Don't forget the arts

I am writing in response to a letter written on the subject of supporting our school teams. I believe that supporting those who put so much time and effort to perform well is a significant sign of respect for that effort. As a student, I love going to the football, basketball and volleyball games.

However, I often ask how many members of each of those teams go to the operas, choral productions, the art exhibits or even the musicals or plays produced here at BYU. I would bet my tuition that the answer would be none of the above. I love sports, but I love the arts more and the fine art students put in just as much time and effort, or more, than the athletes do to perform well, but do they get all of the support and recognition that they deserve?

Perhaps Americans are what the French call the antithesis of culture.

Luke Bahr

Payson

What about tap?

On Oct. 27, I was very excited to see dance on the front page of The Daily Universe. I think the article provided a nice explanation for a few dance forms offered at BYU. It discussed ballet, jazz, ballroom and modern. At the top of the article it listed folk dance as well, yet never addressed it. I teach tap dance here at the university, and there are just as many tap classes offered as their are jazz classes. I guess tap would fall under folk dance, as would clogging, Irish, Polynesian and so many other classes offered that educate students in American and international styles of dance. My point is the dance department offers a wide variety of classes that weren’t featured in the article and I think they have validity as well.

So if you’re reading this sign up for a dance class for winter; you’ll learn to truly appreciate your body!

Melanie Brough

Pleasantville, NJ

Wear orange

Most students may walk about unaware, but in the bushes there are vicious beasts waiting for the right moment to attack. According a letter dated Oct. 27, the “campus deer problem” is getting out of hand, and needs to be addressed before someone gets hurt. Currently, the “Deer Mauling Count 2005” is steady at a whopping total of one close call.

Deer have come down from Y Mountain to BYU for years to feed on the flowers and bother students unceasingly. Years ago, I saw several deer jump across 900 East late one night toward the MTC — a whole pack of the monsters probably going to attack some unsuspecting elder or BYU coed.

The truth is, there is no way to “take the problem of deer on campus seriously.” Short of supplying campus ground crew members with crash orange and .30-30’s, or releasing real live cougars (not just you and me, but real mountain lions) on campus to deal with the pesky deer, I don't see a logical solution to it. I suppose we’ll just have to press forward and allow our brethren to be mauled and trampled by them ruthless deer, and find something else to complain about.

Lewis Young

Provo

The deer's point of view

I am a deer. Some time ago I was foraging for sustenance near the MARB while classes were in session. I decided to cross the nearby road. As I was crossing I heard a shocking noise to my left.

There was scarcely time to get all the way across before a whiny freshman turned and yelled at me from about a foot away. This scared the living daylight out of me. I should have seriously injured him. Imagine my chagrin when a copy of the Daily Universe comes fluttering up to me in the wind while I’m eating the leaves off of some shrubs the other day, and it opens up to a letter from that very student, complaining about my presence in his university.

Well, I decided to write a letter complaining about his university’s presence in my wilderness. Honestly, that kid probably clapped when Bambi’s mom got killed. We deer have been very tolerant of you humans’ presence here in our valley, and all we ask is a little respect in return. BYU seriously needs to take the problem of whiny, nature-hating humans on campus seriously before some deer gets seriously hurt. Seriously.

Robbie Pierce

Napa, Calif.

Some actually are happy

In response to the anti-smile letter on Thursday, I have to admit that there are a lot more people here that seem to be happy all the time compared to my hometown in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. All the happy, peppy, smiley people here unnerved and rather annoyed me when I first came to BYU.

However, my time here has shown me that it’s unfair to assume that everyone that seems happy all the time is fake and superficial. The vast majority of happy people are not trying to show how righteous they are. They smile and have an upbeat attitude because that is their personality. They have found it is the best way for them to deal with the challenges of life, which are just as real to them as to everyone who doesn’t maintain such a positive veneer.

Having said that, obviously there are many good members of the Church who don’t have the perpetual grin and life-is-wonderful attitude. It isn’t a requirement that to be a BYU student you must have a huge smile all the time. But neither is it a requirement that you be as gloomy as everyone else in the place you grew up.

Clark Monson

Euless, Texas

Make politics a crime

Several prominent politicians, coming under intense scrutiny and faced with severe consequences, have complained that their plights can be blamed on a “criminalization of politics.” That is, they believe that what they are accused of doing was merely part of their job, and should not be punished.

Politics, of course, has always been full of crooks. Politicians, by definition, are ethically, if not legally, indefensible. So let’s go the distance. Criminalize politics. Let’s pass laws equating campaign contributions with money laundering. Let’s reward election winners with a term of office, followed by a prison term of greater or equal length. Let’s hold political debates in holding cells. Let’s move the razor wire around government buildings to the inside of the fence.

This is extreme, of course, but would it really hurt anything? I don't think so either.

Peter Johnston

Lexington, Mass.

Flying sauerkraut

I have a story that I’m sure will shock and possibly disgust many of those attending BYU, but it is something I must share. I was eating in the Morris Center minding my own business, when sauerkraut was flung in my general direction. I was shocked, scared, and enraged all at the same time. Even though it didn’t actually hit me, sometimes I wish it had. Is it too much to ask to be left alone? I blame society, and specifically BYU for this type of behavior. If we just let our children and peers fling sauerkraut like there is no tomorrow, than you know what? There might not be. Think about it.

Lance Tonnies

San Bernardino, Calif.

Democrat hero

My hero is 5’2” and smells like cocount lime. She has read the scriptures everyday for 34 years. She was orphaned at age 8. She has had cancer, thyroid surgery, heart disease and diabetes, but she's still going strong. In 1971 she was widowed and left with five children under the age of 12. She, my father and his siblings lived off of welfare for 5 years. After all, who would hire a woman in the early 1970’s?

As recompense for the welfare she’s received, she serves everyone. She is currently living with an Alzheimer’s patient as a favor to her son-in-law.

Even though she’s broke and I really don’t need the help, she insists on helping me pay the bills. She's the sweetest, nicest person I have ever met.

And guess what? She’s a democrat. She isn't a “bleeding-heart elitist” in any way. My point? Stereotyping is just passing final judgment — which as mortal men we are not qualified to do. I’m a Republican, but my hero is a Democrat. I feel that we all just need to love and respect each other, and we need to forget the whole Republican/Democrat animosity.

Brittney Dobbins

Anchorage, Alaska

Copyright Brigham Young University 1 Nov 2005