EDITOEIALS
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
By:Margaret Mason Tate
I grew up the child of two self-pro-
claimed “yellow dog Democrats” in an old
money town in arguably one of the reddest
states in the union—South Carolina. And being
that liberal in a place that still maintains that
Lindsay Graham is not gay, that it “really was
a shame” that Strom Thurmond didn’t win the
presidential election in 1948, and that tried to
pass a resolution in the House that would fund
a statue of a six-foot-tall fetus to memorialize
the aborted was no easy task. My parents taught
me early on that while it is honorable and good
to protest war/fight for LBGT rights/hold vigil
in Columbia on the nights the state executed
people, the single best thing we could do to
support what we believed in was to be hyper
deliberate when spending our money.
It is for this reason that I didn’t often eat
food from Wendy’s or Domino’s, or wander the
ever-expanding aisles of Wal-Mart, or purchase
gasoline at Exxon or Mobil filling stations. And
it didn’t matter that Domino’s had the best deals
or that the closest gas station to my house was
not, in fact, a BP—until I came to St. Andrews
and all of the money I was spending was my
own, they made sure their money was going to
places they respected and agreed with politi
cally and environmentally.
Not everyone, however, has parents
quite as. . .careful—nay, obsessive!—as mine
about which stores and corporations they pa
tronize. And that’s OK. But now that we St. An
droids begin to carefully peek past the invisible
curtain on the campus property line out into The
Real World, we might start examining not only
what it is we believe—but how to effectively
convey those beliefs with our spending habits.
Let’s start simple; if you’re watching
CNN and you find out McDonald’s has begun
slaughtering baby kangaroos to cut costs, and
you happen fo be a big fan of not,killing kan
garoos, stop patronizing McDonald’s. Don’t
buy food there, don’t stop at the drive-thru for
a Coke, and don’t purchase those fun Happy
Meal toys for your little brother’s Christmas
stocking. No means no. But Mason, you’re
asking, dear reader, How can I possibly know
which corporations support which causes and
political/environmental platforms? Good ques
tion, reader Read on.
Here is a list of restaurants, businesses
and stores that donate a great deal of money to
the National Republican Party and its candi
dates each fiscal year: Wal-Mart, Wendy’s, Out
back Steak House, Domino’s Pizza, Red Lob
ster, Olive Garden, Eckerd, CVS, Walgreen’s.
Curves for Women, GE, Exxon/Mobil. And if
you’re not sure whether or not you personally
support the Republican party, here’s a crib sheet
provided by http://www.ontheissues.org: Death
penalty—for it. Abortion—Against it. Gay Mar
riage—Against It, Socialized Healthcare—Hate
it. War on Drugs—All about it. Environment—
Promote market-based solutions. You can do
this simple research for any political party or
issue by searching for your favorite companies,
finding out which parties, candidates, and issues
those companies support, and then researching
how those parties, candidates and issues align
themselves with what you believe in.
Specifically, though, there are some
things that we can generally agree on, despite
parties or other affiliations. (Note that I did say
generally.. .) For instance, most people I have
spoken to are in agreement that it is immoral
for companies to exploit cheap labor and even
child labor in third world countries. This means
that workers employed by certain companies
with factories in third worid countries are being
given inadequate and disproportionate wages,
working inordinate amount of hour^, (sometimes
nineteen-and-a-half hours per day) and are
working in deplorable physical conditions with
no healthcare, overtime pay or unions. Two ex
amples of companies that allegedly do this are
Nike and Wal-Mart.
Another thin that most of us agree on
is the subject of environmental conservation.
Many people think that there is a patchouli-
scented, tie-dyed, Birkenstocked stigma at
tached with environmentalism, but there doesn’t
have to be. Simply by purchasing products
made by environmentally-friendly companies,
you can help the environment by forcing com
panies in competition with their eco-friendly
counterparts to pick up the slack and get
Green—if for no other reason than to appease
the gods of the Free Market. Companies that
have been repeatedly recognized for their envi
ronmental contributions are: Newman’s Own,
Tom’s of Maine, Kiss My Face, Burt’s Bees,
Amy’s Brand, Apple, Inc., and Annie’s Brand.
Toyota and Honda are also rising to the top of
eco-friendly automobile manufacturers because
of the advent of the hybrid car. Even when you
travel, you can be environmentally conscious:
check out http://www.environmentallyfriendly-
hotels.com/ to see if where you regulariy stay
“checks out.”
St. Andrews, I know that ours is not a
generation recognized for its activism; in fact,
we are quickly becoming recognized not for our
efforts but because we often refuse to assign
ourselves to causes and issues that impact us,
our country, and our planet. By becoming aware
of the political, social, and environmental agen
das of the companies we support monetarily,
we can spell out our own beliefs in tender and
coinage. I urge you to take the time to check out
your favorite brand, company, clothing line or
restaurant to see if you believe the causes they
support. By being purposeful in what we do—
and do not—choose to spend money on, we can
make a statement louder than any picket sign.
-t
1 According to http://www.boycottrepublicans.
com
2 According to http://www.library.thinkquest.
org
HALLOWEEN STOEIES
A Journal Entry of a Mourning Husband
By: Marshall Fuller
My name is Tim Robbins, my wife
was Gloria Summers, her real name was Glo
ria Robbins, but she changed it to seem more
available. Anyway she was the 23 victim of the
notorious serial killer Ted Cox, aka photogra
pher Ted.
Photographer Ted was from South Caro
lina, he had one goal in life: to become the most
famous photographer in the world. Going from
community college to community college with
a major in photography he eventually ended
up in Los Angeles. He thought to become the
worid’s greatest photographer he had to live
in Los Angeles. They never accepted him as
a photographer Models, other photographers,
all the same. They thought he was poor, rural.
Southern, backwoods, with a camera. After five
years of being an Uncle Tom doormat he got a
job with a private agency.
It seemed things were just starting to
go right for Ted Cox, but five years of taking
peoples comments and eating it, breakfast,
lunch and dinner Well he decided to start his
comment free diet. He referred to it as his
Helter Skelter masterpiece. The first victim
was Lynn Rosentano, she was a lingerie model.
Ted knew how Los Angeles worked if you
want something, you have to give something in
return. Lynn Rosentano did just that, after she
slept with Ted, he drowned her in the shower
and then slit her wrist and photographed her
This would be the beginning of his work, and
the end of hers.
After this he killed more, it got to the
point were you would see the crime photos on
TV and in the papers every couple of weeks.
This angered Ted because the crime photog
raphers could never get it right. He started
leaving his photos at the crime scenes with a
note. The note would read I am tired of your
crime scenes messed up photos, use these com
pliments of your neighborhood photographer,
photographer Ted.
Eventually he got to my wife, number
23; Gloria and I were married for 3 years. She
was only faithful to me for 1. She was always
looking for someone to make her feel beautiful,
even if only for half an hour. I tried to make
her feel beautifiil, but despite my best efforts, I
couldn’t. She became one of Ted’s models, and
later one of his victims. Ted was inspired by
the Jack the Ripper murders. After my wife he
kept it up until he hit number 80. The papers
wrote this was the worst killing spree since the
Manson family. The day he was arrested he
achieved his goal, he became the greatest pho
tographer in the world.
It was on a Sunday, the LAPD found
him in his private studio. The walls were
all white with pictures of his victims spread
throughout them. The words of a madman were
written all over the walls “kill them all, Helter
Skelter” The floor had clear plastic with blood
on it from where his victims once lay. Lying on
the floor was a journal of all his victims and a
photo album. The photo album was taken into
evidence, his journal entries sold next to the
Bible. He loved to tell the reporters “One pic
ture is worth a thousand words, everybody will
be talking about my work for a very long time.”
He was put on trial and found guilty.
Luckily, California reinstated the death pen
alty and the chair I was there the night of his
execution. When Ted was asked for his last
words, he laughed at us and said “Look at all of
you wishing you could pull the lever. You’re
just like me, but with no camera. If you had a
camera you would take that picture because you
know it will last longer than your memories.”
After it was done I got a chance to go in
the execution room, because I knew somebody.
That guy was right, I took a picture and I placed
in my mirror so that I can look at it every morn
ing when I wake, and every night when I sleep.
I guess I am just like him.
Photo courtsey oj Rooney i 'ojjman