'T l
Forum
6
November
11)K, my BFF J ill ?
Webspeak disgraces English language
D anny M c G arry
The moment school
ends, kids pull out their
phones and text about what
happened at lunch, the
drama during math and the
crazy teacher in English. I'll
admit that I text, and most
of the time I do so in full
sentences. And I am a bit
able to read what I say, not
pull out a decoder. It works
in Spanish too. My Spanish
cousins often use "Q" for
que. So everywhere, they
use "webspeak" for texting,
IMing and e-mails.
I recently conducted an
experiment to see whether a
person using acronyms was
Photo by Libby Kara
Shannon Hardman, freshman, pulls out her cellphone to text. As
texting becomes more popular and widespread, students are be­
coming more likely to abbreviate their words and use acronyms as
a way to communicate faster, which many think is a shortcut that
will cause more grammatical errors in important documents, such
as essays.
of a grammar Nazi, but I
think it would be easier for
people to read without the
"g2g" and of course the "idk.”
I don't use those acronyms
because I want people to be
perceived as more intelligent
someone who didn't. The
survey I sent included the
conversation to the right.
The survey results (as of
Nov. 12) were:
Person A received 248 (73
percent) votes while Person
B received 88 (27 percent)
votes. It's amazing that
Person B received that many
votes because he/she was
using slang and there were
some typos.
It seems to me that Person
A is more intelligent because
he/she used full sentences
knowing that he could've
used "loln. It bothers me
when people excessively
use these acronyms. It's
unnecessary and makes
everything harder to read.
There's a difference
between making everything
shorter for convenience,
and making it so you look
cooler (which you don't,
by the way). It seems to me
that more and more people
are using acronyms and it
seems that the younger the
person, the more they use
it. Some people, like me, are
exceptions. I've also seen
adults use it to seem younger.
Acronyms probably have
their uses, but it is extremely
annoying to decipher.
We just need to stop before
this craze takes over. It's okay
to use a "rofl" and a "brb,"
but for Pete's sake, please
don't use an "OMGUH!"
Driver displays temper: does rude behavior rule road?
B enjamín M ann
Hatred oozes everywhere.
It floods its way into rude and
sarcastic remarks at work,
it runs rampant in modem
television and truly engulfs
the road. What is the cause of
this, then? In the past, people
acted with a decent amount of
respect, rarely acting as rude
as many Americans choose to
now. This rude behavior needs
to stop.
I knew that rude behavior
was "out there," but my biggest
wake-up call came a few
months ago. One summer day,
I was driving my mother to
Tryon Creek State Park where
we could enjoy a nice hike.
Unfortunately, it was rush
Money not needed to be happy
Frill lilt fault________________
continued from page 5
Getting phone numbers is
not all that difficult, and can
prove to take up a good day's
work. Making sure that they
are correct is essential as the
people you call probably are
doing exactly the same thing,
or they're just in Kalamazoo.
You don't need to justify
asking for them, after all
you might need to call them
sometime.
Downtown cannot be
handled by everyone,
but if you play a portable
instrument, mime, or juggle
perhaps you can cope with the
dangers and earn the rewards
of city life. The airport also
provides a floor space where
you can stmt your stuff.
If you are affiliated
with the above mentioned
organizations maybe you will
want to take advantage of
their frequent field trips. The
dues you've paid in the past
year may aid you now in your
time of need.
If you can drive a car, but
do not own one, or have easy
access to one, you should
keep your eyes open for the
free Oregon Chief hotdogs
and pepsi deals at local car
dealers. For that matter, you
can even bring a date for a test
drive.
Round Table appreciates
the patronage of West Linn
students even if they just
drink water or coffee. The
napkin surfaces are perfect for
drawing and writing poetry.
As an added bonus you can
raise some extra money by
selling haiku poems at a
quarter each, if you're good.
Parties at your house can
be profitable if they are B.Y.O.
and that rule is enforced with
military strength. The left­
overs are yours by unwritten
law. A large backyard may be
cleaned by a recruiting task
force of game drunks.
Finally, to pay for some of
the exciting but reasonable
activities in Ms. Roberts'
calendar page, try a garage
sale.
hour, and as I tried to make
a left turn, a black Jeep came
up behind me, also wanting
to turn. There was a small gap
in traffic, one I could’ve gone
through, but didn't because
I felt it was too big of a risk.
The Jeep didn't. Honking and
yelling was only the start of it.
A few minutes later came
another gap, one I was just
able to get through. The black
Jeep was still stuck at the turn,
and I thought my problems
were over. Just as I was about
to make the left turn into
Tryon Creek, I saw that same
Jeep. It had literally been
speeding to catch up with me,
and it too wanted to turn into
Tryon Creek.
By this time, I was
becoming pretty nervous. Did
the driver of this Jeep really
want to go to Tryon Creek as
well? I decided to test it by
going down the parking lot.
There were several spots open
right near the entrance, but
I avoided them. So did she.
I circled around the entire
parking lot. So did she. At this
point, I gave up and parked
near the entrance. Yet again,
so did she. Locking the doors,
I watched as a middle-aged
woman got out of the Jeep,
came up to my car, and yelled,
"If you can't drive during rush
hour, then find someone who
can!" then drove away, her face
still red. After my experience,
my mother and I were shocked
and surprised, and we took
our hike in unusual silence.
Though my experience with
Photo by Libby Kara
A driver displays anger behind the wheel. Road rage is an ongoing
problem in the United States. According to the Washington Beltway
Study, road rage may account for 50 percent of car crashes.
the Jeep driver is one that I still
carry with me, what resonates
even more is what exactly it
means in the larger spectrum.
This woman and I had never
met. She never bothered with
a, "Hello," or even an, "Excuse
me." Her manner was harsh
and abrasive, leaving me
stunned. I highly doubt all her
anger was directed at me; it
was likely that she was facing
real-life issues, such as job
loss or divorce, and was just
channeling the anger in this
way.
Instead of talking to
other people such as friends,
counselors, and family about
our problems, do we instead
choose to impose it on other
people? Do we use strangers
we don't even know as a
way to dissapate our anger,
knowing we won't see them
again? And does that very
same anger only cause more
anger among other people,
who in turn impose it on
others? Is it an endless chain of
harsh, rude behavior to others
that can't be broken?
Ultimately, we live in a
society certainly facing hard
times, but one that still holds
the ability to show kindness
as well. Perhaps by keeping
our own resentments away
from people unrelated to them
and talking out our feelings
with friends and family a bit
more, we can seek to break this
chain, and provide America's
much-needed facelift as a
result.