Letter retraction

I received a W from the petitions office, and they would not remove it, even though I had a good reason. But I was fortunate because somebody from Pres. Samuelson’s office took care of it for me. Students, Pres. Samuelson and his Vice Presidents are wonderful people. If you ever feel like the red tape of the university is strangling you, know that we have intelligent and fair leaders in the president’s office. Thank you Pres. Samuelson.

Russell Farr

Salt Lake City

Bleeding heart elitists

As is apparent from recent articles and editorials in The Daily Universe, there is much self-congratulating and mutual back patting among the Mormons who are liberals among us. Just because they break with what they perceive as the unthinking majority of Utahns and Mormons in general, liberal Mormons suppose themselves by some stretch of the imagination to be more intelligent than the rest of us.

Religion is independent of politics. The fact that the vast majority of Mormons are Republicans has absolutely no bearing on the fact that the Democratic Party is for bleeding heart elitists who support the wasting of taxpayer funds so that they can feel good about themselves. As a wise man once said, at no point in your incoherent ramblings did you come close to anything that would be considered a rational thought. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your (liberal) soul.

Todd Barfuss

Farmington

The other teams

I am responding to the editorial that was regarding “Cougar Town." Personally, I would love to go to a college where, on game day, people didn’t just show up at the game because that is all there is to do. A school where people came decked out, ready to yell, and not worried about anything but their fellow Cougars and creating an intimidating atmosphere for the other team.

Sure, many of us take pride in our school. But it doesn’t always extend to our sports teams. We see that volleyball is ranked 15th in the nation. But do we see the gym packed with fans willing to support them? Soccer is ranked 12th, and yet there were still many open seats at last Thursday’s game. The athletes put countless hours into what they do. And there are few that get the compensation they deserve. I’m not saying everybody has to attend all the sporting events, but I do think that if we are going to sit here and complain about how they perform, we should at least make an effort to support them. And that doesn’t mean just going to the game to talk.

Serena Jacob

Chehalis, Wash.

Mormons in the mob

Comparing gay marriage to the marriage of a man and his horse is one of the most ridiculous and outright ignorant things I’ve heard. Homosexuals are not trying to marry animals; they are trying to marry other people. I know several homosexuals, and I was unaware that their status had been downgraded from human beings to barnyard animals. Although it may come as a surprise to some, gays are perfectly capable of being good people, and even (gasp!) leading spiritual, Christ-like lives. Yet they’ve been reduced to horses, all because they want to live happy, monogamous relationships with someone they love. Some don’t realize that many of the persecutions faced by the early church were in light of strange, and very illegal, marriage practices. Joseph Smith drew a lot of heat not simply for being a prophet, but for taking over 30 women as wives, including 11 teenagers.

Now the tables have turned. Suddenly it’s the Mormons who have found themselves in the mobs of persecution, belittling fellow human beings to mere animals. It’s time to realize that given our history, we are the last people in the world to be telling anyone who can and can’t get married.

Stephen Robbins

Albany, Ore.

Some e-mail info

In response to the question, “Why not put all [university] announcements in one e-mail and send it out monthly?”

1. You still wouldn’t read it.
2. People generally don’t remember things 30 days in advance. At best, people remember things for the next few days.
3. You’d have one really long e-mail and most of the information wouldn’t be read. An e-mail should be no more than a few paragraphs.

Lastly, about BYU selling information to spammers, did you even read the e-mail regarding privacy? It clearly states, “Students have the right, however, to refuse to permit the designation or disclosure of the above directory information … Any student wishing to restrict the release of directory information must file a written notification with Continuing Education ...” Also, did you know you can make your contact information unlisted via Route Y? As for ZoobeeSwap (and others), they probably use a spider program that collects e-mails off web sites (including byu.edu) to do targeted marketing.

Fernando Mladineo

Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

In defense of the library

Being both a student of the university and an employee of the nationally acclaimed Harold B. Lee Library, I get an intimate look into the dealings and everyday goings on. The library seeks to serve and aid people in their research and education. The Daily Universe does not understand this, nor do they care when they publicly smear the name of the people who are doing their best to improve students’ education. In her article “Library stealthily tracked Honor Code infractions,” Ms. Plowman bases her whole story on the sayings of two library administrators, who in fact don’t perform the everyday customer service that her article addresses. I, however, do perform those functions and when the training concerning enforcing the honor code was given we were instructed to inform the patron of any notes that were put on their record.

The reason this stringent enforcement of the honor code began was because of The Daily Universe article addressing the library’s lenient enforcement. In an attempt to please university administrators and ease the pressure put on them by The Daily Universe, a policy was formed with no intent to be malicious or “stealthy,” as Plowman says, but to maintain great service while enforcing the honor code.

The Universe inflated this problem to begin with and has done nothing but mock and criticize the earnest attempts of administrators to accommodate the students while enforcing the Honor Code. The library is not out to get you.

Shay Allen

South Jordan

Where's the joy?

We are told in the Book of Mormon, “Men are that they might have joy.” My question is, why aren’t we as BYU students joyful? I love BYU and am very thankful for the chance to be here. However, I am saddened at how students regard one another on campus. I play a game while I walk around; the rules are that I have to smile at everyone and say hello to as many people as possible. Sadly enough, I rarely get a reply. I know everyone is busy; I know life is stressful and there are exams to study for and places to get to. Believe me, I deal with these things on a daily basis just like everyone else. But, why can’t we go around with smiles on our faces?

Why not make someone’s day by saying hello? We can make a difference in such small and simple ways. Let us as BYU students radiate the happiness that the gospel brings and share the light of Christ, which truly is joy.

Have a wonderful day! And don’t forget to smile!

Liesel Bennion

Hurricane

Copyright Brigham Young University 25 Oct 2005