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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Will Holland, opinion editor dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 325-7630 • fax: 325-6051
COMMENT OF THE DAY »
“why should traffic fines be different? don’t we want equality in our society? what about the civil rights movement of the 1960s? the gay marriage debate? equal punishment for the
In response to Chris Dearner’s Monday column, “Fine price should match recipient’s income”
OUR VIEW
same traffic violation regardless of income, race, social standing, religion, sexual orientation, etc.” -kdbp1213
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
More student tickets should have been available for football season opener OU opens its football season against Brigham Young University Sept. 4 at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Student tickets for that game went on sale 7 a.m. Tuesday, and according to student accounts, they were sold out before 8 a.m. (see page 1 for details). OU reserved 1,000 tickets to sell to students, said Kenny Mossman, communications director for OU athletics. That number was based on estimates of how many tickets OU could sell, and Mossman said when he spoke to someone from the OU ticket office, he was told about 100 students who tried to buy tickets were unable because the tickets were sold out. That may be the case, but we think any OU student who wanted to go to the season opener should have had the opportunity to, especially when one considers the capacity of the stadium, close to 100,000.
This is the first game for OU, coming off an appearance in the national championship game, a Heisman Trophy winning year for its quarterback, and fan anticipation as high as ever. But perhaps only a little more than 1 percent of those in attendance are going to be current OU students? Now, maybe the guess that only 100 students who wanted tickets and couldn’t get them is accurate. But the tickets sold out in less than an hour, which shows a high demand. OU should have reserved more tickets to sell to students. What if they reserve 5,000 and only sell 1,100? It’s not like those extra 3,900 tickets can’t be sold to alums and non-students after students have had ample opportunities to purchase them. Because ultimately, OU’s responsibility should first and foremost be to its students.
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To the editor: The word “stunned” does no justice to my reaction to Joshua Huff’s Monday column. He begins by stating his superiority to one of Catholicism’s most respected philosophers (though that’s not saying much), then belittles various sciences while revealing the absolute lack of depth in his understanding of them, especially the concept of statistics. Following this with a heavy dose of name-dropping and cliché appeals to emotion, he builds up his grand argument: “If you can’t understand it, then you SHOULD believe in it.” The rest is no better, linking atheism to murder and abortion, mixing in further lack of scientific comprehension (“mathematical impossibility”) and ending with a blatant insult (“simple people”). I am sure that his main argument will be an inspiration to preachers and confidence criminals alike. As a scientist, however, I am not amused. The whole objective of science is to
understand as much of reality as possible. We always acknowledge that the current understanding is a simplification that will be refined in time. Following that model, I truly do not identify with the mentality that refuses to try and comprehend something, but rather states that it must be ineffable. That, to me, is the simple argument, and one unworthy of even a philosophy freshman. When combined with heavy usage of poorly-understood technical jargon and name-dropping, it becomes a textbook example of intellectual masturbation that hardly earns its adjective. I feel sorry for anyone, religious or not, who read it. Matt Hamilton geology and geophysics graduate student
STAFF COLUMN
RACISM REMAINS A PERSISTENT PROBLEM When my mother saw me for the first time at the end of last semester, she didn’t lecture me about my grades, or how often I called or how well I did my job. Her greatest qualm was with one thing: my hair. Indeed, my hair, which always remained cleanly cut when I was under her wing, hadn’t seen a barbershop for several months. It was curly, unruly and quite hard to tame. My mother was quite upset about this, and she reminded me all summer that I was to keep my hair in check JELANI when I returned to school. I would roll my eyes, as she ran SIMS through her monologue for the fiftieth time, and think, “I’m 20 years old, and it’s my prerogative to do with my hair whatever I want.” I couldn’t see why it was such a big deal that my hair stay cut at all times. With classes and various other responsibilities to take care of, the state of my hair definitely went on the backburner. I asked mother why she cared about my curly, stiff hair so much, and her answer was compelling. She pointed out that it looked better cut, I had many obligations and responsibilities that required me to look nice,
and, most importantly, I put myself in danger of racial profiling if I didn’t keep my scruffiness away. “Racial profiling? Really?” That would have been my response at a younger age. It’s the 21st century. People are past such juvenile distractions as treating people a certain way because of their appearance. However, as I have gotten older, I’ve realized that I can’t give everyone the benefit of the doubt and assume that they see me as one of them. Perhaps at times, all black people have inklings or worries about racial profiling. And perhaps most of the time, these worries are really nothing to worry about. Then, there are times when our worries seep into our reality. The nation was witness to this when Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested in his own home after he forced his jammed front door open. Gates is an upstanding man, a nationally recognized professor and host of the PBS special “African-American Lives.” In his pictures, he wears suits, has a cleanly shaved beard and a nice, neat haircut. Yet he still dealt with
the ignominy of being arrested because the neighbor thought he was a bad black man breaking into someone else’s home. Anyhow, I kept my hair cut over the summer and vowed to keep it cut every time mother broached the subject. My hair was cut to mother’s specifications in July when I arrived at the airport to catch a flight to Norman. I wore fitted jeans and a T-shirt that was the right size. I looked as put together as I could at 8 in the morning. I was flying on Southwest Airlines, and I stood by the proper pole, waiting to board the plane. Without warning, a man thrust his ticket in my face and said, “Hey there Mr. President, six comes before nine. Get to the back of the line.” I was already walking myself to the end of the line, swallowing nervously, before I fully realized what happened. Perhaps I had done wrong. But wait, there is no way to know what each person’s number is. I was simply standing next to the pole that said one through ten. And yet, this man had just mocked me and sent me to the back of the line. I chose not to let the event get to me, and comforted myself in the fact that I had done nothing wrong. I couldn’t help those who
were offended by my skin. Nor could I avoid such events merely by cutting my hair and wearing nice-fitting clothes. In fact, as I discussed the incident with my parents, one of the conclusions we came to was that my nice haircut and fitted clothes might have opened me up to discrimination. If I had looked like a thug with an afro, baggy pants and a tall-T, the man might not have approached me. However, because of my clean appearance, the man had no fear of treating me rudely. I didn’t look like someone who would get violent. Knowing this, I still got my hair cut like a good son this past weekend. Mother would be pleased. After all, I can only do it for her. Because, even though it is 2009, and even though the president of our country is half black; and even if I keep my hair cut and my clothes nice and decent, I still cannot avoid the sometimes negative experience of being a minority. The “change” that everyone is cheering for may slowly come, but many of us in this country still need a copy of the memo, and that is why I have brought all of this to your attention. Jelani Sims is a professional writing junior.
STAFF COLUMN
Aging roads could benefit from tolls, privatization of maintenance At the start of a new year we all have travelled far and wide, near and far to return to the great city of Norman. We have driven over long stretches of asphalt and concrete, and cruised over bridges and overpasses to resume our goals of completing our college eduCHRISTOPHER cation. During WILLIAMS our journey, between talking on our cell phones (using Bluetooth, I’m sure), and full on lip-synching whatever song some sensitive dude with a guitar was playing on the radio, did you happen to notice that America’s infrastructure is crumbling? The National Highway Trust Fund Act has been in the red for a while now. An unwillingness of Congress to raise fuel tax rates, increased fuel efficiency of later model vehicles and high gas
prices causing commuters to as- system became a way of moving sess and deliberate every trip for commercial goods and services necessity has left America with an throughout the country stimulataccumulation of ing our nationpot-holed high- As I have learned in life, al economy in ways as well as most things are dynamic, the 1960s and stressed bridges 1 9 7 0 s. It w a s and overpasses. not static. Highway funding all good back The inadequa- methods should be then; our parcies of the integ- dynamic also. ents had their rity of our highl e i s u re s u i t s, way infrastrucvinyl records ture has also, left this strapped and Pong. They also didn’t have (I refuse to say that I am poor) to worry about bridges collapsing graduate student with needed because the government couldn’t repairs to my car. afford to maintain the nuts and Because the National Highway bolts. Trust is bankrupt and a pothole As I have learned in life, most on I-35 wasn’t fixed, I have to things are dynamic, not statconsider doing the running man ic. Highway funding methods in 100-degree weather to entice should be dynamic also. Gone passersby to buy a pizza so I can should be the days when a trip pay to fix my car. back home or a trip to see your When D w ight Eisenhower grandmother who lives six hours pushed for a national highway away at the edge of nowhere system he did so with the inten- should be thought of as ostensition of creating a system to easily bly free. disperse needed goods for naIn the grand scheme of things tional defense. the damage to my car was nomiAnd not long after, the highway nal. However, you only have to
T=: O@A6=DB6 D6>AN Jamie Hughes Editor-in-Chief Meredith Moriak Managing Editor Charles Ward Assistant Managing Editor Ricky Ly Night Editor Will Holland Opinion Editor Michelle Gray, Merrill Jones Photo Editors
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remember what happened further north on the same interstate, in Minnesota, to see how things could really become costly. It’s clear to see that something needs to be done to generate more revenue for highway funding, and if you think it’s not, just look at the axel on my Mazda. I, for one, believe it is time for the government to allow private companies to purchase, build, fund and operate tolls along America’s interstates. Joseph Giglio the author of “Mobility: America’s Transportation Mess and How to Fix It,” agrees, having stated, “Technology exists that will allow us to embrace user fees to bridge the gap between transportation needs and available resources.” Tolling our interstate system would generate the revenue needed to adequately maintain our infrastructure. Roads would be smooth and we would not have to pray every time we see an 18 wheeler driving on the bridge we are about to
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pass under. Be honest; I know I am not the only person who does it. Private companies would be more efficient in administration and operations, and they would spur technological and design innovation while infusing states and municipalities with much needed capital to fund other projects. Not as important to some, I guess, is that the privatization of our interstates would create jobs, one of which I might get. Of course, the tolling of interstates may leave some without access and would add another charge to increasingly longer commutes. But how much more would we really pay considering the amount we already pay in maintenance costs to fix our vehicles so badly damaged from the roads we drive on? I know I’d rather pay the toll than dance in an attempt to get you to buy a pizza. Christopher Williams is a regional and city planning graduate student.
Guest columns are accepted at editor’s discretion. ’Our View’ is the voice of The Oklahoma Daily. Editorial Board members are The Daily’s editorial staff. The board meets Sunday through Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in 160 Copeland Hall. Columnists’ and cartoonists’ opinions are not necessarily the opinions of The Daily Editorial Board.