BYU NewsNet - Letters to the DU Editor for Dec. 1, 2008

More space for testing

We all have been in the Testing Center, and we all have waited for five minutes or maybe even hours to take an exam. Also, even though we go on time for our exams - meaning we do not go on the last day - we find enormous and annoying lines or worse, we cannot find a place to take the exam. I think the building needs to be expanded. It seems to be very logical; a high demand needs a high supply.

The Testing Center was made many years ago for a specific amount of students, but this number has increased in the last years. The most clear and alarming consequence of this problem is that students lose time, which they could have used in many other things such as doing homework, studying for another test, working, etc.

This is a serious problem, and BYU must find a solution. There are many, and a good beginning can be providing more places for getting exams and providing more desks where students take their tests. I personally encourage BYU to recognize this situation as a current problem and try to solve it as soon as possible for the good of the students.

PAULO MACHICAO TELLO

Peru

Just giving thanks

I feel I must counter the argument put forth in the Nov. 24 viewpoint entitled "Thanksgiving; Isn't it about...time?" The author was upset because retailers seem to have skipped over Thanksgiving and gone straight to Christmas with their seasonal products.

What is so upsetting about the fact that we have one holiday that is not overly commercialized? This is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving! Finally, a holiday that is focused so much on family and giving thanks, that retailers have not yet figured out a way to milk money out of the situation. We are not yet required to buy gifts for the occasion or send cards or overly decorate our homes.

I relish the fact that I can celebrate Thanksgiving by eating a wonderful meal, being surrounded by family and focusing on what I am truly grateful for without being bombarded with things I need to buy, like pilgrim hats and Indian headdresses, in order to make it a "true Thanksgiving." Enjoy the red and green candy in the aisles and be happy with just giving thanks on this special day.

RACHEL NAYLOR

Fruit Heights

Reality check

I was amused to read a particular viewpoint article published in The Daily Universe on Nov. 24, in which the editor bemoaned his fate because of Stephenie Meyer's refusal to grant him an interview. In the article, he asserted that because Ms. Meyer graduated from BYU in 1995, she "needs" to grant an interview with The Daily Universe. I don't know the editor, so I will try not to pass too much judgment. However, from reading the article, it sounds like the case of a somewhat arrogant reporter with a sense of self-entitlement getting all excited at the prospect of a "big-shot" interview with Ms. Meyer, only to be disappointed when she "snubbed" the DU by declining an interview.

Now, I admit that I have not read any of Ms. Meyer's books nor seen the movie, and I don't plan to - that stuff just doesn't float my boat. However, I don't need to be familiar with her work to know that she has a right to grant or decline interviews with whomever she pleases, and to do so without the harassment, whining and questioning of character exhibited in the article. If she had a moral obligation, as the editor suggested, to grant a personal interview with every small paper that can claim a connection with her (childhood hometown paper, college paper, currently local paper, etc.) then she would waste a lot of time giving the same answers to the same questions over and over again.

The Daily Universe is a fine campus paper that I enjoy reading. However, it is, after all, just that - a local campus paper. If the DU feels they are entitled to an exclusive interview with every famous or successful BYU alumni, then they need a serious reality check. You just aren't that big.

JARED FOOTE

San Antonio, Texas

Stay off the grass

The green space that has opened up like a blooming flower in springtime on the south side of campus, where once was the dark and dreary Knight Mangum Building, has inspired me to speak on behalf of the Lord's grass. First of all, I would like to personally thank the BYU administration for their decision to plant grass at a time when grass is threatened at every turn by building projects.

I feel we have begun to take grass for granted, disrespecting its functional and aesthetic value. Picture for a moment, if you will, a grassless educational experience. Nowhere but the library to read The Daily Universe, nowhere to unwind between classes with a nap or snack. Those of us who have visited places where grass is scarce should know better than most the bleak consequences of grass negligence. Here on campus, cutting corners causes BYU to spend thousands of dollars every year on grass maintenance that could be better spent on research, scholarships or student employment.

Past efforts to protect the grass and save BYU's limited resources included campaigns like "keep your bod off the sod" and "Cougars don't cut corners." But all we really need is the individual maturity to take a few extra steps and stay off the grass. Except for naps and snacks.

GREGAN ANDERSON

Salem

Bizarre ideas of Democrats

I am sick and tired of hearing these bizarre ideas Democrats are trying to instill in us. First of all, comparing the murdering and starving to death of millions of Jews to American interrogation techniques is the dumbest thing I have heard in a while. Not one "torture" method we use is in any way permanently damaging to the physicality of our prisoners, and things like sexual degradation are punished by law. We waterboard our own troops so they know what it is, but we can't try to get information out of psychotic killers to prevent American deaths? You just don't understand. These are the people who sent a child with a grenade to kill Americans because they hoped that our sense of morals would prevent troops from acting before it was too late.

Chief Captain Moroni, one of the most righteous men to walk this earth, used a different method. The "terrorists" did exactly what he said, or he killed them. If one innocent life is spared by these mild (if you think they are severe, talk to McCain about what torture really is, or you could just look at his scarred, damaged body) interrogation techniques, then they are worth it. Talk about morals all you want; it won't mean squat anymore when your family is endangered by these "wrongfully" detained prisoners.

Second, the Democrats would have us believe that every problem in the country is Bush's fault. We have not had a terrorist attack since 9/11 under President Bush, so I think he is doing a heck of a job in this area. How about the economy? This current economic situation has three main causes. First of all, the Democrats, who blame Bush, were the ones that passed legislation allowing Fannie May and Freddie Mac (the largest loaners of money for housing) to allow for sub-prime loans. This way "every deserving American" can get the housing they couldn't afford. Second, there are the banks who were greedy enough to give these loans. Third, there is the greed of speculators. Many bought property they couldn't afford, expecting the market would go up forever.

So really, we have ourselves and the Democrats to blame for this economic crisis, not in any shape, form or description Bush. Obama is not a "savior" as some would have us believe and this is a morally horrific idea. We can only hope that Obama is not as extreme as he has promised to be. Change is needed, but Obama's campaign ideas fit better with an episode of Mr. Rogers' neighborhood - the "change train" to the land of make believe.

ADAM COLVIN

Alpine

Cut Meyer some slack

There are three points I would like to make to Joshua Flake who wrote the Stephenie Meyer editorial and to those who think like him. The first being in response to his comment about the cinema dazzling "16-year-old girls across the country and people who act like them." It is true that Twilight books were written for young adults; however, a wide variety of ages have enjoyed them. Just because we want to see the midnight showing of the movie because we have enjoyed the book, doesn't mean we are all among the Edward-crazed 16-year olds out there. Your generalization could in turn place you in the maturity level of a 16-year old as well.

Secondly, perhaps Stephenie Meyer does deserve some much-needed time off. Try contacting her at a time when her life isn't filled with movie premieres and screaming fans. Maybe then she'd be happy to talk to her school. She has spent many hours over the past years creating this fantasy world with deadlines breathing over her shoulder. She just wants a little privacy in her life. And lastly, just because Stephenie Meyer didn't talk to you does not mean you should trash a book you probably have never read to begin with. Put yourselves in Meyer's shoes and try to understand her side of the situation. Maybe then you can cut Meyers some slack.

JULIE TEDJAMULIA