooms
with posters of the athletes
they admire they even are
willing to pay a high price
just to get an autograph.
These athletes know they
are admired by youngsters
and they try to capitalize on
it financially. It is arrogant
of these athletes to deny the
responsibility that comes
with the stature of being a
sports celebrity.
If Charles Borkley doesn't
want the spotlight on him
then he should have chosen
another profession. There
are plenty of egotistical
"superstars" that would
have taken his place or
replaced him so kids would
have a real hero to look up
to instead.
Joshua Hance
Junior accounting major
Sayville NY
To the editor:
In the Optimist on Friday
Aug. 26 three percussion-
ists were featured under the
"Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum"
heading The use of the
term r'pounding their
drums" was used.
As a band member I find
Students take control of future by focusing now
So school has begun and classes are
the most important things on every-
one's minds right? Not a chance.
The college lifestyle is such that
although classes are the primary excuse
for shelling out thousands of dollars to
ACU the focus constantly shifts from
formal education to football to devo-
tional groups to road trips to career
consideration to building relationships
of varying intensities. These are all
worthy pursuits that deserve students'
time ana energy.
But students must understand what
these emphases mean to their lives
both now and in the future.
For starters students should decide
whether their college choices center
more on post-school or pre-career pos-
sibilities. Are students aiming more for
finishing school or entering the work-
force? Do they have the initiative to
take control and or will students just
float through graduation with few clues
of what comes next?
Gotta be Gumpish
Movie character shows
The recent box office smash Forrest
Gump soared to the top of charts as
well as hearts this summer almost
equaling Walt Disney's The Lion King
in ticket sales.
The reason is obvious: people want to
acquire Forrest Gump's simple way of
viewing life. In the movie the title char-
acter portrayed by Tom Hanks looks at
his life from a viewpoint uncorruptcd
by the ways of the world just as a child
might.
Every American adult and teen-ager
could benefit from adopting several
firinciples from Forrest s huppy-go-ucky
outlook:
1. Only a few things in life are impor-
tant enough to worry about.To Forrest
Gump people arc more important than
anythihK.Tlio wclfaro.Qf'hts$cst friend
Jenny Tiis mother and hisar-time
friend Bubba guide Forrest's actions
throughout the movie.
Even when Forrest becomes wealthy
by accident he doesn't allow the world
to influence him with money clothes or
material items. People are all that mat-
ter tp.him. Not a bad idea.
2. Ilove unconditionally. Forrest real-
ly drives this principle home. He never
stops loving Jenny no matter how many
times she leaves his side to pursue more
worldly affairs. He never judges her
that an offending statement
percussionists do not pound
on their instruments. These
musicians play the drums.
The art of percussion
instruments is very hard to
master and as a fellow
artist. I feel they should be
given the proper credit for
this talent.
I'm sure this was an acci-
dental oversight but at the
risk of sounding snotty I
felt this should be brought
to your attention.
Melissa Conaway
Freshman music educa-
tion major Hereford
'Do they have the
Initiative to take
control or will
students Just float
through graduation
with few clues ot
what comes next?'
Kathy
Colvett
Time To Live
In general students have at least
vague goals about careers and personal
goals but unless they participate in pre-
career activities before graduating their
chances for finding desirable niches in
their communities dwindle.
Initiative is essential. Apply for
internships. Visit graduate schools.
Research interesting corporations
where you might want to work. Inter-
view professionals about their careers
'Every American
adult . could benefit
from adopting
several principles
from Forrest's happy
-go-lucky outlook.'
Kelly
Perkins
Take it Or Leave It
actions or condemns her for doing
drugs drinking or living in the fast
lane.
He always waits with open arms for
his prodigal best friend to come home
again.- He never says what most people
wouldisay: "I'll just-treat her-the way
she treats me." He loved by the Golden
Rule. And so should we all.
3 Honof your commitments. During
the Vietnam War Forrest promises his
friend Bubba he will be a partner in
Bubba's shrimping business after the
war. Forrest keeps his promise even
though the shrimping business was
Bubba's dream and not his own.
Forrest buys a shrimping boat estab-
lishes a thriving business and eventual-
ly presents Bubba's poor mother with a
check bearing Bubba's enormous half
k'The Optimist is looking back to the '60s anl!
U&&3KJ - ( -
wondering if any ACU
'.S3 - -
attended the original Woodstock thaMooi
'?. place in the
. thinlr vnn'm nnt
ikhow what it was like
the 25th anniversary of the big event.
bu attended the original Woodstock or
gWsomeone on campus
MAV
office at Ext. 2482 or drop us a
.v
4JBDX
WiVi '' V i ;u
and how they arrived in their positions.
Read trade magazines. Pray.
Classes are valuable because they
provide starting points for personal
study; they introduce students to ideas
and possibilities that to be truly useful
must be explored through individual
initiative.
Thirty minutes sitting in the New
York office of an executive for a major
corporation can do wonders for career
perspective and sitting down for an
hour with the dean of graduate admis-
sions for a major university can provide
invaluable insight into the pros and
cons of a particular graduate school.
If an admissions counselor at an Ivy
League law school merely hands an old
catalog to you when you travel 1000
miles to visit the campus sit down in
his tobby read the catalog question
him about specific items and hand him
your address for the school's mailing
But these types of opportunities come
character
of the profits. Again money isn't-
important; helping people and honoring-
his commitments are the most import
tant things.
4. Run from evil. Running becomes
of Forrest's trademark skills in thR
movie. He learns he can sprint faster:
than most people when he has to run:
from boys throwing stones at him. He
doesn't stay and fight; he just runs.
5. Be happy with the cards you arcs
dealt. Throughout the movie Forrest
happily repeats the immortal words of;
his mother: "Life is like a box of
chocolates; you never know what
you're gonna get."
He could have easily spent his li$
sulking about his unfortunate level of
intelligence or his uncooperative leg
muscles but he doesn't. Forrcsti
doesn't just accept his misfortunes hc"
docs it happily.
"Stupid is as stupid docs" he likqgto
tell people who think he is inferior nc
never lets it drajj him down. He makes
lemonade from life's lemons.
Although Forrest Gump wasn't writ-
ten to be a religious movie it reinforces
biblical principles in a fresh way espe-
cially the idea that humans should
become more childlike in faith and
actions. Maybe that one principle is the;
secret to a happy life. Enough said. ..
It
-1
faculty or staff nie
. T-''
summer of 1969
thriw nnrl trM litlfii
and how vou're feellniS
" . v.tsiC?l
who did call the
7892.
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only with perseverance and guts.
ACU graduates have much to offer a
world of technological wealth politick
decay and spiritual hopelessness but
students must prove themselves by
reaching for high goals by reaching out
ol themselves and grasping bigger per-
spectives. So go ahead and take classes that $l
boost you toward your goals but make
time to pursue personal projects and
interests that demonstrate you and your
skills beyond the syllabi. Your degree
is a mere framework of what convMises
your education and a whole house of
learning can be built around it with just
a little work.
Every activity every relationship
every challenge experienced during
college enriches a student and Sitter
prepares the student for life in a world
where multiple skills and varying per-
spectives are prized.
Your whole life is your education and
you must make the grade. 'ft
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 4, Ed. 1, Wednesday, September 7, 1994, newspaper, September 7, 1994; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth92244/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.