The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 6, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 3, 2004 Page: 3 of 8
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The Rambler
Opinions
March 3, 2004 3
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Campus
Comments
What is your favorite movie
catch phrase?
Michelle Cahill
Freshman
Theatre
'Do I make you randy, baby, yeah?"
from Austin Powers.
Sara Southerland
Freshman
Journalism
"Inconceivable," from The Princess
Bride.
Sarah Glasscoe
Freshman
Education
'Say hello to my little friend," from,
of course, Scarface.
Naomi Vann
Senior
Mass communications
"That's us, 4 and 5... come on out,'
The Original Kings of Comedy.
Brian Michael
Junior
Theatre
'The snozeberries taste like snoze-
berries," Willy Wonka and Super
Troopers.
Gailyn Nicholas
Junior
Psychology
"I'm fired? I'll be right back you
sons of..." from The Original Kings
of Comedy.
Photos by Casey McMahen
The Rambler
h ounded in 1917 as The Handout
Harold G Jeffcoat, Publisher
Amy Keen, Athiser
Whitney Fowler, news editor
Whitney Fowler, photo editor
Alejandro Morado. advertising manager
Rachel Carter, managing editor and business manager
Man: Nettles, editor-in-chief
Casey McMahen, opinions editor
Alex Vorse, entertainment editor
Brian Michael, sports editor
Sara Southerland, campus life editor
Member of the Associated College Press and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.
Opinions expressed in The Rambler arc those of the individual author only and do not neces-
sarily reflect the views of the Texas Weslcyan community as a whole.
Letters to the editor The Rambler, a weekly publication, welcomes all letters. All submis-
sions must have a full printed name, phone number and signature, however, confidentiality will be
granted if requested
While every consideration is made to publish letters, publication is limited by time and space.
The editors reserve the right lo edit all submissions for space, grammar, clarity and style.
Letters to the editor may be subject to response from editors and student" on th? opinions
page
"We are not afraid to follow ihe truth...wherever il may lead ." Thomas Jefferson
Address all correspondence to:
Texas Wetkyan University, I he Rambler, 1201 Wesleymi St., Fort Worth, TX 76105.
Newsroom: 531-7552 Advertising: 531-7582 Fax: 531-4878 E-mail:
Gay marriage:
It's not that big a deal, Bush!
"Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass, and to
send to the states for ratification, an amendment to our
Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of
man and woman as husband and wife," President George W.
Bush remarked in his speech last week.
Hi there. Hello again. Gay marriage. Bet ya been hearing
a lot about that on the news lately, eh? Indeed, 'tis a contro-
versial subject, to be sure. Here's what I have to say:
Marriage is about love, about commitment. If two peo-
ple, no matter who they are, want to spend the rest of their
lives together, who are we to tell them it is wrong? Whether
or not you believe that homosexuality is moral or not, this is
a religious issue and the government should not come close
to tampering with it.
Though these marriage licenses are legal con-
tracts, to deny a "free American" their right to
legally be bound to another human being is
absolutely absurd. This is not a promotion of
homosexuality -- this is not a big parade - this is
not meant to "dis" on President Bush. This is sim-
ply a few words in attempt to open the closed
minds of most Americans.
Bush says, "Marriage cannot be severed from
its cultural, religious and natural roots without
weakening the good influence of society.
Government, by recognizing and protecting marriage, serves
the interests of all." Sorry, but I don't believe that discrimi-
nating against those of a different sexual preference is serv-
ing "the interests of all."
"On a matter of such importance, the voice of the people
must be heard," Bush says, "Activist courts have left the
people with one recourse. If we are to prevent the meaning
of marriage from being changed forever, our nation must
enact a constitutional amendment to protect marriage in
America."
Protect marriage? From who, the bad guys? We are all
human beings, correct? Then what is the problem? What are
we trying to protect or to save? Saving the closed-minded
view that the only way a life can be made is with a woman
and man together? Will a same-spouse marriage really dam-
age the nation's way of life? How can two people loving
each other produce a negative connotation?
The Christian faith believes that homosexuality is a sin,
and therefore agrees with the conservative views of Bush.
Now, I don't want to generalize on this issue, because I
know that many Christians open their eyes and can see what
is going on around them without a skewed light. But to those
who can't seem to see past the end of their noses, does the
Bible not also tell you to, "Love thy neighbor as thyself"?
Sara
Southerland
I thought the point of Christianity was to accept and love all
in the love of God. Is the new trend to shun and protest
against those who differ in holy and righteous opinions?
Hmm. Something to think about.
Bush continues, "Our government should respect every
person and protect the institution of marriage. There is no
contradiction between these responsibilities. We should also
conduct this difficult debate in a manner worthy of our coun-
try, without bitterness or anger."
Obviously there is no respect, so would you stop pre-
tending already? If you are banning something very precious
to some simply because of sexual preference, there is no
respect whatsoever. I'm sorry if you think otherwise. No, no,
I'm really not.
Pop star Christina Aguilara says, "Love is
love, people are people, no matter their color, reli-
gion, (or sexual preference)! We were taught that
since we were born. All those books about people of
different nationalities, when we would learn about
other religions and holidays in school, out of
respect, out of pride, for living in a nation full of
diversity. That's what America is about. When they
can honestly say that banning gay marriages is right.
It is inhumane and unconstitutional. Hands down."
Happiness is not easy to come by. If one finds hap-
piness in another human being and their mate is the source of
hope and life for them, how can anyone take that away?
How can anyone take away what could be the single most
important and cherished event in one's life? I cannot fathom
anyone being so selfish to not care about something so pre-
cious.
What would have happened if no one started accepting
African-Americans into the society? This is a different sub-
ject, same battle. I urge you to open your eyes, open your
hearts, open your minds. Every second is another step into
the future, where we have the ability to change misconcep-
tions of the past.
I find it rather amusing how Bush ends his speech, "In
all that lies ahead, let us match strong convictions with kind-
ness and goodwill and decency." Because... taking away
rights that should be obvious sure is decent, not to mention
kind... But hey, who's counting. I'd have to agree with the
Bible on this one, "He who is without sin may cast the first
stone."
Sara Southerland is a freshman journalism major and is campus life
editor for The Rambler.
UNKNOWN FACTS AND FEARS...
ABOUT SMALL CLASSROOMS
Are Wesleyan's small class sizes really a good idea? 1
can think of quite a few reasons why diminutive classes may
be negative for some.
The first problem is that every professor knows you here.
They know your name, your Social Security number, your
hobbies and your DNA profile. While this may sound like a
cozy setup, it could be your worst nightmare.
Let's imagine, for a moment, that you are a little burned
out with the whole school and work thing and you want a lit-
tle mid-semester break. Your Aunt Mary sees the
bags under your eyes and says, "You look tired
honey; I'll go to school and take notes for you."
While you might get away with that at a
larger university, you can forget about it here.
Maybe it is not a whole day you want off but just
a couple minutes of shut-eye instead. Here at
Wesleyan, you may as well give up on that idea.
If there are only seven people in your class, and
there often are, that handful of people is just not
sufficient enough to hide your nodding head from
your professor. If you have a recognized sleep dis-
order, however, you are in luck, so snore away!
Of course, there is the whole eye contact thing here too.
Wesleyan faculty members actually look you in the eye when
they are discussing a subject. Considering eye contact in an
educational perspective we know that it is a good thing. If
you are looking into your educator's eyes while imagining
the romantic dinner you have planned with your honey, how-
ever, you may give him or her quite a scare.
Another problem with Wesleyan's individual attention is
Nancy
Wheeler
that you actually need to concentrate on what your professor
is saying. This can be bad, especially if you were planning
on merely faking interest for four or seven years. Since there
aren't 85 other students sitting around you, your instructor
may actually ask you a question to see if you are paying
attention.
If you think you can save time and do all of your vaca-
tion planning in class, you can forget that, too. Why?
Because most of our classrooms consist of what seems like
no more than 50 square feet. This means that your
professor will probably notice when you, preparing
for your upcoming trip to "the Burning Man
Festival," begin to rip out all of your class notes and
fashion them into a little paper man. Even if you are
fortunate enough that your lecturer doesn't notice, he
or she will certainly bristle when you ask for a
lighter.
Wesleyan's small classes might be pretty tough to
take for some students. Those who plan on sleeping
through their education, or who despise being treated
' as an individual, would probably be unhappy here.
1 have a friend who attends a large university. He says that
he feels extremely fortunate to be going to such a wonderful,
expansive school where no one knows him by name and
where he is just another face in the crowd.
Wow, lucky him.
Nancy Wheeler is a junior mass communication major and is a staff
writer for The Rambler.
WANNA WHITE FOR.
THE HAMBLER?
MEETINGS ARE IN STELLA RUSSELL HALL AT 12:15 P.M. EVERY TULSDAY.
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Nettles, Marc. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 6, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 3, 2004, newspaper, March 3, 2004; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253314/m1/3/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.