Page 6 The Lion’s Eye Opinion November 17, 2003 An editorial One sure way to ruin your holiday You've pulled many all-nighters studying since September and then, faster than you can say “turkey,” the holidays are here. Thanksgiving means giving in to gluttony and soon we'll sup on turkey and other delectables. Nestled among our traditional fare we'll enjoy bot- tles, breakers, cups, decanters, highballs, jiggers, jugs, mugs, pilsners, ponies, snifters, or tumblers of libations with family and friends. Warm egg nog will fill our bellies and wines will complement the repast. So, the goose is roasting, the cookies are baked, the table is set, but what's this? One of your friends has gotten rowdy from too much rum? Not to worry. After all, these are the best times for carousing. Holidays are made for overindulgence, right? But last year, there were 4,019 traffic fatalities between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, 1,561 alcohol-related. On Thanksgiving, 255 of 543 traf- fic accident fatalities were alcohol-related. There were 130 traffic accident deaths on Christmas; 68 were alcohol-related. New Years' Eve had 57 out of 123 traffic accident alcohol-related fatalities. After a while, your friend has more than just a buzz. You don't want to embarrass him, so you ignore him. Should you or someone else drive him home? Sarah Rose Stover, 21, was just about to enter her senior year at Penn State Delco in 2000. She was very involved in school as the Lion’s Eye edi- tor and the editor of the Penn in Hand literary magazine. Then she was struck by a speeding drunken driver and killed. That driver didn't have a designated driver when he decided to head off to a nightclub that night three years ago. His irresponsibility cost Sarah Stover her life. He was charged with homi- cide by vehicle while under the influence, aggra- vated assault and failing to stop after an accident. Back in July, a 17-year-old from Bensalem was driving drunk when he crashed, killing him and his teenage friend. His blood-alcohol level was 14, about 1% times the legal limit. As of Oct. 3, Gov. Rendell signed legislation lowering the blood-alcohol content of .10 to .08. This means that if you are mildly drunk you could face DUI charges. Not a great way to spend the holidays. Additionally, if a cop pulls you over, ~ you'll be subjected to embarrassing breath, blood or urine tests. If you fail to comply, your licensed will automatically be suspended for one year. If three major offenses are committed within five years, you will lose your license for an additional period of either two or five years. If it is your first offense, you can still get from 48 hours to 23 months in jail and then go to driving school to get your license reinstated. For your second offense, an annoying little device called the Guardian Interlock Device could be clamped to your car whether you like it or not. So, toast the holidays but not jail time, hospi- tal time, license suspension, the Guardian Interlock Device or the graveyard. Spending time with | like to help out with The food. my family. the cooking. Stephanie Dilorio Brendan Connor Michael Yu Sophomore Sophomore Freshman i y most about Thank Going to see the | like Thanksgiving, Family. but | hate the grue- some slaughter of the helpless turkeys. annual football game and seeing my friends from school. Jackie Clark Alfred Jemgo Sophomore Junior Dana Johnson Freshman A cure for college sports: Athletes should be paid sports teams. Why shouldn’t the athletes who are making all of the money for them get at least a percentage of that profit? There are many obvious reasons why college ath- letes should be paid. Most Division I athletes are on scholarships, but they can’t have a job because their schedule will not allow it. Not to mention that having a job is against NCAA rules. As a result, the athletes miss out on opportunities to make money like the rest of the students. College athletes should be paid a certain amount of money, the same for each athlete at every university. But the money they are paid should be kept in an account that they cannot touch until they graduate or leave for professional sports. A majority of college athletes come from underprivileged backgrounds. The money that the athletes make could be used to help their families when they graduate. Since the reality is that most of the athletes will never go pro and make money, why shouldn’t they be able to make money from their sport? This is more true because they are making the university so much money. Another, less obvious point is that every time these athletes step onto the court or field, they are putting themselves at risk of serious injuries. In many cases, these injuries can be career ending and even if they are not, in many cases the athletes are never the same. Injuries that college athletes sus- tain during college often go unnoticed or in some cases are even downplayed or covered up. Even if a college athlete is not injured badly enough to miss a game, after his career he is likely to face more pain.When the athletes are dene playing many face severe arthritis, cartilage damage, and pain resulting from playing through an injury. College athletes face serious injury, but the televi- ssi: make loads of money from college sion networks, alumni, and just about everyone else involved with the team make the money. It is also evident that many college athletes are paid under the table. If the athletes can be legally paid a set amount, it will eliminate that activity. More importantly, it would eliminate unfair recruiting tech- niques by universities that entice high school players with illegal money. ; But not only alumni make money off of college athletes. Networks such as ESPN, food companies . that sell their food at college | sporting events, clothing companies and shoe companies also get in on the action. Many people in government find that college athletes should be paid also. For example, the governor of Nebraska, Mike Johanns, approved Legislative Bill 688. The bill proposed that football players at the University of Nebraska receive a weekly amount of money, as long as three other states with Big 12 teams do the same. This EEE weekly amount of money would at least allow them to have enough money to be able to do more than squeak by. After all, they’re doing all the dirty work. Colleges are taking advantage of college athletes. Even though they are going to college for free in many cases, they are also putting a good deal of money in the universities’ pockets. Paying college athletes will only work if college athletes were paid the same amount of money at every Division I school across the country. If not, the whole concept of paying college athletes would be pointless. As long as college athletes all make the same amount of money, whether it is a small weekly allowance or a lump sum at the end on their college playing days, the integrity of the games will be main- tained. E-mail Sean Orner at SEO125@psu. oil; Editor-in-chief: PENNSTATE THE LION'S EYE Anteia Consorto Meredith Becker Jendrasiak, Renee Blisard. Delavare Associate Editor: Contributing Staff: Renee Blisard, Jess Goldey, Chrissy ty Sarah Gallatig Greenan, Matt Haldeman, John Hickey, Kim Hickey, Jeff Copy Editor: Huber, Lauren Jendrasiak, Sean Orner, Steve Spence. Contact the Lion’s Eye: At AAC136@psu.edu. Editorial Board: Chrissy Greenan, John Hickey, Lauren
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