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Friday, May 7, 2010
The New Hampshire
Opinion The New Hampshire University of New Hampshire 156 Memorial Union Building Durham, NH 03824 Phone: 603-862-4076 Email: tnh.editor@unh.edu www.tnhonline.com Executive Editor
Business Advisor
Thomas Gounley
Julie Perron
Managing Editor
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Chad Graff
Danielle Vasan
Content Editor
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Amanda Beland
Lisa Cash Kristen Kouloheras
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Geoffrey Cunningham Kerry Feltner
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Jenia Badamshira
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Annie Sager
Tyler McDermott Michael Ralph Erica Siver
Sports Editors
Zack Cox Brandon Lawrence Arts Editor
Ellen Stuart Staff Writers
Alexandra Churchill Michaela Christensen Justin Doubleday Ryan Hartley Samer Kalaf Kyle LaFleur Matthew Laurion Dustin Luca Krista Macomber Gregory Meighan Julia Miller Brittney Murray Kelly Sennott
Contributing Photographers
Alexandra Churchill Michaela Christensen Brittany Healy Contributing Editors
Justin Doubleday Contributing Writers
Victoria Adewumi Roy Hebert
The New Hampshire is the University of New Hampshire’s only studentrun newspaper. It has been the voice of UNH students since 1911. TNH is published every Tuesday and Friday. TNH advertising can be contacted at tnh.advertising@unh.edu or by phone at (603) 862-1323. One copy of the paper is free but additional copies are $0.25 per issue. Anyone found taking the papers in bulk will be prosecuted. The paper has a circulation of approximately 5,000. It is partially funded by the Student Activity Fee. The opinions and views expressed here are not necessarily the views of the University or the TNH staff members. Advertising deadlines are Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 1 p.m. All production is done in Room 156 of the Memorial Union Building on Main Street in Durham.
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Day of Prayer not worth the trouble Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer. As usual, it contained a lot more controversy than it did prayers. In April, a U.S. district court ruled that the federal law that designates a National Day of Prayer and requires an annual presidential proclamation violates the 1st Amendment’s establishment clause, and is thus unconstitutional. The Obama administration changed the wording of the annual proclamation and is appealing that decision. Then, Franklin Graham – the son of evangelist Billy Graham – became angry when he was uninvited from a National Day of Prayer event at the Pentagon, saying it was “a slap in the face of all Christians.” Critics had complained about Graham’s invitation because of references he has made to Islam as “evil” and inferior to Judaism
and Christianity. While these events are perhaps more high profile than usual, the fact is that the National Day of Prayer is controversial every year. And rightly so.
The National Day of Prayer contained a lot more controversy than it did prayers. In theory, the day is secular, but the truth of the matter is that certain religious organizations have powerful connections in Washington that make the day sectarian. According to Time Magazine, for example, the Penta-
gon outsources the organization of its events to the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a private group headed by the wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. Anyone who thinks that Protestantism doesn’t receive the majority of attention of this alleged “secular” day is misguided. While Obama’s National Day of Prayer agenda was notably grounded in comparison to that of former President Bush, and it is likely he will ultimately win his appeal, the recent controversy makes one wonder why we need to designate a National Day of Prayer at all. Who is supposed to be benefiting? Those who choose to pray are presumably doing it more than once a year. And those who choose not too, don’t need to be subject to this yearly ordeal.
From THE editor’s desk
Taking a minute to review the past year Dear readers, There’s something inherently alluring about recording history, which, if you think about it, is what the news industry is all about. Here at The New Hampshire, we’re privileged to get to do just that for UNH and the surrounding community. That’s why we’re excited to present to you our annual “Year in Review” section, which you’ll find starting on page nine of this, our last regular issue of the year. As we revisited our front pages to pick the top stories, we realized just what a year it has been. Not one devoid of major headlines, as we originally thought, but rather one in which we considered at length which of our top stories we would be forced to leave out of this issue due to space limitations. There was student uproar over the
loss of a beloved residence hall, a malicious assault that shocked the region, and a national pandemic that came to sleepy old Durham (does anyone even remember swine flu anymore?). Our newspapers were stolen, UNH faculty threatened to strike, and we published a controversial story on bondage. If you’re a journalist, those are pretty much the ingredients for a great year. We’ve changed behind the scenes too, with stronger stories, better photos and a recent spurt of new multimedia content. We brought in solid regular columnists and beefed up our opinion and forum pages. (Meanwhile, we continued to struggle with just what we want to do with page three.) We restarted our facebook page and broke the results of student body elections and Scott Sicko’s signing there and on Twitter first.
Eight months ago, we returned to the newsroom tanned and well rested, wondering what we’d be putting on our pages in the coming year. We’re emerging slightly paler and much less well rested, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re holding the 51st issue of the 99th year of The New Hampshire in your hands. Thanks for coming along with us this year. Good luck on your finals and have a spectacular summer. If you’re around the Memorial Union Building, check out our summer issue, which we’ll put together next week. Otherwise, we’ll be back here in September to start year 100. Until then, Thomas Gounley Executive Editor
LetterS to the editor Cheer for UNH teams, don’t degrade opponents I wholeheartedly agree that the large crowd at the UNH Men’s Lacrosse game this past weekend should get a big thumbs up from TNH and the UNH community. However, I do take issue with giving the students who pulled information from the Boston College goalie’s Facebook page a similar commendation. I understand the information was obtained from a publicly posted profile but using that information in a hurtful and antagonistic manner does nothing to further the good work of the Men’s Lacrosse team. I hope that at future events UNH students will spend more energy and effort cheering for their fellow classmates than degrading the
student athletes that UNH competes against. Ben Wakely Program Coordinator UNH Campus Recreation
New England Center closing reflects poorly on UNH I am amazed that the New England Center will be closed in the near future – closed to the many purposes for which it was founded. I presume this is an executive decision sanctioned by the Board of Trustees. I disagree with the action and realize you may explain the cause principally as lack of funds. This is the standard New Hampshire explanation for most statewide deficiencies, and of course bears some truth.
It is a disgraceful admission of failure that a university with a credited business school and a longtime reputable hospitality management cannot figure out how to run the center profitably and with administrative success. To abandon a vital meeting center so important to the people of New Hampshire and to the university and its alumni is shameful. The center’s demise as a useful focal point valuable to countless New Hampshire users is directly traceable to the ineptitude and irresponsibility of the UNH administration. With fortitude, determination, intelligence, imagination, and a will to succeed, the center could be run profitably and creditably. Mary Louise Hancock Retired N.H. State Senator Concord, N.H.
Letters policy We welcome letters to the editor and aim to publish as many as possible. In writing, please follow these simple guidelines: Keep letters under 300 words. Type them. Date them. Sign them; make sure they're signed by no more than two people. If you're a student, include your year, major and phone number. Faculty and staff: Give us your department and phone number. TNH edits for space, clarity, accuracy and vulgarity. Bring letters to our office in Room 156 in the MUB, e-mail them to tnh.editor@unh.edu or send them to The New Hampshire, MUB Room 156, Durham, NH 03824. Opinions expressed in both signed and unsigned letters to the Editor, opinion pieces, cartoons and columns are not necessarily those of The New Hampshire or its staff. If you do not see your side of the argument being presented, we invite you to submit a letter to the Editor by e-mail to tnh.editor@unh.edu.