Don’t try to
be brave in
class!
JOh, you didn't know ?
Karl Benacci
|
f eatures editor
We all have ideals and things that mean
something to us, don’t we? Some of us
hold our religious beliefs as important,
while others cherish certain people in our
life. What about our opinions or ideas?
Many of us feel strongly about certain
things, right? They mean something
because they’re apart of us.
So why is it some people try to put down
some of the things that mean something
to you, the other guy or I? An example? I
was given an assignment by my English
teacher (I won’t disclose your name, dude,
don’t worry!), and chose to write about
question number four, which instructed,
“Something cool, some theory or insight
or repetitive pattern you have noticed.
Some connection, interweaving image or
idea? Take a risk, stay close to the text and
blow our minds.”
I chose to write about one of the book’s
themes, and the way it pertained to all of
the characters because many of the
characters were unhappy people who lived
in dumps.
As the assignment proposed, I decided
to go out on a limb on one example I gave
in the story, contrasting a wealthy character
and the narrator, a strange character (she
steals the rich man’s dog and it runs away
from her and back to the rich man).
I “went out on a limb,” as the story asks,
and gave my idea- that the dog is happier
with the man, blah blah, blah. What was
marked on the paper when I got it back?
The professor wrote, “This is just...stupid.
I’m sorry. But this is dumb and I laughed
and fell off my chair.”
Well, I hate school and I hate all of you!
The professor told me to go out on a limb
and then he calls my ideas stupid and
dumb? Something must be wrong with my
thought process. The kind man even added
(in other parts of the paper), “Why all this
who cares” and “Oh-brave boy!”
My gentle readers, this example shows
how someone laughed at my opinion,
thinking it was foolish. This occurs all
around us, whether it’s a professor
belittling a student, society looking down
a thought, group or belief, or an individual
mocking someone else because they dress
different.
The worst thing you can do when their
beliefs or ideals are being judged is to
conform or hide what’s being scrutinized,
for if one does that, they’re not being
themselves. One should just chuckle, and
brush off the other party’s opinion, for one
shouldn’t take everything one says to
heart-especially if the origin of mockery
comes from an uncaring source. What else
can one do? Well, I already wrote an
editorial dealing with that; it’s titled,
“Don’t let a bastard ruin your day (my
professor isn’t a bastard, he’s just silly.)”
People who judge others are usually
unhappy in some aspect of their own lives
and feel better about themselves when they
put down other people and/or ideas.
What is the outcome of my experience?
Well, I won’t be taking risks in my English
140 class!
I can think of many people in history
who have been laughed at. A great example
is Christopher Columbus, who was
laughed at when he stated the world was
round. People laughed and disagreed,
didn’t they? Look who was right...our
buddy Chris!
Don’t let anyone change anything about
you. Just because someone dislikes you
and/or your ideas doesn’t mean there s
something wrong with you. The problem
might be there’s something wrong with
them!
As a closing note, I was so mad at my
professor’s comments that I emailed the
author of the book we discussed and asked
her if she agreed with my “stupid’
observation about her story. She
responded, stating, “About the dog, yes,
you’re right.”
Benacci’s column appears
every three weelcs.
Lifting the ban on liquor spots
Chicago Tribune/KRT Campus
If you tune in to the winter games, you may
see a new Olympic sport: skeleton, in which
an intrepid soul on a small sled slides head
first down a frozen chute at speeds up to 85
mph. In between novel athletic events, you
may see something else you haven’t seen be
fore: commercials for hard liquor.
NBC, which is broadcasting the Salt Lake
City Games, is the first of the major networks
to lift the longstanding ban on advertising for
spirits. Anheuser-Busch plans lots of pitches
for its Bacardi Silver, and Seagram’s will be
flogging Captain Morgan rum.
But some people think running commer
cials for liquor is about as sensible as doing a
skeleton race without a helmet. Assorted
groups, from the American Academy of Pe
diatrics to the Consumer Federation of
America, have objected to such appeals. The
Center for Science in the Public Interest com
plains, “The Olympics are a youth-oriented
event. For the Olympic committee to make
the connection between drinking and sports
is irresponsible."
But anyone who watched the Super Bowl
So we went above and beyond.the call of duty
I was skimming through Newsweek a
few days ago when I came across an
article about all of the donations made
to the victims of Sept. 11. Surprisingly,
much of the $2 billion in relief was gladly
used by organizations to help families
and those who lost loved ones. What a
lot of people don’t realize, though, is that
there is $75 million worth of material
items still sitting around in an old 747
Sick with Britney fever
dr Don t bdi€V€ shook his pelvis, and Madonna, well
J everyone knows about Madonna. But
everything you they all had the talent to back it up.
j All Britney has is a nice rack. Is this
reOCt what the country that invented
rock’n’roll has come to?
K'pvin Fallnn What ever ha PPe ned t 0 the
-KVCVIII i ailUll glory days of rock’n’roll when
; hot music could make an ugly
Asst. News fcciitor person attractive? Today hot
people make ugly music
attractive. Just look at Mick Jagger. He looks
like a shaved chimp, but the Rolling Stones
transformed him into a sex symbol. He is an
inspiration to ugly people everywhere.
I just don’t understand why people pretend
Britney is a good singer just because she’s
sexy. Would this work if Britney had chosen
another profession?
JIM: I have to have surgery next week.
BOB: Well, do you have a good doctor?
JIM: Not really, but she has big, fake boobs.
I hope to peek down her shirt when she bends
down to cut me open.
Another thing wrong with Britney Spears is
she’s a phony. Everything about her is fake.
Her music, her boobs, and her virginity are all
about as real as Enron’s profits. She doesn’t
write her own music and she lip-syncs half of
her songs.
And what is the story with her virginity? She
claims she is a virgin. The whole “I’m so
innocent” act makes me want to puke. Does
any one else see the hypocrisy in it? She is so
pure yet she parades around on TV wearing
nothing but a snake. I guess the tease is all part
I like bimbos as much as the next guy, but
the Britney Spears phenomenon has gotten out
of hand. Britney fever has swept the nation.
She hosted “Saturday Night Live.” She took
over the Super Bowl via Pepsi commercials.
She is on every magazine and TV show in the
nation. And if that is not enough, the teen queen
has a new movie out.
I admit she is attractive, and if given half the
chance, I would show Britney the best three
minutes of her life. I know this is never going
to happen, but hey, a guy can dream.
But enough is enough. I don’t care how hot
she is. I am sick of Britney.
Not only is Britney annoying, she is evil.
Britney Spears is the Antichrist of pop culture.
First, she represents America’s bad taste in
music. Let’s face it; her music is garbage.
Everyone knows the only reason she is popular
is because of her looks. The only talent she
has is the ability to shake her belly button ring
in front of the country’s face.
Yet, her albums are flying off the shelves.
Using sex to sell music is nothing new. The
Beatles used their charming good looks, Elvis
EDITORIAL
Friday, February 22, 2002
knows that the connection between drinking
and sports is not exactly unprecedented. Beer
companies are among the chief sponsors of
the most popular sports on the air, from the
NFL to golf. The only difference is that the
beverage commonly advertised in those ven
ues is beer. The traditional network policy
pretended that the alcohol in beer and wine is
different from the alcohol in vodka and rum.
Actually, it’s the same stuff, with the same
effects. So it’s hard to justify allowing ads for
some alcoholic beverages and not others.
CSPI warns that liquor ads “for the first time
will reach mass audiences, including millions
of impressionable children and teenagers” and
says these commercials “will only exacerbate
the current annual toll of alcohol use in this
country.” But the proliferation of beer ads has
coincided with a steady and substantial de
cline in beer consumption by teenagers as well
as adults.
Contrary to myth, alcohol commercials
don’t stimulate more drinking in any age
group. Studies here and abroad, looking at
both youngsters and their elders, have repeat
edly failed to find a connection between the
volume of advertising and the amount of
OTI this airplane hangar. Things like
radios, bottled water, and oddly
WynilC enough, dog food, are all just
sitting; no destination has been
j m >£ planned for them. Should we use
these items to give to those who are
less fortunate in the broadest sense,
or should we reserve these gifts just for
the families of 9-11?
Apparently, Americans are just too
loving and caring for one another when
it comes down to a time of crisis. We
may seem too busy and too pushy for one
another, but when all is said and finished,
we can look back on a job well done. But,
also as we are Americans, sometimes we
just don’t know what to do when a good
thing hits us in the face. In a hangar
somewhere rests everyday items (to you
and I) that maybe someone else isn’t
fortunate enough to have. David France
' something
chest?; _
Send letters, both
positive and negative,
to the editor!
S'-.
Behrcoll2@aol.com
drinking.
So why do producers spend so much money
to reach TV audiences? American Enterprise
Institute scholar John Calfee explains, “Ad
vertising in a mature market - such as that for
alcoholic beverages - does little or nothing to
increase total demand. Rather, advertising
serves to develop and maintain brand loyalty.”
The point of Anheuser-Busch’s clever Su
per Bowl ads was not to turn teetotalers into
drinkers, but to turn Miller Genuine Draft
drinkers into Budweiser customers. The point
of spirits ads is to get some drinkers to switch
from beer to mixed drinks.
Distillers think the reason liquor sales have
dropped even faster than beer consumption is
that they’ve been blocked from running TV
ads, and they’re probably right. There is no
reason to think society would suffer if some
Americans altered their drinking preferences
from soft liquor to hard.
So people watching the Olympics should
take the same view of liquor advertising that
they do of skeleton: It may not be their taste,
but that’s no reason to ban it.
pointed out in this article that sometime
after Hurricane Andrew, the leftover
donations were eventually burned and
landfilled.
Now, that really irks me; destroying
goods that can’t be used for a particular
purpose? That’s like trying to donate a
pair of Levi’s to the Salvation Army and
the employee saying “Oh, those are
Levi’s? We already have 500 pairs of
those, do you have any GAP jeans?”
Let’s not be picky now. The way I
figure, the same people who donate
material items are nice enough to do the
good deed in the first place. I’m pretty
sure no one would mind if the blanket
they donated to the Sept. 11 fund ended
up in a city mission somewhere other
than New York City. People are people.
There are always individuals who have
basic needs to fulfill, and now we are able
of some sales tactic. And America is eating it
up.
Yet, we wonder why young people have so
many problems. Young girls are bombarded
with an image conscious media, and Britney
Spears is the poster girl. Young girls look up
to Britney. Many girls believe they should look
like Britney and become obsessed with physical
appearances. However, it is almost impossible
for the average person to look like Britney
Spears. For many, this leads to eating disorders,
low self-esteem and emotional problems.
Young boys have a hard enough time dealing
with raging hormones to have to deal with
looking at Britney half naked every time they
turn on the TV. Britney is creating another
generation of men who view women as body
parts. The message being sent to the youth of
the nation is to be sexy, to be sexist, and to be
an airhead.
I wish there were fewer “artists” like Britney
Spears and more like India Arie. India has not
achieved the level of mainstream attention or
hype that Britney has, but India did receive a
handful of Grammy nominations including
Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of
the Year, and Best New Artist.
India sings about self image in the song
“Video” “I’m not the average girl from your
video, and I ain’t built like a supermodel. But
I learned to love myself
unconditionally... Don’t need you silicone, I
prefer my own What God gave me is just fine.”
India Arie does not look like a Barbie doll
like Britney, but she has an unconventional
sexiness that is all her own, and yes, even talent.
The Behrend Beacon
Social Security
(or lack thereof)
The Elephant
says...
As Social Security stands now, we realize
that sometime around the year 2030, the so
cial insurance program which so many have
depended on for support will no longer be
able to support itself. Solutions: Raise the
amount that the government takes out of
your paycheck (FICA: Federal Insurance
Contributions Act) Raise the retirement age
so you have to wait longer to collect your
benefits. Or cut the benefits that the pro
gram provides in order to try and stretch the
program a little further.
Any of those sound good to you? No,
didn’t think so. Let’s look at a way of being
able to forego all of that and actually get
more back from what you put in.
Privatization: taking that money from
FICA and being able to have that placed into
an investment. This has been looked at in
detail for quite some time now. Today’s SS
system for the majority pays out approxi
mately two to three percent. Studies have
shown that under a well-monitored and di
verse Personal Security Account, the aver
age return would be between six and eigh
teen percent. People today are concerned
with the risks, but the government would put
some watch on the new system to protect
consumers. The other benefit of this would
be the increased fund of capital being in
vested into the economy. The economy ben
efits, you benefit, and SS doesn’t have to take
a dive. Need proof, Chile has had success
since it privatized in 1981. What are we wait
ing for?
-Ronald Ridgley
Every two weeks, a member of the College
Republicans and/or College Democrats will
debate a partisan topic. Send suggestions to:
Behrcoll2 @aol. com
to help provide these things. $75 million.
I’ll remind you, is a pretty big hunk of
pocket change.
But no, all of those dresses, shoes,
radios and tons of dog food will just have
to sit with no destination in sight, because
giving it to a needy person outside of the
Sept. 11 funds is not allowed, or so it
appears. I just hope that I don’t have to
hear about all of the cold and hungry kids
this year who won’t receive Christmas
presents, because as far as I’m concerned,
this one’s already in the bag - or in the
hangar.
Wynne’s column appears
throughout the semester.
India is someone young girls should be looking
up to, not some valley-girl idiot.
I wish Britney would just go away. I can’t
wait to see the “Behind the Music” on her in a
few years:
Britney was on top of the world when tragedy
struck. Long time boyfriend and ’N Sync
member, Justin Timberlake, left her and ran off
with Jordan Knight from New Kids on the
Block. Britney fell into a deep depression and
turned to a diet of whiskey and Little Debbie
snack cakes. Her weight ballooned and her
popularity shrank.
Britney stayed quiet for a few years but did
not give up. In 2006 she staged a comeback
tour with Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston
called “Washed Up Diva Tour.” The opening
night of the tour was a huge success. Things
were looking up for Spears. But joy soon turned
to sadness when the tour was cut short after
only one performance. The trio got into
Whitney’s stash and forgot where they parked
the tour bus.
Britney was overweight and out of money.
Spears hit what she calls “rock bottom” when
she appeared in the adult video “Oops, I Lost
My Virginity.”
Britney became fed up with show business.
She sold her implants on EBay and moved back
home. Today, Spears lives in a double-wide
trailer with her 62 cats in her hometown of
Kentwood, Louisiana.
Well, this probably won’t happen. But a boy
can dream.
Fallon’s column appears every
three weeks.
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