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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2001)
_______ L Opinion ThE CkckAMAS P rìnt WEdNEsdAy, OcTobER 24, 2001 fr.UGM frü [Il LiiLL^ Stand united for Clackamas, the nation, the world I proudly stood in a moment of silence with hundreds of stu dents and faculty on Sept. 14 in the Randall Gymnasium. Faculty member Bill Zulkie and ASG president Stefan Meyer led this silent occasion, we proudly stood with one hand over our hearts while honoring our coun try and victims of the Sept. 11 tragedy. This was a national moment of silence on the 14th day of Sep tember, as requested by our president of the United States of America. All who could join, did. Since, I have witnessed and par ticipated on and off campus with hundreds of people during dif ferent events showing their sup port as a nation; I know that many other Clackamas students and faculty have done and will continue to do the same. I am proud to be an American and I am as equally proud to be a part of the reflection of Clackamas Community College. After reading the letter to the editor, “Where was Clackamas?,” I listened as some students re sponded with confusion, stating they did not know the event was taking place. One student said, “...the part about the students not caring about what happened on September 11, it af fected me deeply.. .1 took the time and had a moment of silence in my own heart about what happened." There have been many different dates and times that our president has called us to stand united, and each student partici pates in their own way, whenever and where ever they can. Everyone I have talked to says, “they are sad that they were not made aware of the event and missed it.” I started thinking that if all the people that I talked to were unaware of the event, then how many more Job market’s bad pickins’ The employment available to CEO salaries rose by an average of us sucks; the jobs are stupid 535%. If the minimum-wage rose by and mind-destroyingly boring. the same percent, it would be at $24.31 It doesn’t have to be this way. per hour today. It isn’t easy going to college By giving all of our time to work, without a job, but I think that we’re exchanging our lives for money, we should be able to concen which means that money is like a life trate on our studies. Further token. Five dollars? That’s about an more, the jobs avail able suck. Why should we have to work in jobs that we don’t Jesse Gurzynski like for bad —————— pay? Has it ever occurred to you that the major hour of life for a minimum-wage ity of jobs done in our society worker. Next time you buy something, are useless? A job in retail for think about how much of your life instance, serves no useful pur you’re spending on it. Is it worth it? Now comes the real catch: we’ve pose in society. Instead it serves to make the rich richer been convinced that the only way to and the consequences are the live is to spend money. We’re trained destruction of the world’s re from childhood that the only way to sources and sustainability. have fun is with “toys.” Says a Toys I encourage you to step back ‘R’ Us ad, “Where do kids go when for a minute and see just how they dream? Toys ‘R’ Us.” Only if screwed up the system of work they’ve been brainwashed by adver is. While some people are tising. Of course we know that mar starving and unable to find keting is a business with high moral work, others are sick from be standards, as is proven by a market ing overworked. While every ing consultant at a 1994 Florida semi one is busy doing useless work, nar who said “Anti-social behavior in the work that needs to be done, pursuit of a product is a good thing.” like building communities, In the foreword to Molly Scott switching to sustainable re Cato’s book Seven Myths about Work, sources and rebuilding the Chris Busby wrote the following: “I world’s ecosystem, is ne would like to see people refusing to work in any job they felt Was wrong. I glected. The way we’re taught to see would like to see work-dodgers, hon the system is that everyone orable and brave people who refuse working is doing his or her part to continue to feed this monstrous cul to keep society working. That ture.” That means don’t get trapped “part” is maintaining the divi in wage-slavery, or work in a business sion between the rich and the that exploits others. And you might poor and maintaining a system not need so much money if you just which places a few in position consider what you really need, instead of thinking you need all those prod to exploit the many. According to Multinational ucts touted to you with a false prom Monitor, in the 1990s corporate ise of happiness. events might go unheard of on cam pus? This is why I decided to write this letter. I wanted to help support our nation at this time and bring unity by informing people how they can get involved. I also want to encourage students and faculty to continue to support our nation. I stay focused on what I can do and what I have done, because of the fact that even though I am only one person, the little bit I do is far better than doing nothing at all. Please make a note that The Clackamas Print has a listing of primary goals in the Oct. 10,2001 edition, which speaks of support efforts in effect to help aid those in the tragedy of Sept. 11. Everyone is welcome to help. Here are a few of the events supporting our nation that are, or will be on campus. Public Affairs officers and senators are putting on a dance on Nov. 30, where all rev enue generated by students will go to the Red Cross Relief Funding; Also, the vice-president, executive director, senators to child care and Campus Activities (in ASG), have created a relief fund box for stu dents to be able to get involved. Furthermore, faculty, students and staff have been wearing patriotic red, white, and blue ribbons in honor of those killed in the tragedy. These ribbons and pins (to make your own) are avail able in die ASG office. There are many more supportive events that you should watch for via e- mail, posters or by contacting ASG and The Print. The same respurces to get information are great sources for getting your own information out to the students and staff. There fore, I encourage anyone who wants to speak out to do it! Clackamas has many different ways to be creative and send messages that will bring people together. Please feel free to stop by your ASG office, we would be more than happy to help in any way we can. We have poster mak ing materials, e-mail access and a great word-of- mouth location for anyone to use freely. I have also heard it being said by our president of the school, Joe Johnson, “ I have an open door policy." Although we have all done many things to show our support, we can still do more. I can do more! In re sponse to the article, I am proud of all the one person stands in the same way I am proud of the united we stand! As quoted by Edmund Burke, “Nobody could make a greater mis take then he who did nothing be cause he could only do a little." Thank You, Yvonne Ingram ASG-Vice President Note: Submitted work must be 300 words or less. This was a one time occurrence. All work must be subitted with a disk in person, or e- mailed to cccprint@clackamas.cc.or.us. America: A land in need of love JOELSHEMPERT Contributing Writer It is not particularly penetrat ing of me to point out that there is great injustice in the world; nor is it tremendously insightful to suggest that the behavior of hu man beings must change if this is to be rectified. But I just can’t help meditating on this problem as I observe the world around me. Particularly, I am pondering the trend of factionalism and divisive ness in our nation. The first murmurings may seem small and benign, but their successors, big otry and hate, are surely mon strous and cancerous things. And so it is now, rather than at the swastika-bearing time when it is too late, that I would sound the cry against this danger. There have been dissenters in America against our government’s overseas actions for some time. But with the bomb ing of Afghanistan, and the ac companying promise of long and bloody war, those protests gained new urgency and perhaps a larger voice. Now while that pro test is laudable, and while I count myself among its heralds, I be lieve we must look closer for the cure of our national disease. It is easy to merely speak of compassion, or any other ideal; it is doubly easy when its object is a hemisphere away. G.K. Chesterton, writing in the early 20th century, declared that any lover of humanity “shall always be very much pleased when his barber tries to talk to him. His barber is humanity: let him love that. Ifhe is not pleased at this, I will not accept any substitute in the way of interest in the Congo or the future of Japan. If a man cannot love his barber whom he has seen, how shall he love the Japanese whom he has not seen?” Put aside for a moment bombed Afghans or starving Iraqis: do we have any kindness to spare for those within our own borders? Already a blind racism is creep ing across the land, as Muslim or merely Muslim-appearing people (such as turban-wearing Sikhs, whose 15th century religion con tains no Islamic connection) are in al mask of tolerance, but it is fragile.” Joel Shempert Contributing Writer threatened, beaten or even shot to death. Are these merely the actions of cranks, or extreme symptoms of a subtler but larger societal disease? I believe we are in trouble be cause we will not talk to our bar ber. We won’t give the time of day to the beleaguered supermar ket cashier, or the poor slob try ing to merge onto the freeway, or the kid who just needs a quarter to call home or catch a bus. And that doesn’t begin to address those in serious, even desperate need, be it financial, emotional or spiritual. How can we reach out to the homeless and downtrodden when we don’t even know our neighbors? Our society is break ing down at every level: individu als, families, communities, cities.. .and soon, perhaps, our nation it self. We have a national mask of tol erance, but it is fragile. George W. Bush reassures us that Arab- Americans are fully valued and not to be persecuted, while his ad ministration expands the government’s power to detain im migrants suspected of crimes in definitely, without charges, dur ing a “national emergency.” Pub lic awareness of Middle East and Muslim issues is seemingly on the rise, while young men are eager to go overseas and “kill some dune coons.” Could it be that this double-face stems from our own lack of compassion at home? I propose that we strive to break free of this pattern. I propose that we get to know our next door neighbor, that wè let that driver who’s in such a hurry into our lane, that we talk to that strange, lonely person on the bus-that we give a smile, a few bucks, or even a meal to the homeless person who we always pass by. We need to make friends with someone who is different. We need to re-forge the bonds of our own families. Chesterton, again, wrote, “The first man one meets is always man.” When we truly love mankind in this way, we can wholeheartedly sing the lyric: America, America, God shed His Grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
