BYU NewsNet - Letters to the DU Editor: March 14, 2008

Break for basketball

In Wednesday's letter, "Need spring break," the author correctly identifies the "give up" attitude demonstrated by BYUSA in attempting to make up for a lack of spring break. He then described how spring break is a useful outlet for students who, during their week off, are able to provide service, visit with family or reunite with friends that they haven't seen in a while. Might I add the suggestion that BYU students should have a spring break due to the fact that BYU has a top-25 ranked basketball team playing in an annual tournament this weekend?

I find it absolutely ridiculous that although we have one of the best basketball teams we have had in years, it seems the school is frowning upon the student body supporting the Cougars in the conference tournament each year. I have five midterm exams and two quizzes to take in a one-week span centered on this weekend during which I am going to Las Vegas to cheer the Cougars to victory. I am likely to sacrifice my grades in my classes to do this. Why? Because for one weak excuse or another, BYU does not have spring break.

My friends from other in-state colleges will be there with me, cheering on BYU. It is ironic that it is easier for BYU fans that attend Weber State and Utah State (universities that have scheduled spring break for March 10-14) to support Cougar basketball than students from BYU.

Spring break at BYU does not even have to be a week long. BYU plays tournament games onThursday, Friday and Saturday. It would not drastically throw off the university scheduling to add a two-day spring break. After all, during fall semester we have a Thanksgiving break that lasts three days, don't we? Why not a winter semester equivalent?

Russell Dibb- Bountiful

Making light of sacred

I think that Dilbert is the best comic strip since The Far Side. Its wit and satire make me laugh on a regular basis. I do realize, however, that Dilbert is a comic strip and is only good for a laugh.

Thanks to The Daily Universe for not printing comics that produce laughs at the expense of making light of sacred things.

I am sure that some people share the views expressed in the letter "Dilbert Censorship" published March 12. I don't think, however, that those of us that find "sacrilege" more "distasteful" than "censorship" (if you can call it that. It's not news or information; it is just a comic strip!) are in the minority at BYU.

There is something terribly wrong with a society that believes that compromising standards is a fair price to pay for entertainment. "It was such a good movie, you just have to see it" is not a good reason to see a movie with questionable material. I don't really have to see it. I will be just fine if I don't see it, but I might be worse off if I do.

Call it "hypersensitivity," but The Daily Universe represents our school, and our school does not believe in making the Savior the object of jokes.

Adam Bushman- Payson

No more sports

Every day I pick up The Daily Universe on campus and every day I find something about sports on the front page! I love to play sports, and I enjoy watching them, but I would rather have more information on the primaries, war in Iraq, national and state issues than find an entire front page about BYU's latest win.

BYU sports are fun, but there are other things that are much more important! Please keep sports limited to the sports page or maybe two sports pages. Instead, put pressing national, state and church issues on the front page. When The Daily Universe puts sports all over the front page with only a tiny corner about Sen. Hillary Clinton winning Monday's primary, what they're saying is that BYU is more important than what is happening in the rest of the country. This egotistical attitude is wrong! Educate us about national issues, about major worldwide events, not about who is the MVP this year!

Michelle Little- Ithaca, N.Y.

Editor's Note: The sport's desk is given one front-page package a week. Sports may be given an extra page under special circumstances such as the conference tournament.

Mission relationships?

While I found the statistics interesting and appreciate the male author trying to realize that sometimes sister missionaries leave boyfriends as well as the other way around, I think it's a little odd that the editor would let lines like "[m]issionaries who worry about their waiting girlfriends getting married should take comfort in the fact that when they come home, there will be plenty of other waiting girlfriends or boyfriends[,]" pass into print. It gave me something to laugh about though, in lieu of the censored Dilbert strip.

Rebecca Rosello- Orem

I am not a Mormon

I am not a Mormon. I do not know of any church that is officially called The Mormon Church, and I do not know of any people that are Mormons. These are terms that are used by enemies of the Church of Jesus Christ and by ignorant individuals who choose to ignore the strong admonition given by President Gordon B. Hinkley. He stated that we should not refer to ourselves as Mormons, and he advised the news media to refer to the church by its official name: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Even The Daily Universe opts to ignore the president by too frequently referring to Mormons and the Mormon Church (case in point see page 12 in The Daily Universe of March 12.)

I am a Christian, a member if the Church of Jesus Christ and proud of it. I feel that we members of the church have for many decades contributed to the false image that people everywhere have of us, and we are still guilty of it. If all members of the church would discontinue calling themselves Mormons or stating that they belong to the Mormon Church, perhaps people would eventually realize we are not some kind of a weird cult following some mortal person named Mormon, but that indeed we are Christians, devout followers of our Savior Jesus Christ. I challenge all members and friends of the church to call themselves Christians, members of his church.

Hans-Wilhelm Kelling- Professor of German

Wear green

Monday is Saint Patrick's Day. Many people forget this holiday, and even if they remember it, they don't really care. Consider this: according to the last census, nearly 11 percent of the American population has Irish ancestry. That's about 30,500,000 people. As a Christian I think that it is a great thing to celebrate the man who brought Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century.

St. Patrick's Day is also a great day to celebrate one's heritage. If you don't know whether you're Irish then do some family history work. And if you are positive you're not Irish then fake it for the day. It has always been a tradition in my family to have corned beef, cabbage and Irish soda bread for dinner. St. Patrick's Day is a great excuse for getting together with friends and family and having a good time.

Many people consider St. Patrick's Day to just be a drinking holiday. It's not. It is a day to get together with friends, eat great food and wear green. Have a party! Get some shamrocks and decorate your apartment, drink root beer and ginger ale. Eat food, play Irish music, watch "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," and run around to find people who aren't wearing green and pinch them. Trust me, it's fun. And don't forget to wear green!

Erika Clark- Brookings, S.D.