Sending prayers to Yoder’s family
As with the others, my thoughts and prayers are for Carrie Yoder and her loved ones.
As with me, I’m resigning from the Evening School in order to be home before dark so as not to unnecessarily frighten anyone who might otherwise see me walking from the campus bus to my apartment in the dimly lit streets of the Tigerland subdivision.
There are a lot of frightened individuals carrying pepper spray, Mace or a firearm. While I do not in the least blame them for their fears, the worst of mine is to be mistaken for a person who means another harm and accidentally be pepper sprayed, Maced or shot.
Robert Bigelow
Non-Matriculating — Arts and Sciences
Student asks: Is God unconstitutional?
The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Does the fact that the declaration refers to God on three separate instances, including the previous statement, make it unconstitutional and should therefore be made void?
Well, based on the logic by the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals it should be. As many of you know, the Court made a ruling which claims the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it contains the words “under God.” Have we really deviated so far from the principles and values by which this country was founded that a mention or reference to God is unconstitutional?
If you are like myself, and wish to protect the sanctity of our Pledge and national motto “In God We Trust,” then there is something you can do. If you go to the Web site www.wepledge.com, you can sign a petition which will be presented to Congress, urging it to pass a constitutional amendment protecting such sacred national symbols.
George Washington, in his 1789 Thanksgiving Declaration, even said, “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” I can only imagine what he and our other founding fathers would think of what we have done with our once great principles and values.
Will Stafford
Sophomore — English