Page 10
The Blue Banner
February 17, 2005
Opinion
Where are the Campus Police when we need them?
Dustin Jordan
Stajf photographer/reporter
Where are you. Campus Police? 1 ask
because I am tired of parking in the lower
gravel parking lots because freshmen are
parking in the West Ridge parking deck.
Around 1 a.m. Feb. 9, I counted 14
freshmen parked in the parking deck.
Only two had parking tickets. Twelve
hours later, seven of those cars were still
there and had not been issued a new tick
et or a ticket at all. Three cars had the
same photocopied resident sticker num
ber R2100: a white Honda Accord, a blue
Jeep Liberty and a black Volkswagen
Jetta.
And, how long will you let freshmen
renew their temporary permits?
Section 9.3 of Parking Registration and
Permits No. 3 says, “A temporary permit
will be issued to any member of the cam
pus community whose registered vehicle
is being repaired and who is parking an
unregistered vehicle on campus. The
time limit for temporary permits is two
weeks.”
How often do you check this? I wonder
because 1 have seen several freshmen
parking illegally with these permits for
months now.
Where are you when residents call you
because of noise ordinances and drug
issues and you show nearly one hour
later?
I wonder where you were when all
those car tires were slashed last year.
Where were you when a female student
was in a Highsmith bathroom stall while
a man crawled on the floor toward her?
Did you catch the guy? Or did you just
send out an e-mail stressing females to be
careful on our “safe campus?”
I know where you are when all this
happens. You are sleeping in your squad
cars or speeding around campus.
I have seen both happen in my three
years here.
I have also seen your officers smoking
in the lobby of Vance Hall. For your
information, UNCA Smoking Policy
PPM No. 48 reads, “In order to protect
nonsmokers from the hazards of passive
smoke, smoking is prohibited in all
indoor areas at UNCA except residential
rooms.”
I realize you are understaffed, but
something needs to be done. When I
approached an officer last semester about
parking, he said he doesn’t bother ticket
ing when it rains. Does that give students
a free pass to park wherever when it
rains?
If so, look out for my car to be parked
next to the flagpole on the Quad.
Because of your slack, freshmen resi
dents now adhere to the parking notion
that it is acceptable to park illegally at
night, as long as they move their cars by
morning. Contrary to belief and Campus
Police’s lack of action, section 9.4 of
Parking Regulations No. 12 says, “Open
parking hours do not apply to resident
student parking lots.”
So, Campus Police, when will you take
action? I don’t even work for you, and I
seem to know more about freshmen park
ing than you do. Will you explain your
selves? Or will it take other students to
complain as well?
if so, I encourage all students legally
parking in the West Ridge parking struc
ture to write in as I have.
Meet the Banner staff:
The Banner's Features Editor Amanda Edwards and Lifestyles Editor Sara House share all
What are your job responsibilities at the
Blue Banner?
Sara: My job at the paper is Lifestyles editor,
astrology columnist and bartendress extraordi
naire.
Amanda: I come up with story ideas, assign
them to the writers, create the layout for the
section and do the initial edits to the stories.
famous four-veggie, double-layer baked ziti.
What are your plans for after you graduate?
Sara: To become rich and famous or to work for a
newspaper.
Amanda: What I really want to do is get paid to
write from the comfort of my couch or he a TV
watcher for Jimmy Kimmel Live.
What kind of music do you like?
Sara: I like lots of different stuff. Lately, I'm
feeling the rap, but I also love Magnetic Fields
and pi Harvey.
Amanda: Anything from Led Zeppelin to The
Allman Brother^ fd Skyrtyrd t6‘Johnny Cash. And a 'Ht-
tle bit of Dr. Dre every once and a while if I'm feeling
saucy.
Where are you from ?
Sara: I was bom in Texas, but grew up in Hawaii,
Los Angeles and Albuquerque.
Amanda: A little place called Weaverville.
Amanda Edwards
Features Editor
Sara House
lifestyles Editor
If you got a
and where?
tattoo today, what would it be
Amazing Rac," and "Six
Feet Under."
What’s the best class you ever took at UNCA ?
Sara: I already have two, but I would love some
kind of bracelet.
Amanda: Got one, don’t really need another.
What’s something not a lot of people know
about you?
What is your favorite TV show?
Sara: I really like my media aesthetics class with Dr.
Hantz, but mostly just because he's an awesome
teacher.
Amanda: Newswriting, because that's how I was
introduced to Dr. West, one of my heroes.
Sara: I grew up in the Hare Krishna and chanted to
Hindu gods.
Amanda: I'm a video game dork, and I’m very com
fortable with that.
Sara: I love “The Surreal Life” on VHl. I love the
American obsession with celebrity.
Amanda: I'm totally obsessed with "LOST," "The
What’s your favorite food?
Sara: I love Indian food. If it has the words masala,
chutne, or paneer. I'm loving it.
Amanda: Any kind of pasta, most recently my
If you could be any cartoon character, who
would you be?
Sara: A cross between Jessica Rabbit and Tank Girl.
Amanda: Marge Simpson.
Part I: Analyzing the flaws of conservative Christian thought
Jonathon Czarny
Columnist
If you are like me, you have noticed
some serious flaws in conservative think
ing, particularly from those who claim to
be Christians. Further, their blasphemous
twisting of religious doctrine in order to
justify national policies, particularly
Republican political stances concerning
abortion, gay marriage, war and capital
punishment appalls you.
It is my intention with this column to
do three things. First, to point out seri
ously damaging discrepancies in the rea
soning of the religious right, hopefully
bringing normally good people back to
the foundations of their faith. Second, to
give rational folks the insight and ammu
nition to win future discussions with self-
proclaimed conservative Christians.
Finally, to show how justifications for
war, capital punishment and bans against
abortion or gay marriage are antithetical
to true Christian values.
To begin, we must first define what it
means to be a Christian and decide the
ultimate goals of a good Christian life.
This is a very difficult task, considering
the numerous factions of Christianity and
the hundreds of interpretations of even
the simplest Bible passages.
Before going any further, I would like
to make one thing perfectly clear. I am
not speaking for Democrats, nor am I
speaking for liberals, nor any particular
faction of Christianity. I speak only of
behalf of rational truth, in the spirit of
Socrates, by examining my own under
standing of reality.
I am not fighting for your cause, unless
your cause is open discourse and truth.
You are safe in your little box, so please
excuse me while I venture outside of it.
So what does it mean to be a Christian?
In my view, a true Christian is someone
who acknowledges the divinity of Jesus
and accepts his life and sacrifice as the
ultimate example of the perfect human
life.
How should a Christian live? A true
Christian strives to follow Jesus’ teach
ings and life-example of forgiveness and
self-sacrifice. Thus, a true Christian is a
“follower of Christ.” The now cliched
question, “What would Jesus do?” is still
a viable and valuable question to ask
when determining moral actions. The
right thing to do, in any circumstance, is
to emulate Jesus. It follows that not doing
what Jesus would do is always wrong.
It doesn’t take much thought to realize
the enormity of such a task. To overcome
our mortal instincts—self-interest and
indulgence—or our emotions— jealousy,
anger, lust, etc., is the exact point of our
existence. This is quite a lofty bar to set
for ourselves, and the difficulty in over
coming these powerful emotions and
instincts is perhaps the very definition of
the human condition.
Moreover, when we fail to overcome
these decidedly human traits, we fail as
Christians. Failure to transcend these
mortal instincts is the very definition of
sin. In Spanish, the word “sin” translates
to mean “without.” I like this translation
and think it fits this discussion. Since I
am restructuring Christianity, I might as
well change the definition of sin.
Do not think of sinning as breaking a
moral or religious law. Instead, think of
sinning as an action without divine grace.
When we fail to follow Jesus’ teachings,
either purposefully or accidentally, we
are acting decidedly as humans, without
divine grace, and thus sinning.
Before I can show how the “religious
right” has missed these major points, I
must address a few other “givens” in
terms of true Christianity. Two very
important principles in true Christianity
involve the idea of free will and judg
ment.
First is the premise that it is not our
place to judge each other. “Judge not, lest
ye be judged.” This combined with the
command for us to not seek vengeance or
to force justice are the only two supports
holding up the idea of our lives as a test.
God must reserve these rights in order to
preserve free will.
Without free will, humans would not
exist, or, at the very least, we would
cease to be human at all. Free will is
paramount to salvation. Without free
will, heaven is not attainable, and the
purpose of life shifts dramatically away
from God’s intentions. It follows that
anything that would lead us away from
God is evil by nature.
Further, anything that restricts free will,
either directly or indirectly, in acmality
or in effect, undermines God’s design.
Moreover, any social policy that restricts
free will based on erroneous human
assumptions supercedes God’s authority,
effectively replacing God as ultimate
judge.
This could arguably be the worst sin
against God imaginable. In fact, this
might be the best definition of evil—
attempting to replace God.
For Part II, make sure to pick up a Banner next week
Get Published! ■
The Blue Banner seeks political cartoons for its opinion pages. Mail to: The Blue
Banner, Highsmith University Union 251, One University Heists, CPO
#1256, Asheville, NC 28804. Or, you can e-mail us at Banner@unca.edu or
just leave work in the folder outside of the office door.
Kyoto Protocol
takes effect with- 1
out US. support
by Sean Robinson
Campus Editor
As of midnight Feb. 16, the world witnessed
the coming to fruition of the first international
effort to curb pollution, manifest in the 199]
Kyoto Protocol.
One hundred and forty-one countries, an over
whelming majority of nations, agreed to the
accord that, now in effect, will strive to reduce
greenhouse emissions from developed countries
by 5.2 percent before the end of 2012. The event
is monumental and a victory for environmental
ists worldwide, but how much was won? The
sad truth is that the largest contributor to the
amount of greenhouse gas emissions that daily
bore larger and larger holes in the precious
ozone layer is none other than the most power
ful country in the world: us. The United States
of America would not sign.
I know that people have been complaining
about the U.S. policy on international compli
ance with environmental standards for a long
time, and maybe it’s a tired argument, but the
question still
remains: How
much of a victory ^
can really be won it ITlOrC
for anything
ne
id:
th
li
Itl
internationally important tO
when the most •*-
powerful country keCP homOSeX-
in the. worlH ^
in the world
refuses to lead from mai-
the way to pro
gressive policy? rying or to
I would like to
propose that no kcCP thc WOrW
matter how many ^
conciliatory ^ healthv placc
moral victories ^ ^ ^
like these are ^O livC for OUI-
won all over the
globe, none of sclvCS and OUF
them will
amount to any
thing more than a
show of hands
posterity
until the self-proclaimed leader of the free world
decides to stop acting like a spoiled third grader
and share the responsibility of caring for the
planet with the rest of the international commu
nity.
This goes for all aspects of international poli
tics, and not just for environmental issues. The
United States has to stop waging war unilateral
ly, ignoring the policies of the U.N. and perpet
uating the inequalities between rich and poor
within our own borders before the international
community affords us any respect.
We must decide to be the Idnd of nation that
values the lives of human beings across all bor
ders and of future generations. Ideas like the
Kyoto Protocol don’t even impose a financial
penalty for non-compliance, a policy more than
likely aimed to lure countries like the U.S. into
signing. Such a small level of commitment is
being asked for us in this baby step toward an
environmentally conscious future. Shouldn’t we
be willing to undertake such a small task to pre
vent such a potentially disastrous end as what is
threatened by continued global warming?
The answer is simple to free-thinking people,
capable of empathy for the world in which we
live. It is not simple to oil-hungry, war-monger-
ing Republican domineers like George W. Bush.
So the next time we’re all given the opportu
nity to choose a leader, ask yourself this ques
tion: Is it more important to keep homosexuals
from marrying or to keep the world a healthy
place to live for ourselves and our posterity;
Then, do yourself a favor, and don’t vote for a
Republican.
Spring ‘05 Banner staff
Kristen Rugger!
Editor-in-Chiej
Maribeth Kiser Rachel Wright
News Editor Copy Editor
Amanda Edwards
Features Editor
Chris Cantos
Copy Editor
Healher Anderson
Sports Editor
Diana Pittman
Copy Editor
Sean Robinson
Campus Editor
Kate Gunthorpe
Copy Editor
Sara House
Lifestyles Editor
Tyler Breaux
Photo Editor
Erin Curtis
Copy Editor
Chris Johnson
Ciradation Manasp
“It
I
11
)\
lU
\
oca
hg
ler
dir
poi
Bus
oft;
em
ecfc
Pi
leei
on
5ri
ixtr
oh
A
etii
ler'
Dal
laii
oc;
A
iQd
mt
ISp;
free
Ihe
be?
W
itve;
Jason Holbert
Id Manager
Bobby Walters
Online Editor
ispii
Leigh
Marketing
Baragona
ig Manager
Kristan Searcy
Business Matiagt’^
i all
Plei
Bonnie
nie Sellers
iging Editor
Michael Gouge
Faculty Advisof
S
to'.
the