Opinions
Page 2 November 15, 2007 • The Purple & White
Editorial: Opinionated voting, enacting change Every week, two pages of the Purple & White are devoted to the opinions of any Millsapian willing to put them in print. While we certainly encourage everyone to keep sending in opinions, let us also look at one of the many other ways your voices can be heard – namely, voting. Political, environmental, ethical and all other manner of opinions can be expressed through those elected. Numbers from previous years indicate that around half of the student body generally votes in the Student Body Association elections. To make a point: Do only half of the students here have things they would like to see change on campus? It seems that apathy and the fullyripened complaint are far more prevalent than are the changes our opinionated student body often envisions and express here. To give credit where credit is due, many people do make personal choices and voting decisions based on the changes they wish to see made. Many still complain, however, without fully exhausting the formal channels set up to make changes based on student opinions. The main channel refered to is that of the Student Body Association. The positions held within the SBA are not only based on your votes, but the people that will hold them are your friends and peers. As a college, we must speak out about the changes that truly need to be made. It is equally important, however, to speak to the
The
Purple & White
right people – those we elect. In short, we must vote for those that will listen and strive for change. Each student generally has four – at most, five – years to make their mark at Millsaps. By starting clubs, organizations, support groups, funds for their causes, etc., many students do make their mark; others simply don’t care, have other passions or are too busy trying to graduate while “learning how to think” and “writing across the curriculum.” Although somewhat dramatic in print, the truth is that if changes are to be made in a student’s allotted four years, the right people must be in the right positions. The only way that can happen is if students first take
the time to consider the candidates and vote accordingly. Many people say that those that do not vote must give up their voices to complain and express their opinions. Perhaps that statement is too strong – after all, it seems that the best complaints ultimately cause people to run for office and vote, which in turn fuel many great changes. As good Millsapians, we should be making our respective marks in this little world; we cannot do this, however, if the elected officials represent only half of us. Make this election different; make sure the resulting leaders represent more votes counted – namely, yours.
Broadening horizons, ‘Fore!’
Liz Starrett Contributor
I have been a student at Millsaps since last fall. As a transfer student I was at first lost trying to find out where to go and what to do. I quickly learned that Millsaps was a small community and once you were here for a little while you easily knew what was going on with everything. I’m sure you have had a similar experience, you hear about everything around here. The crazy finish at the homecoming game…the Delta Underground… the Internet outage that won’t go away…and the women’s golf team. What? Wait, you didn’t hear about the women’s golf team…you didn’t even know Millsaps had a women’s golf team? I’m guessing you are not alone,
most of my friends didn’t know we had one either, until they learned I was on the team. You won’t see our tournaments posted on the huge calendar outside the Caf’, or see our scores scrolling with the rest on channel 18, and you probably won’t see anything about us in the Purple & White (except this article), but yes we do exist. Coach Dr. Kurt Thaw helped me out with a brief history of the team. Four years ago women’s golf at Millsaps was on the verge of extinction with only one player on the team and a fast exodus by the lonely coach. A call was made for someone in the Millsaps community to try and save this once gloried sport and rebuild the team. With a grass roots effort spearheaded by freshman (now senior) Felicia Mo and stand-in coach Thaw a team of 4 players made the women’s golf roster in 2004. Over the past three years the team has seen its share of talent with notable players such as Betsy Powell, Dorothy Lanier and this year’s team leader Mirel Brackin. However, like many minor sports the challenge has been and continues to be recruitment and retention. Powell graduated in 2005. Lanier played just one season. Thaw also adds that this season could be the year for a change in
the team’s luck. Mirel has continued to improve, both in her scores on the course and as a leader on the team. New players Natalie Boudreax and Liz Donovan have joined last year’s players Mirel, me and Stephanie Maxwell. Generous funding from the players and their families along with the team’s yearly budget have allowed them to secure membership and private lessons at the Refuge Golf course. Tournament schedules will take the team to Memphis, Tenn.; Tunica, Miss.; Mobile, Ala.; Tyler, Texas and Indianapolis, Ind. this year. Now, if you have read this far, you may be wondering why I am telling you all of this. The fact is we need some more golfers. Sorry guys you can’t be on our team, you could go out for the men’s team though, or you could help out by offering support of our team. Ladies, if you’re wondering if you could play for our team…I say give it a try! “Every fall we find one or two new players who were here the whole time but just never asked about playing,” says Coach Thaw. Wondering what it would be like? When asked her favorite part of being on the team, Liz Donovan said, “Unlike other teams we get three or four days to hang out in really cool places and the chance to meet really awesome people
from other schools like Hendrix, Rhodes and DePauw. “Also, the golf courses are beautiful and what a better way to spend a school day than to be relaxing playing golf? Because the team is so small it’s easier to become really great friends with all the players on the team. It’s an amazing experience. I just love being on the golf team.” Boudreaux added: “The best thing about being a member of the women’s golf team is getting to travel to various tournament locations with a close-nit group of fun-loving people. My favorite part of being on the golf team is playing golf all the time, of course!!!” And everyone on the team will tell you, whether you consider golf a sport or not, lugging around your own clubs for five straight hours, three days in a row can be exhausting and a real test of your commitment. Unlike many other sports on campus, golf is an individual experience. It is really just you out there playing for yourself, against yourself, trying to get that certain score you know you are capable of. So if you play golf all the time, you have never played or you’re anywhere in between, go talk to one of the players, or come out to The Refuge when practices start back up in the spring and see if there is a spot for you on the not-so-wellknown women’s golf team.
Everybody is not a scientist
Allisa Vincent Contributor
In response to last week’s “Everybody’s a scientist,” I would first like to talk about the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This body is political, like every governmental body, and goes along with what the government at the time sees as important. It also is not made up of all scientists: It has on its board many employees of different governments. Many scientists that were once on
this board have left after disputing that global warming was caused by an increasing percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. I find it hard to believe that you can call these people armchair scientist, when they have Ph.Ds and are doing research, many for over 20 years. The BBC did a program on global warming in a rebuttal to Al Gore’s piece, and I believe that the scientists in that piece are not armchair scientists. I would also like to point out that Gore is not a scientist. He has no degree in the field of climatology and will never be receiving one most likely. For that matter, most Americans do not have Ph.D in a science, much less climatology. So, saying that only 21 percent of Americans deny global warming as a human-made problem is of no significance. The American people see only what is popular to the news stations, and what is popular to the news stations is doom and gloom science. Such science gets more
viewers to watch. I mean, do you really get people to watch if you said everything was fine? It is also a stretch for people to go outside the norm, which is in favor of human-
I want all the facts before our government spends billions of dollars on a problem that might not even exist. made global warming. Rupert Murdoch controls Fox News, and if he thinks it’s important then it definitely is. Is he a scientist? Does he have a PhD in climatology? I think not!
Why do we listen to these people? I am glad that he has his own opinion on the subject, but that does not mean that he is right. I was especially happy to find out that his News Corp. is going to be carbon-neutral by the year 2011 but carbon emissions have been a problem for a long time now. If he could not change his ways earlier for the problems he cares so much about, why do they matter now? So, yes, I want to wait for science! Is that really so bad? I want all the facts before our government spends billions of dollars on a problem that might not even exist. Am I really an evil person for such thoughts going against the norm and asking people to question what they see is the only truth. That is the way progress is made: Someone questions the way things are and people research the problem. Let research take its course. I beg you not to race to conclusions without all the facts. I love science and believe in it, so please have a little faith.
Editor-in-Chief... Kyle Doherty Managing Editor... Catherine Schmidt Layout Editors... Alex Pieschel Sital Sanjanwala David Smolkin Photo Manager... Laura Howe Graphics Editor... Bjorn Carlsson Business Manager... Philip Cortese Copy Editor... Ace Madjlesi News Editor... Kathleen Morrison Opinions Editor... Kathryn Buchan Features Editor... Nell Knox The Life Editor... Kate Royals Sports Editor... Thomas Richardson Adviser... Woody Woodrick Staff Writers... Cree Cantrell Hillary Hamblen Alyce Howe Meagan Malone Brian Mitchell Diantha Williamson Contributors... Will Chandler Lorene Dodd Holly Harmon Liz Starrett Bonnie Tucker Allisa Vincent
E-mail corrections to Editor-in-Chief Kyle Doherty, dohertkt@millsaps.edu.
The Purple & White is published weekly by The Purple & White.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in articles, letters to the Editor and cartoons printed in the Purple & White do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, Publications Board, Millsaps College, The United Methodist Church or the student body. Complaints should be addressed to the Millsaps College Publications Board. Contact Rachel Fontenot or Dr. Priscilla Fermon.
Advertising rates available upon request. Call (601) 974-1211 or E-mail Philip Cortese at cortepm@millsaps.edu.
This publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the Editorin-Chief.
Letters to the Editor Submit letters to the editor to the Purple and White at Box 150847 or e-mail Kyle Doherty at doherkt@millsaps.edu. Letters should be turned in before 12 p.m. on Sunday prior to the Thursday publication. Anonymous letters will not be published.