Tuesday
April 16, 2013
Gay marriage is inevitable
“I worry about the future of our city,” Rev. Phil Snider said on Aug. 13, 2012, at a hearing before the Springfield City Council, addressing a nondiscrimination ordinance. “Any accurate reading of the Bible should make it clear that gay rights goes against the plain truth of the word of God. As one preacher warns, man — in overstepping the boundary lines that God has drawn in making special rights for gays and lesbians — has taken another step in the direction of inviting the judgment of God upon our land.” Approximately two minutes later, Snider stumbles over his words (intertwining the words segregation with gay rights) and apologizes to the City Council for bringing the wrong notes with him. “I borrowed my argument from the wrong century,” he said as he was given a one-minute warning. “It turns out what I’ve been reading to you this whole time are direct quotes from white preachers from the 1950s and 1960s all in support of racial segregation. All I have done is simply take out the phrase ‘racial integration’ and substituted it with the phrase ‘gay rights’ ... I hope you will stand on the right side of history.” Although this video is nearly eight months old, the arguments that Snider made and the notion that people who don’t support gay marriage or gay rights are on the wrong side of history are extremely potent in a time when the
Nicolette Martin Columnist issue of gay rights is in the forefront of political discourse. The fact that it has taken us this long to approach the subject of equality is disappointing, and the amount of people who use arguments from the Bible as a reason why people with different lifestyles shouldn’t be treated as equal under the law is disheartening. As people argue that gay marriage would disrupt the sanctity of marriage, a word which we can’t simply redefine (even though the meanings of words change all the time as society progresses), it becomes more and more evident to me that religion plays too big a role in the daily functions of government in society. The word “marriage,” as those who consider themselves religious define it, shouldn’t even be in the discourse of government, and the sacrament it represents religiously shouldn’t be generalized to everyone who chooses to make a lifetime commitment to someone they love. Every couple’s (regardless of sex) lifetime commitment in the eyes of the
government should be recognized as a civil union, and every person should have the right to commit themselves to another person. “Marriage,” as the only word that apparently can’t change meaning in the 2,000 years society has been evolving, should be used strictly for religious purposes for couples who so choose. A shift in culture and the acceptance of gay “marriage” is inevitable. A Pew Research Center report published March 21 stated that the rise in support for same-sex marriage over the past decade is among the largest changes in public opinion on any policy issue over this time period. From 2001 to 2013, favor for allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally has increased from 35 percent to 49 percent. Likewise, opposition to allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally has decreased from 57 percent to 43 percent. As much as people say it, people will look back on this time the way (most of us) look back on Civil Rights issues — completely dumbfounded that people could ever believe that someone was inferior because of the color of their skin, or the people with whom they connect. No one is inferior because of who they love, and it’s about time for society to get over the notion that, like African Americans not so long ago, nobody is less of a person for simply being who they are.
This is the opinion of The Standard’s Editorial Board
Consider the pros of an athletic fee
Missouri State is considering implementing a student athletic fee, and even though some of us on the Editorial Board aren’t huge sports fans, we support the idea. According to Tim Godfrey’s article on page 6 of this week’s issue, President Clif Smart has met with student to discuss the renovations to Plaster Sports Complex, including improving the student section, redoing the turf on the field and renovating the track. And if you’ve ever spent time in the student section at Plaster, you know that these renovations are necessary to help improve the fan experience at Missouri State, and safety of the stadium. Yes, we know, the idea of paying more for college kind of sucks. But you know what would really suck? Watching the Pride Band fall through the student section bleachers at the 2013 season home opener, or some equally embarrassing and harmful scenario play out in the national media. Even worse, the track at the stadium is no longer considered up-to-par with NCAA standards, hindering our women’s track team by not being able to compete at home. Plaster Sports Complex has become a painful eyesore that we can’t afford to ignore any longer. It’s on the road to becoming unsafe for fans and it’s not up to snuff with NCAA regulations, something that is unacceptable for our student athletes who deserve better. Smart has said that the money to improve Plaster can’t be funded purely through private donations and university funds. We, the student body, are going to have to do our part. We sincerely hope that as the administration and the Student Government Association explore the idea of implementing a student athletic fee that you think about all of the pros and cons before voting it down during Homecoming Week of the 2013 fall semester.
What food item would you stick in the cow’s fistula?
Cartoon by Rachel Brown
Fruits and veggies 33.3%
Harper: ‘Thrilled to be your new basketball coach’ Hello Missouri State student body,
I want you to know that I am thrilled to be your new women's basketball coach. This is a privilege and I will work hard to put a team on the floor that you will want to watch and that you can be proud of. To borrow a line from coach
Norman Dale in the movie "Hoosiers" when addressing their student body, "THIS is your team." I hope that you will take ownership and we will see you at The Q this season. We hit the ground running last week, that's for sure. I was overwhelmed with the amount of support greeted my and smiling faces that and I. We've
couple of workouts on the court. I'm hoping to finalize my staff this week, and I've had several opportunities to promote our program on Lady radio and TV. Bears I also look forward to Coach becoming part of this campus community. I am outgoing and enjoy life, and I husband Jon hope to meet many of you already had a in the next few months.
Kellie Harper
Academic Advisement Council here to help
By Academic Advisement Council For The Standard
While Missouri State's community often makes it feel like a small institution, it is actually quite large. As with any university its size, there are numerous academic policies and procedures to follow that many students find it difficult to know them all, much less respond appropriately. Your academic adviser serves as your navigator in traversing various academic policies, which is why it is so important to foster a good relationship with this individual. In addition, advisers can help you set personal and professional goals, think through big decisions, and guide you toward graduation. The Academic Advisement Council , AAC, is a group of faculty and staff members that works to improve the quality, consistency and accessibility of academic advisement on campus. When the members of the AAC asked ourselves how we could better inform students about academic advising, we
The Standard
Editorial Policy The Standard is the official student-run newspaper of Missouri State University. Student editors and staff members are responsible for all content. The content is not subject to the approval of university officials, and the views expressed do not represent those of the university.
thought, "Why don't we ask students for questions they want answered?” This simple idea led us to create this regular column for answering your questions about policies, registration or any other advising topics. Let's start with a few questions we've recently received.
Q: Should I see my adviser, even if I don't need an adviser release to register?
A: Of course you should! Your adviser might locate issues or obstacles in your degree audit that you may have missed. Your adviser can also share Q: I have a DG or DX hold on my information about internships and career account and can't register. Why? opportunities and serve as a reference, so it's important to maintain your relaA: The university places holds on tionship with him or her. students’ records if they do not declare a major, or get admitted to a degree proQ: How do I update my records to gram/major by the time they have com- show my change of major? pleted a certain number of credits. The DG hold indicates that a student has A: Visit the Academic Advisement completed 75 credits and has not been Center in University Hall 109. (It's the admitted to a major/program, the DX building across from Wells House.) Staff hold indicates the completion of 90 members can officially change your credits without being admitted to a major on your student records. major/program. To lift these holds, make an appointment to see your advisor right Now it’s your turn. Send your advisaway. There is paperwork that will need ing question to GailEmrie@missouri to be processed, which can delay regis- state.edu and we may answer it in a tration if not taken care of early! future edition of Ask an Adviser!
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