Foot nudity

As avid readers of The Daily Universe, it is incumbent upon us to inform the student body of an issue that threatens the well-being of every student on this campus. The issue is foot nudity.

The recent change in weather has drawn the foot-bearers from their holes like worms in a rainstorm. They trod on their naked feet across campus bringing with them not only an unsightly appearance, but hidden health dangers.

Have you ever noticed how flip-flop wearers shed their "foot-bras" at least once per day? When those things come off, nothing remains unsoiled. Think we're overreacting? Think again! Most of those people will use their hands in the flip-flop removal/replacement process at least once, thereby contaminating their hands, which are used to open doors, type on computers, eat food, prepare food, shake hands, share books and read their scriptures. Even if you don't use your hands, your backpack has been sitting where someone else's feet have been festering. Your backpack will soon be in your car, on your desk at home, on your table, on your bed, etc.

A single flip-flop wearer can expose thousands of innocent, naive citizens to a world of fungus. So, flip flop wearers, do us a favor and next time dish out a little more cash for some real footwear or at least some crocs.

JENESSA SIMMONS

Orem

JUSTIN JONES

Provo

Thanks volunteers

I would just like to thank all those people who have been involved in the Choose to Give campaign. In my hurried life, I was so happy to see volunteers giving of their time (and I'm sure it's not extra time) to talk to people about the campaign and to offer service. I am able to do mentored research on campus and thus learn extremely valuable and employable skills because of the generosity of other people. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities I have and wanted to say thank you to all those volunteers who exemplify what the Choose to Give campaign is all about.

MELISSA HOWELL

Mesa, Ariz.

Be safe

The weather is getting warmer, the birds are singing and the bike riders are coming out. First off, let me make this disclaimer, I am a bike rider myself, and as such I feel I am justified in saying this.

Too many of us bikers ignore basic rules, which puts others in danger's way. As bikers, we are not pedestrians. Utah State law designates bikes are vehicles and subject to the laws of the road.

In the past few weeks I have almost been hit twice by individuals who ignored the STOP sign at the bottom of the bike ramp on the south side of campus. There are two there; one for the ramp (it says bicycles must stop), the other is for the road. During the 10 minutes between classes I have been cut off by people thinking they can ignore the rules (especially the one that says NO bike riding between class periods).

I have also seen a handful of people who choose to ride off-campus. There is absolutely no problem with this until we endanger others. Individuals weave in and out of parked cars on the side of the road. This confuses both drivers and pedestrians. If you choose to ride your bike on the roads, stay on the road. If bike lanes are there, use them. Use hand signals, wear a helmet (regardless of where you are riding), and above all stay safe.

CHRISTIAN GRIFFIN

Roy

Bloodthirsty shirts

Back in the 1930s, Soviet grand poo-bah Joseph Stalin imposed a brutal policy of forced collectivization on the largely self-subsistent, agrarian Ukrainian minority. In one year of the "Holodomor" alone, more than 3 million innocent people starved to death so some sociopath could pretend communism worked. In the end, Stalin wiped out over 20 million of his own subjects. My grandfather was one of the very few lucky enough to escape the Stalinist Regime.

So perhaps it's that part of him in me that fills me blinding rage every time I see some idiot with a glorious "CCCP" or hammer and sickle emblazoned on his/her shirt. What are you trying to say? That you served two years in Russia and didn't learn a thing? That you support the systematic murder of farmers? Are you trying to be ironic? Well the only ironic thing is that instead of looking cool, you look like one of Lenin's Useful Idiots.

If in fact, you support Communist ideology (which by the way has nothing to do with Mormon consecration ideals. Communism is Christianity at the end of a bayonet) then by all means, wear the shirt/belt buckle/pajamas/whatever. Otherwise, at least consider wearing slightly less bloodthirsty symbols such as Confederate flags or swastikas.

COOGAN S. RENCZ

Winnipeg , Canada

Housing market

In the BYU housing market, people have forgotten their place. Weren't we told to live within our means? This doesn't apply only to men in a midlife crisis or married people with a steady job. Those that go to BYU are so used to subsidies in their schooling they automatically assume that the open hand of giveaways is available for everything. Where did the idea of budgeting and planning get to? In a country buried in debt, don't be satisfied with the status quo.

You've forgotten that you live in a free-market economy where supply and demand, not tithing, dictate the prices-. When the land costs more, the rent costs more. Price takers can't be price makers. You scramble around and pay top dollar to live that much closer to campus, and then drive there, clogging the school as much as the air. Walk. Take advantage of God's natural treadmill.

Doesn't anyone have the urge to be grateful anymore? I don't think students here realize how nice the housing is. I've seen housing for college students in Montana, and I guarantee that none of you live in the ratty, second-hand holes that were considered acceptable there. Stop your whining; enough of your protesting. There is something to be said about going to a private institution and the huge number of benefits students gain from attending here. If you hate it so much, there's a new school down the street called UVU that would love to have you.

ADAM ANDREASON

Lolo, Mont.

World poverty

Many of us have heard that more than 1 billion of the world's population lives on less than one $1 a day. Although stating this statistic has become somewhat cliché, its real purpose is to call to action those of us who can help to do more in the battle against poverty.

I had the opportunity to see some of this poverty first hand last summer when I visited Vietnam as part of a study abroad through BYU. I saw the despair on the faces of the people in the markets and the streets as they worked long and hard just to be able to put food on the table. I also saw the hope in the eyes of dozens of entrepreneurs, listening intently at a micro-credit meeting, waiting to receive a micro-loan that would help their businesses grow.

I appreciate the letter to the editor published March 31 mentioning microcredit and the Grameen Bank. I would like to also mention the Web site Kiva.org, a nonprofit organization that allows anybody to get involved in microcredit. Loaners can choose what businesses they want to fund, and they even get their money back over time.

My life has been blessed as I have helped fund businesses in several countries, including a cashew nut farm in Vietnam. I encourage everyone to get involved, whether it be through Kiva or any another venue.

DREW VERNON

Springville

Copyright Brigham Young University 1 Apr 2008