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OPINION
The Daily Campus
FRIDAY n FEBRUARY 22, 2013 food
To respond to any pieces on our opinion page, tweet us at @thedailycampus with the hashtag #hilltoptweets. Quote Worthy
“If you want to succeed, you have to focus on the violence part of your initiative. If you don’t stop the violence, if you don’t stop the terrorists coming to Syria through different countries, mainly Turkey and Qatar, if you don’t stop the money coming inside Syria in order to stoke the fire – the whole initiative will fail.” —Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad on his plan for peace “Sometimes you are so brave that it terrifies me. I wonder how it’s even possible.” —Lady Gaga on her fans, “Little Monsters”
Courtesy of Weighty Matters
Customers shop for an assortment of fresh produce.
“I did not kill Kathleen!” —Drew Peterson, before being sentenced to 38 years in prison for the murder of a previous wife politics
Join in supporting access to birth control michael graves Contributing Writer mwgraves@smu.edu How important is it to you that Texas women have access to family planning and birth control, regardless of their income -- is it extremely important, very important, just a little important or not important at all? This is a question that was asked in a recent statewide poll conducted by a pair of Democratic- and Republicanleaning pollsters for the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund. The TFN Education Fund is an Austin-based grassroots organization that does research and civic engagement in support of religious freedom, civil liberties and strong public schools. You can read the poll at www.tfn.org/birthcontroltx. According to the poll, 68 percent of registered voters in Texas support access to family planning and birth control for all women, regardless of their income. Support is especially strong among young people under the age of 30; a whopping 84 percent say they support full access. But too many Texas lawmakers have taken to playing cupid when it comes to matters of love, birth control and family planning – which is downright stupid. They think they know what is best for Texas women and families, while most Texans, and especially young people, disagree. Politically, this is a dicey position for politicians to take because the Millennial generation, our generation, is becoming increasing civically engaged. Lawmakers are way out of step with our views. When asked whether or not they support “teaching about contraception, such as condoms, birth control, along with abstinence, in high school education classes,” 93 percent of young people also said yes. And 85 percent of young people said they support state funding
for family planning services, including birth control, for lowincome women. Support for both among all registered voters in Texas was also strong – 84 percent for comprehensive sex education and 73 percent for state funding for birth control. During the last legislative session the governor and the state Legislature slashed state funding for family planning and birth control programs by two-thirds, threatening access to those services for thousands of women in Texas. According to the TFN Education Fund poll, young people support reversing the budget cuts to those services by 64 percent. A large majority of young people also told pollsters for the Texas survey that they oppose allowing any employer or boss to deny their employees health care coverage for certain services, including birth control and Plan B, because it violates the employer’s religious or moral beliefs. Like most Texans, they clearly think government and employers have no business interfering with the freedom of women to make decisions about their own health care and when or if to have children. We know that a strong majority of Texans and the vast majority of young people support access to birth control and family planning. We’re fed up with far-right politicians’ war on women and now their “war on birth control.” Later this semester we’ll be taking petitions we have collected to the Texas Legislature to let our lawmakers know what young people think. Will you add your voice? Consider joining the Texas Freedom Network Student Chapter at SMU today. Find us on Facebook and get involved.
College students should eat their vegetables mallory ashcraft Contributing Writer mashcraft@smu.edu Every time I sit down to eat in Umphrey Lee, my friends almost always comment on the contents of my plate. Their reactions range from inspiration to guilt as they scrutinize it. Total strangers have even approached me just to ask what I am eating. My secret ingredient: vegetables. According to a list of “fun facts” posted on my residence hall bulletin board, very few college students eat fruits and vegetables. To me, this isn’t a fun fact. It’s a depressing absurdity. Day after day I watch as hordes of students load their plates with burgers, fries, pizza and cookies. The blinding absence of anything green doesn’t seem to present itself to them. It’s obvious from the long lines at the salad bar, though, that I’m
not the only one getting my greens every day. But one can’t assume that everyone makes the effort. Mid-bite into a piece of zucchini the other day, I overheard someone asking a friend if they “liked vegetables and stuff like that.” I felt an urge to look down at my ratatouille and assure my vegetables that I loved them. It’s true that it’s not always easy to eat salad in place of meat and potatoes. Then again, I’m not really a meat-and-potatoes kind of girl. As far as I’m concerned, the trick to healthy eating is making it taste good. Otherwise, it’s pretty hard to find lasting motivation. Believe me, I used to love nothing more than a good slice (or four) of pizza. But after trying some healthier options and declaring new favorite foods, I became a very healthy eater. My father used to work as a chef in a famous restaurant, and
his cooking has always influenced my taste for good food. My family enjoys the best food at home, and it’s always healthy. So when I moved into the dorms and purchased a meal plan, I already had pretty good habits. More impressively, I never even felt tempted to eat differently. I actually enjoy many of the dishes at Healthy on the Hilltop. I don’t think enough students take advantage of what our cafeteria has to offer in terms of a healthy diet. It’s true that we’ve got an endless supply of burgers, fries and pizza. But, there are also fresh steamed vegetables, lean meats, whole grains and a full salad bar available 7 days a week. Pretty impressive, compared to most school cafeterias. Part of the problem, I think, is that it can be hard to come up with something tasty from just basic ingredients. In that
respect, I have had to get a little creative. The trick is to scope out everything available in the cafeteria on a given day, and put something together that combines multiple flavors. For example, my go-to lunch is quinoa with broccoli, grape tomatoes, olives and red onions with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. For dinner, I focus on putting a meal together that has lean protein such as chicken or turkey, a whole grain and two varieties of vegetables. While nothing beats home cooking, I’m thankful that I’m at least getting the right nutrition during my time spent at college. I want food to taste good and to make me feel good; for me, bringing those desires together defines comfort food. Ashcraft is a junior majoring in journalism.
firing line As both parties look to revitalize the economy, a classic debate has reemerged: What is government’s role in entrepreneurship and small business? We all remember the “We Built It” slogans used by the Mitt Romney camp against Barack Obama in the last presidential election. Obama was criticized for discrediting entrepreneurs and their efforts, but he had a point. As he conceded, entrepreneurship and human capital are important. But, without infrastructure, good governance and efficient institutions, it doesn’t matter how good of a businessman you are. America is a land of opportunity because it provides entrepreneurs with an environment in which they can succeed; roads, bridges and a good public education system are all key elements of the American dream and its fulfillment. We must not forget to protect, revitalize and grow the foundations that America’s entrepreneurs and businesses rely on. — Rahfin Faruk, Editor in Chief
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Graves is a junior majoring in communication studies and religious studies.
Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rahfin Faruk Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katy Roden SMU-TV News Directors . . . . . . . . Summer Dashe, Chandler Schlegel Assignments Desk Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Fancher Online Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tucker Keene News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katelyn Gough Arts & Entertainment Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Courtney Spalten Associate Arts & Entertainment Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manning Jordan Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Demetrio Teniente Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Costa Style Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hillary Schmidt Health & Fitness Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexandra Spitzer Food Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tashika Varma Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher Saul Opinion Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trevor Thrall Chief Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Samantha Peltier Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erica Robbie, Adriana Fernandez Ibanez
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