EDITORIALS 3
Informed Voting:
The Great American Responsibility
The excuses are endless.
It is too much work. My vote won’t
matter anyway. I do not like either of the
people running. All politicians are liars.
They will not follow through with their
promises so there is no way to know who
to vote for. Both people will just mess up
the country. It does not matter what party
they represent, Presidents will lie. Money
controls the country, not politics. My fami
ly tells me which party to vote for. The
issues will not affect my daily life.
There are countless reasons why
people refuse to learn the issues of elec
tions. In a time of extreme economic
crises, multiple international military con
flicts, and changing social relationships it
is mortifying to hear so many of my peers
express these sentiments. Most people
are comfortable admitting that voting is
important, but strangely enough people
are less likely to admit that learning about
the candidates and their issues is even
more important. Voting is great and an
important American right, but it corre
sponds to an even more important
American responsibility.
As Americans with tremendous
By Caitlin Haney
capabilities for obtaining information there
is no reason why an individual cannot
easily, and almost effortlessly, become at
least minimally informed about the main
issues in politics today. Freedom of press
is a privilege belonging to only a minis
cule percentage of world citizens, yet
Americans refuse to take advantage of
the broad scope of opinions available.
Some students suffer from a
diverse range of unawareness. The worst
kind involves complete lack of explo
ration. These individuals are often com
pletely ignorant of things going around
them, even lacking recognition of the
problems. Then there are those who at
least aware of the problems yet lack intel
ligent opinions or insight. Some people
have a general idea as to how they feel
about issues, but fail to do any research
into the different aspects of the issue at
hand. These individuals may only listen
to new programs that express the same
opinions they hold, or they fail to question
bias sources found on the internet. Most
do not even know from where the infor
mation originates. With so many sources
from which politicians derive information it
is easy to avoid ideas that conflict with
one’s own. But many do not realize that
confrontation with a conflicting idea can
actually reaffirm one’s own stance on an
issue. Such confrontations force the indi
vidual to take a second look at what may
have originally been taken for granted,
forcing a conscious choice as to whether
or not you will accept a doctrine in its
entirety. It is also possible that under
closer scrutiny one may discover faults
within an idea after all.
Only by taking at least a minimal
look at multiple opinions about a problem
can someone really consider being
informed about an issue. Then, and only
then, are people really exercising their
right to vote as American citizens. For
many students at St. Andrews the 2008
election is the first time they will be
allowed to vote in a national election. It is
crucial not to take this opportunity lightly;
everyone should live up to the American
responsibility of becoming an informed
voter.
Fall Fashion Trends
By Kelsey Moody
The leaves are turning and its get
ting cold, which can only mean one
thing—fall is here! This brings up the
dreaded decision of what to wear. This
fall its all about bold statement jewelry, a
little bit of 80s, some feathers and fur,
extremely high heels, and anything pur
ple. The key to owning these fall trends is
not to be afraid. When you look through
magazines and you see a trend that
sparks your eye, go for it! If people look
at your in a weird way, let them stare!
Maybe they will get the hint and realize
they need to get aboard the fashion train.
Always remember that everyday is like a
fashion show; the world is your very own
runway.
Get Hip:
A few of
fall’s latest
must-
haves.
Picture
courtesy of
Kelsey
Moody
Education: Making it Worth Your While
By Lisa Garber
“I can’t stand silence.” Seated at my
kitchen counter, Laura Long shakes her
head while anticipating the roll of sushi I
promised her for taking part in my inter
view.
‘Td rather listen to an opinionated
person yap all period than struggle to
make people talk all the time.” As I slice
the homemade Philly roll (salmon, cream
cheese, and onion) into bite-size, fellow
Senior Caitlin Haney adds, “It's like a vacu
um. You can put all the ideas you want
out there, but if they don’t bounce back,
you've got nothing.”
Can you imagine a lawyer—
someone defending someone's life—being
too lazy to read a book? Does it make
you cringe when you think of an athlete
who plays into the stereotype by riddling
his or her written assignments (the few he
or she turns in) with spelling, grammatical.
and factual errors? How about a general
education major—who will one day teach
our own children—who doesn’t care to
show up to class on time, never mind stay
awake for its duration? Quest I Teaching
Assistants like Long and Haney, and
Resident Assistants like Caitlyn Johnson
wrestle with these fears daily, and, frankly,
they’re a little worried.
“One of the things that bothers
me the most,” Johnson laments in an
online interview, “is the way students seem
to be able to justify the way they waste
their college careers by not attending class
meetings, writing mediocre papers, spend
ing many a night intoxicated without also
taking the time to execute the various
responsibilities which come with being a
student.”
Long considers the possibility that
many students, especially but not limited to
underclassmen, have yet to switch from
methodical high school to the explorative
and more mature experience of college.
She is incredulous, however, that some St.
Andrews students have made it this far.
Frankly, so am I.
“Kids use ‘U’ for ‘you,’ or the num
ber two (2) for ‘too,’” a self-described ‘flab
bergasted’ Long says. “They don’t capital
ize letters at the beginning of a sentence.
They write papers and e-mails to their pro
fessors like they’re still on IM (Instant
Messaging).”
In other words, many students
have failed to recognize St. Andrews as
college instead of a blog, and have not
processed the explicit rule of written sub
missions: they must be professional and
well-researched. This is not Wikipedia.
And in case you think Wikipedia is a schol
arly source, here’s (Continued on page 7)