SG voting better, still needs work
When I went to vote in the 2003 Student Government Elections today, I decided to go to the Quad, thinking that would be the quickest place to vote. The wait was an hour long, so I just said I would come back after class.
So I did, and unfortunately, the scenario was the same, an hourlong wait. I had very little time because I had to go to work, so I headed over to the Design Building to try and vote there. What I found was the line was 30 minutes long, and there were only two computers to vote from. Even though I was extremely frustrated, I decided to give it one more chance and go to Johnston Hall. On my fourth try, I finally got to cast my vote. I know that if I had not wanted to vote so badly then I would have given up after the first try (as I think many students did).
SG did a good thing by allowing students to vote at all of the polling locations this year, compared to the past, where students only could vote at designated spots according to their college. But I think SG should place more computers at locations such as the Quad and the Design building, which are in the middle of campus and frequently are traveled by most LSU students. I think more students would be more willing to vote if they knew it would be quick and not take up a chunk of their day.
I know in the past, SG voting turnout has been low for a university of this size, and maybe this could be one of the reasons why. But I must add that the long lines (even though they are aggravating) are a testament to what a great job all of the candidates have done these past few weeks campaigning and getting their messages out to the students of LSU.
Lauren Lagarde
Sophomore — UCAC
Some peace protests turn ugly
In regard to the article by Lauren Wilbert, where she talks about an interview with Shaun Treat, he uses the label “pro-war” to describe persons who support the conflict against Saddam Hussein. I have a question for Mr. Treat. Why are we “pro-war?” Personally, I do not know anyone who is for war. The difference in points of view are simply that some people are willing to make the sacrifices for peace others cannot. I know that the media tends to promote the idea of people who should be labeled “pro-war,” but this is an incorrect stereotyping that could be likened to “all southerners are rednecks.”
Also, while I will not condone threats or the like, why are anti-war demonstrators surprised events have escalated to the points they have? Does Mr. Treat think all anti-war protesters are peaceful? That may have once been true, but one look at the news is all it takes to show the opposite. Protesters overseas are rioting and, even in New York and California, protesters are holding “die-ins,” disrupting traffic and even vandalizing vehicles of innocent bystanders or persons simply trying to get to work.
Craig Freeman is quick to point out that these war mongers have “overstepped their boundaries when they use ‘fighting words,’ or language that is not protected under free speech rights.” Do Mr. Freeman or his colleagues mean to suggest that it is OK for the type of protests to occur, such as in New York or California, and he would not expect for the level of protest to be responded to?
As I previously stated, I am not trying to condone threats of personal violence in any way, but I must say blocking traffic or violating innocent bystanders’ rights using tactics such as sitting on vehicles or committing acts of vandalism are no more acceptable from a legal standpoint than threats.
Andrew L. Perez
Sophomore — Computer Science
All he is saying is give staplers a chance
Another member of our beloved LSU Community has vanished without a trace.
Thankfully, it’s not what you think. Rather, staplers from Middleton Library have disappeared in record number without a trace. circulation desk, reserve materials, the entire first floor copy area, the computer checkout window. Gone, all of them. Not wanting to bog down local law enforcement who, already are taxed with extremely necessary endeavors, I took matters into my own hands.
I searched high, I searched low. No clues were left … not even a lone, disfigured staple that could be mistaken for a ransom note was to be found. All that was uncovered was a blatant sign at the computer window declaring in proud capital letters and red ink: “NO STAPLES.”
Gasp! Even the reference desk, where all other stapler-less entities were sending students, had no information about the abrupt disappearance of LSU’s paper-fastening friends.
Thousands of pages a day go unstapled across the LSU Library and campus due to this heinous crime. Pages 1 and 3 everywhere are without their beloved page 2. For what reason?! Who would do such a cruel, Swingline-induced joke on the Tiger Community?
Middleton Library head honchos: get over it. Every day, students pour tens of thousands of dollars of money into the library via photocopying, and yet the fear of a couple dozen missing staplers over a calendar year induces panic-stricken library folks to arms. Guys, it’s STAPLERS.
The time spent in creating and posting a sign declaring this new-found policy could have been time easily spent in, you guessed it, REPLACING THE STAPLER. Alas, the same $7 it cost to pay a worker for the hour to make the sign and display it for all the world to see.
In the spirit of the elections, I’d like to propose a 25 cents per semester fee, per student, to buy a couple thousand staplers for the library. LSU students: give staplers a chance.
I did, in fact, staple my pages. Not at the reference desk, rather, at Audubon Hall. (Thank you, department of psychology.)
Paul Lieber
Graduate Student — Mass Communication
Remember what you’re protesting
BAM! The door to your house is beaten down, and in rush several soldiers. They drag your mother and sister out into the street and rape them as others watch and refuse to help. You walk outside and see the bodies of your neighbors pulled up in the street from the chemical spray dispersed the day before. You live in a one-room shack with no possessions, hoping you will be able to eat today. Your friends are executed because the man who leads your country did not like them. You go to the city and see images everywhere of this man who did these things to the people in your life. You wonder what you can do to stop all of this. You wonder what you can do to change things in your beloved country. You want a new leader, but there is no real voting here. You decide to speak out, even though there is NO FREE SPEECH here. You do not care, you have had enough. You open your mouth to speak … you are now the latest casualty.
This is a reality of life for millions of people ruled by a man and his two sons. How would YOU like it to be your very own? How would you feel if you were one of those silent millions watching people around the world protesting your liberation from such rule? So when you go to protest, remember everything you are protesting.
Massa Jones
Junior — Biological Sciences