By James Beaulieu
Special to the Critic
Thomas Jefferson once said, “A little revolution every now and then is a good thing,” and when I look out over this campus I see that we need one. The government that is in place to help the students here, SGA, is not helping us the regular student at all. That when there is a student issue that needs to be addressed the SGA is unavailable to help us. That with there commitment to the club and the groups here on campus, and the common student gets over looked.
The thing is that the SGA is unavailable to the common student. They have there meetings with the club and students reps and no one really knows who they are. So how can we as a school community communicate with our government which has “us” in there mind.
Well it seems the only way I can think of is by doing this. Evoking my first amendment right and write about it. There are other ways we can get our message to the SGA. We need to stand up as a school and ask for change. The Declaration of Independence says “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”
This means if we don’t like the way the SGA is being run then we need to get rid of and institute one that has a better connection to its students. The answer isn’t give it more power but to give it a new order and purpose, to make it what it should be. This is a student government; so let the students run it and have more say in it then the administration.
I know it is not all the SGAs’ fault; a lot of it falls on the students themselves. I hear people complaining about current polices here on campus. Well, if you don’t like them, or want change, you need to be open and express those feelings to the SGA. The way to change things is to stand up for what you believe in and not just to bow down and take it. If you don’t like what’s going on its your right as students and Americans to stand up and try to make a difference.
So maybe this could be a call for reform and revolution. Take it as you will. But I see that the SGA needs to be abolished and remade into the image of what the students need. One where the students have more voice and where CAB is no longer the focus of the SGA. With CAB out of the picture then we can have real issues that matter to the student body and not to one group or another. The meetings should be in a town hall style where the common student can come and express there thoughts, ideas, and grievances to the SGA without hesitation and fear of being turned away.
If you see what I see, and feel what I feel, then you need to speak up. That’s the message here. Speak up. If we speak up then change can happen and that’s what this school needs. I can no longer stand by and watch this student body lose its voice in the school. I am willing to stand up and fight for change here and now, the real question is which one of you will be willing to stand next to me and fight?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Smackdown your vote
Timothy Kemp
Opinion Columnist
We are now only a couple months from electing a new president to lead us to greatness here in the United States of America, and I encourage all of you go out let your voice be heard.
We are the richest and most powerful nation in the world, and we have the ability to choose our own leader. Who am I going to vote for? To be honest, I can definitely smell what Barack is cookin'.
Yes, that's right. I feel that we are ready to have our first African-American president. He wants to get universal health care, which I think our country desperately needs.
Although I can understand why we should have to pay if we get sick or injured, all I can think about is if I get seriously hurt and need help, the last thing I want to worry about is if I am financially covered. For those of you who have seen the movie John Q, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen that film, I strongly encourage you to do so. It's one of those movies that make you think a lot.
Anyway, Obama is also in favor of bringing our troops home from Iraq. Now I am not a hater of George Bush at all. I know why he decided to go over to the Middle East, but I just personally think that it is time for us to wrap this thing up.
Our country should not be playing "World Police" and trying to stop every bad thing that happens in other countries. We have been over there for seven years now, and whatever hasn't been accomplished in that time is probable not going to be done anytime soon.
It is possible that if we end terrorism there, more terrorism will probably happen in other parts of the world. We need to be concentrating on our own issues here in America.
Whether or not you agree with me is not the important thing. This country is the greatest of all time because we have the ability to share our opinions and decide who is going to represent us as our leader. I hope all of you go out and make history this November. Don't ever think your voice doesn't matter because it absolutely does.
Superstar of the week
Each week I will pick the superstar that has impressed me the most in wrestling. This week I have two. First off there is Santino Marella who is the reigning Intercontinental Champion. This guy is an absolute riot, who goes out and just makes an absolute fool of himself on national television, and the crowd just loves to hate this guy. It's funny to watch. He is the Andy Kaufman or Roddy Piper of this generation in that he is both a bad guy, and the most beloved at the same time. My second superstar of the week is Kelly-Kelly. This diva has gone from being a mediocre dancer on ECW to being a great in-ring performer on Monday Night Raw. She got a pinfall victory over "The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix, which is a huge upset.
Opinion Columnist
We are now only a couple months from electing a new president to lead us to greatness here in the United States of America, and I encourage all of you go out let your voice be heard.
We are the richest and most powerful nation in the world, and we have the ability to choose our own leader. Who am I going to vote for? To be honest, I can definitely smell what Barack is cookin'.
Yes, that's right. I feel that we are ready to have our first African-American president. He wants to get universal health care, which I think our country desperately needs.
Although I can understand why we should have to pay if we get sick or injured, all I can think about is if I get seriously hurt and need help, the last thing I want to worry about is if I am financially covered. For those of you who have seen the movie John Q, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen that film, I strongly encourage you to do so. It's one of those movies that make you think a lot.
Anyway, Obama is also in favor of bringing our troops home from Iraq. Now I am not a hater of George Bush at all. I know why he decided to go over to the Middle East, but I just personally think that it is time for us to wrap this thing up.
Our country should not be playing "World Police" and trying to stop every bad thing that happens in other countries. We have been over there for seven years now, and whatever hasn't been accomplished in that time is probable not going to be done anytime soon.
It is possible that if we end terrorism there, more terrorism will probably happen in other parts of the world. We need to be concentrating on our own issues here in America.
Whether or not you agree with me is not the important thing. This country is the greatest of all time because we have the ability to share our opinions and decide who is going to represent us as our leader. I hope all of you go out and make history this November. Don't ever think your voice doesn't matter because it absolutely does.
Superstar of the week
Each week I will pick the superstar that has impressed me the most in wrestling. This week I have two. First off there is Santino Marella who is the reigning Intercontinental Champion. This guy is an absolute riot, who goes out and just makes an absolute fool of himself on national television, and the crowd just loves to hate this guy. It's funny to watch. He is the Andy Kaufman or Roddy Piper of this generation in that he is both a bad guy, and the most beloved at the same time. My second superstar of the week is Kelly-Kelly. This diva has gone from being a mediocre dancer on ECW to being a great in-ring performer on Monday Night Raw. She got a pinfall victory over "The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix, which is a huge upset.
Response to the smoking ban
Amanda Racine
Special to the Critic
That smell stays with you, all the way to your car. It holds onto the clothes you wear, and the little butts stick to the bottoms of your shoes.
Sure, the smoking ban was put into affect near the Res. Halls and near the academic buildings, but what about the parking lots?
For people who live in Stonehenge, it’s a trek up the hill and through the hundreds of cigarette butts spread on the ground.
There are the signs that are up throughout the campus “No Smoking” but what about when Public Safety isn’t around at 3:00 a. m. and there’s a group of people smoking in the courtyard?
There have been many attempts to solve this issue between the smokers and the non-smokers one of them being just to move the gazebo to the parking lot, and make them go there if they need a smoke.
This option to keep smoking to the parking lots only seems to work during the daytime.
“I think that the smoking ban is a good idea,” Polly Schwarz, a sophomore here at LSC, said.
“I think that it would be fair if there was one more place, because kids just sneak around and smoke anywhere because there are so few places they are allowed to be in.”
By moving the smoking gazebo, they have created another problem; trashing the parking lots. There is glass, beer bottles, cans, cigarette butts, fast food bags, and remnants of many different things littering the Stonehenge parking lot.
“The parking lot is full of trash and needs to be repaved badly,” Schwarz said. “I’m terrified of popping a tire on my car. It’s not like the school will pay for a new 100 dollar tire,” Schwarz said.
There isn’t much Lyndon can do about the smoking ban, there will always be smokers on campus. The only thing that Lyndon can do is try to accommodate both parties and everyone in between. To those who park and smoke in the parking lots: can you please clean up after yourself?
Special to the Critic
That smell stays with you, all the way to your car. It holds onto the clothes you wear, and the little butts stick to the bottoms of your shoes.
Sure, the smoking ban was put into affect near the Res. Halls and near the academic buildings, but what about the parking lots?
For people who live in Stonehenge, it’s a trek up the hill and through the hundreds of cigarette butts spread on the ground.
There are the signs that are up throughout the campus “No Smoking” but what about when Public Safety isn’t around at 3:00 a. m. and there’s a group of people smoking in the courtyard?
There have been many attempts to solve this issue between the smokers and the non-smokers one of them being just to move the gazebo to the parking lot, and make them go there if they need a smoke.
This option to keep smoking to the parking lots only seems to work during the daytime.
“I think that the smoking ban is a good idea,” Polly Schwarz, a sophomore here at LSC, said.
“I think that it would be fair if there was one more place, because kids just sneak around and smoke anywhere because there are so few places they are allowed to be in.”
By moving the smoking gazebo, they have created another problem; trashing the parking lots. There is glass, beer bottles, cans, cigarette butts, fast food bags, and remnants of many different things littering the Stonehenge parking lot.
“The parking lot is full of trash and needs to be repaved badly,” Schwarz said. “I’m terrified of popping a tire on my car. It’s not like the school will pay for a new 100 dollar tire,” Schwarz said.
There isn’t much Lyndon can do about the smoking ban, there will always be smokers on campus. The only thing that Lyndon can do is try to accommodate both parties and everyone in between. To those who park and smoke in the parking lots: can you please clean up after yourself?
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