VIEWPOINTS
fOilORiAiS OPlMiONS UTTIRS TO IMMOHOR
Election’s promotion
vital for its success
■ OUR OPINION: The ASUO
primary elections should
have been better
promoted this year
Critics of the voting sys
tem in this country %ay that
people make uninformed
choices at the polls because
they don't understand the
issues or know the candi
dates.
The ASUO elections Is a
c hance for students to pick
new leaders fur the ( tuning
year who will make deci
sions at tout programs fund
ing and policy.
The elections officers in
the ASUO are responsible to
make sura people get the
information they need to
make informed choices.
This year they failed.
Most students were not
a were an election was tom
ing up until it was time to
vote Voting sign* didn't
•how up on campus until
thi« wiwk,
The elections guide pub
lished by the ASUO amid
have done * better job edu
eating student» The guide,
whit n came out in Tue*
day's Eitwmld, contained
intorral dates and timet
and left out inhumation
Si* event* were listed on
the front of the guide One
event was a primary presi
dential face-off during the
intermission of the Naked
David tlasselhoff concert.
The guide listed no time
Students who did not go to
the concert were forced to
wail with no indication of
how long A deflate had the
wrung time and the senate
forum had the wrong date.
With these mistake* and
the lack of advertising,
many students are not as
informed as they should be.
Lawn sign saturation
creates controversy
■ OUR OPINION The flap
over campaign signs is
unfair and inexcusable
Kijual accent is vital to all
ASUO campaigns It allows
all i amiidates to campaign
fairly ami equally.
The lawn signs around
campus provide prime
advertising space and am
coveted among the tickets.
But many of the candi
dates were surprised when
they found out the lawn
sign spare was not handed
out fairly. One campaign
was allowed to reserve all
50 signs for all available
days.
This is not the fault of
that campaign bill of I bo
(flection* board and Univer
sity officials
The at hcduling office
need* to find more iimim
for the sign* Expanding the
field to 200 spate* would
allow more candidates
access
A per-candidate limit
should also be implemented
to prevent a monopoly.
Each candidate could
receive five signs, and if by
a certain date the rest were
unreserved, the office could
open up the remaining
spare*
This way. all the candi
date* would be able to put
up and utilise signs.
*
shame
Tire's a n«U movement to
bring a sense of sHawfi back
to society, to deter practitioner!
of pernicious anti social activities
by means of acute personal
embarrassment ^
Cdh always Hope
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Secularism seduces students to sleep
L«*t Sunday wa» Raster, the crowning
moment of On* liturgical ytm (or Chris*
******
for many ai I hr Uni vanity thu wu
(u*» another ordinary day Thought* of (kxl and
salvation ware* the furtha*t thing* from most *tu
d*nt*‘ mind*
My fnand* *j«*ni Earner morning recovering
from another night at the bar* My fraternity
uuoa rmwy amt rtoty
Saturday initiating tww mem
b*rs. drinking b»w and doing
lots of Mnri stuff And no.
than? wasn't a whole lot of rtdi
gton going on there
Indeed Easier Sunday wu
vary much a day of rest for
moat students it >tgnlfi«d their
parpatual slumber from r**fl«i
•ng tut religion and their own
mortality
OPINION
young p ho)
*r» declare that they have no need (or the dag
mettc rule* o( Christianity that ought constrict
their lifestyles
A* mme friends have told me. “I’m sure I II go
to (hutch when I'm older “ For now, they- will
ingly remain self sedated (mm question* they
kiw* must someday be answered
Christ's passion speak* to the human tenden
cy to opt (or spiritual slumber After )esus
shared the last Supper with hts disciples. he
went into the liar den of Gethsemane to pray
l»e knew he would be executed the next day
and was quite distressed about what the future
held for himself ami for humanity. He was
stated and didn't want to be atone
}e«ua asked his friends to stay awake and pray
during his last moments But. one by one. each
disciple fell asleep
This was a terrible blow to Christ These were
the men whom he had taught and loved He bed
spoken to them about compassion and under
standing They had nodded and said that they
would follow
But at the dark hour when fetus was about to be
handed over to the Romans, his friends failed him
At the sight of his sleeping disciples. Jesus
asked, dismayed . "Could you not keep watch
with me for one hour? Watch and prey that you
may not undergo the tart The spirit is willing,
but the flesh is week. "
Every day. University faculty members exhibit
this tendency to rest without religion Christian*
ate angrily denounced by napping academics
who choose to see Christianity through a narrow
Inqu is 111 on/( Irusade lens.
To be academic means to be "above" believing
in Christian "mythology.” or so the thinking goes
Many profeeaor* claim that feaus' resurrection
is no more teal than pagan lore They demand to
aee historical proof and claim that none exists
Of course their attacks always leek the sens!
livlty. understanding and rwjx*t for other ide
ologiet that those of the academy so often pro
fa**. Hostility. anger and vehemence form the
cornerstone of their diatribe. A* they *ieep with
out spirituality, these "rational actor*" make
their secular insecurity apparent.
Academic distaste for Christian teaching was
manifest in last week's Newsweek article
Rethinking the Resurrection " The article
focused on non-believing scholars who claim
that "the Resurrection is an embarrassment to
the modern mind "
The article stated that the resurrection can
never be proven because no one actually wit
nested its occurrence.
Yet we know that while Jesus was dying on
the cross, a soldier's lance pierced his heart,
causing blood and water to flow from his chest
It was the Roman custom at the tinie to break
the legs of the esc*ruled'* body to confirm death
However, this was unnecessary because it was
obvious to lainginos, the* Roman centurion, that
Jesus was already dead
Finally, Pilate released C2hri*t’s body only
after he was certain that it was lifeless
We alto know that three day* later Jesus
began apfieartng in Jerusalem and Galilee* After
the resurrection, Christ was seen by Mary Mag
dnlene. Peter and the other apostles and a c rowd
of SOll people.
Thus, if we know that Jesus was dead and that
h» appeared incarnate to so many after the cm
dfixion. the fact that no one witnessed the actu
al resurrection is irrelevant
Of course this all depends on scriptural accu
racy. which secular historians challenge
Make no mistake, this debate occurs for a ree
son The resurrection is a mystery God give* us
clue* and a free will to interpret them any way
we choose. Like some historians, we can deny
the resurrection until the day we dies
When the debate ends, the fact remains that
Christianity. lika other religions, is s matter of
faith.
Last week. Faster came and went with the
usual silence that this secular University
encourages. Holy Week did not awaken must
students from their slumber, nor did it end the
intolerance toward Christian theology that has
become commonplac e in the academy
Christians celebrate Easter because we believe
that death is not the end of our Journey We
believe in Jesus' passion, death and resurrect ton
because we hope to one day be brought to new
life with Christ
Like the apostles, our road is fraught with
regression and sedation. We took to a personal
resurrection that will occur only after we arise
from our sleep
Aetti) Cunningham, a senior ina/onnt in English,
is o columnist for the Emerald. E mail
keithii^otvgon uanrgon edu