Letters to the Editor
| Written by Dean Houchen |
| Friday, 05 December 2008 10:18 |
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In the December 3, 2008 issue of the Branding Iron Wiley Combs column “Big business … just plain lazy?” happened to catch my attention. I believe Mr. Combs’ idea of a perfect world, where no one would have to work, is contradictory to the examples he uses to support his argument.
He claims to know a person that has claimed bankruptcy twice, but has received no assistance from the federal government like the auto industry in Detroit is currently seeking. If his friend has declared bankruptcy twice, the blame should be put directly on his shoulders. Maybe he has taken Mr. Combs’ approach to being lazy and not having to work for a living too much to heart. I mean, America was founded and made successful by the workingman and woman. The people that work 40 hours a week making so- called “useless products” as Mr. Combs refers to may not enjoy their jobs. But they do their job because they know they have to provide for themselves and their families.
On the same note, I am a college kid going to school full-time. What would I know about work? Right. Well I am currently enrolled in 14 credit hours at the university, while working a custodial job for the university putting in around 30 extra hours of work a week. This job may be one of the ones Mr. Combs believes “produces essentially nothing.” But if more people like Mr. Combs appreciated the hard work and sweat that go into the products that they use every day, he, as well as others, might have a little more respect for the custodian that cleans the restrooms, the assembly worker that builds the car or the farmer that harvests the grain that goes into their food every day.
Dean Houchen
Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management
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| Written by Anna Guyton |
| Wednesday, 19 November 2008 09:33 |
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Dear Editor,
To recognize National Hunger and Homelessness week, a committed group of students is occupying Simpson’s Plaza this week to collect canned food and other non-perishable food for the local food bank.
We are the founding members of The Good Mule Project – a student initiative you’ll be hearing a lot more about over the next few months. If students are interested in getting involved on campus with issues surrounding social justice and environmental sustainability, they should ask one of us at the table for an application for an upcoming student activist training conference sponsored by TGM.
Many students might be surprised to know that in 2006, 10.6 percent of Wyoming households were food insecure, and 10.3 percent of the population was in poverty. Out of a population of 489,486, that means that at least 17,295 people in this state were food insecure and 50,417 were in poverty. Imagine being in their shoes during long, cold Wyoming winters. Fortunately, there are many easy and inexpensive ways that you can help.
Even if every student only brought two cans to the table this week, we could make sure that every hungry and homeless person in Wyoming has something to eat for their Thanksgiving dinner. Is there anything in the cupboard that you don’t often eat? Are there any care-package goodies you don’t really like?
Even if you don’t have anything at home, you can find many canned foods and non-perishable foods like tuna, canned vegetables, tomato sauces, “PastaRoni,” and “Rice-a-Roni” for less than a dollar. Pick up a couple extra things while you’re at the store this week to help give someone a nice holiday dinner. I don’t know of any student that would want to perpetuate the hunger and homelessness we have in our state and in our country, so please do something about it, and spread the word about our canned food drive this week. Thank you on behalf of every life you’ll be making better.
Sincerely,
Anna Guyton
The Good Mule Project
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| Written by Rollin Winter |
| Friday, 14 November 2008 09:27 |
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I was very dissappointed when I read Charlie Wheeler's article in the opinion column of the Nov. 13 issue of the Branding Iron. In his article he did have some good points, among them the fact that no matter how much we argue about the recent elections and what the future will bring, we have no idea of what is going to happen. It's the same old debate that happens every four years fueled by other factors this year due to the race of President-Elect Barack Obama. However, my opinion of Mr. Wheeler and his attitude of superiority quickly dropped when he began to profile a group of people while berating them for their attitude towards others. Granted, I didn't grow up in the all-tolerating environment of Jackson Hole, but it seems to me that hypocrisy is an attribute that usually accompanies racism, and it is generally accepted that profiling is the same as racism. We are all entitled to our own opinions, and we don't have to like everybody or get along with everybody, but it seems to me that by profiling cowboys and agriculture kids, Mr. Wheeler has drug himself down to the level of those he professes to be better than.
Rollin Winter
Senior, Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management
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| Written by Matthew Riehl |
| Thursday, 13 November 2008 09:45 |
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Imagine being summoned against your will to appear before a tribunal to defend your “suitability.”
You are never told what the accusations are. You are never allowed to confront your accuser. The tribunal decides you are not “suitable” and renders its judgment against you.
This is not a scene from “Kafka” or “The Crucible.” This is what happened to me at the College of Law last year.
The Board of Advocates is a student-run, faculty-advised organization that facilitates competitions at the College of Law. The bylaws set out its duties, responsibilities and procedures.
I had been involved in a harmless prank, having nothing to do with the board. But, due to a conflict of interest involving a board member and school politics, the board decided to get involved.
According to the bylaws, the board had no authority to summon me. Assuming they did, any action was time-barred, I had the right to see the accusations and I was entitled a trial-type hearing. They denied me all these rights.
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| Written by Greg Ranft |
| Thursday, 13 November 2008 09:42 |
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Just because people disagree with Dick Cheney’s policies as vice president does not diminish the benefits of his generous philanthropy to this university and the fact that, like it or not, he is arguably the most distinguished alumnus of UW, along with his wife Lynne.
As the White House Chief of Staff for Gerald Ford, Secretary of Defense under the first Bush (and consequently during Desert Storm), representative of Wyoming in the U.S. House for an entire decade (where he also served as the Minority Whip) and Vice President of the U.S. for eight years, he has been serving the public for over three decades and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian award in the U.S.) in 1991. He also served as CEO of Halliburton for five years in the 90s.
I feel that we should be proud to have such an accomplished alumnus. Whether or not you consider him to be “Darth Vader” is irrelevant.
As for the negative consequences of naming a building after him, do you really think international students are going to turn down a college education in America because they see a building with the word “Cheney” on it? I seriously doubt it.
The name of the proposed Cheney International Center is not the embarrassment to UW; this pointless, politically motivated crusade is, and the sooner people stop whining about it, the sooner we can use the money he gave to do something that is actually of benefit to this great university.
Junior, Architectural Engineering
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