Opinion
TI he CI ac I camas P rínt
No one deserves to be abused
I never thought it could hap
pen to me until I found myself
dodging hits and crying myself
to sleep because I wasn’t good
enough to be his girlfriend.
Channel 12 had a Special Re
port uncovering abuse in dating
and was noting that every year
more and more women are
trapped in abusive relationships
and lately more and
more teenagers are
coming face to face
with these harsh re
alities. It wasn’t un
til I began watching
that special that I re
membered what I
was trying to forget.
On this particular
report the girl they interviewed
just happened to be my former
roommate. She is now 21, but
when she was my roommate she
was just turning 18. The guy she
had living with her at this apart
ment was heavy into drugs and
kept leading her back in. I re
member one night they got into
a rather physical fight. I don’t
remember who started throwing
the first punches, but I remem
ber her hitting him with a lamp
and busting it. I remember her
mouth all bloodied and her run
ning out of the apartment. I made
him leave and the cops were
called. What’s ironic is the guy
who was her boyfriend was the
brother of one of my former boy
friends.
I was a naive girl in high
school, a freshman. I believed it
when he said he loved me. I be
lieved it when he said he was
sorry. It wasn’t until I was at his
house one day that I knew I de
served to be treated better than
WedNEsdAy, D ecem bER . j L^.2001
T error T racking
know I deserved better and I’m
glad to hear my former roommate
learned the same. It’s not some
thing people can make you learn. WASHINGTON- Homeland Secu Kandahar on Tuesday as a the
You have to want to get out of rity Director Tom Ridge issued a United States continued its bomb
that relationship and want some new warning for Americans to be ing campaign.
thing better. Granted I did find on a heightened alert against ter
JALALABAD, Afghanistan-
myself in a couple other relation rorism.
Workers readied the airfield for
ships similar to this one. I was
KOENIGSWINTER,
Germany-
United States’ planes within 72
head bunted and had a TV thrown
at me. Also on numerous Future talks of Afghanistan’s final hours.
occasions I experienced stretch Tuesday after the northern
degradation and mental alliance gave in to strong United RAMALLAH, West Bank-Step
abuse. I was never good States pressure and finally pre ping up reprisals for suicide bomb
enough and I know now sented candidates for posts in an ings by Palestinian militants, Israel
unleashed air strikes Tuesday with
that was a lie; it was he who interim administration.
three missiles hitting near Yasser
was not good enough for
Salena De La Cruz me. To this day I had told MONTREAL-The United States Arafat’s office as the Palestinian
Opinion Editor only one or two people. and Canadian officials have agreed leader worked inside.
Maybe by people hearing to tighten border security, includ Palestinian said no one had been
tunately told no one. I believed my story they can break the cycle ing the deployment of 600 United injured.
States National Guard troops to
I had deserved it.
and get away.
border
crossings and the sharing JERUSALEM: town of Jenin-Early
Later that week I was walking
Needless to say I am now weary
Tuesday, Israeli troops tore up the
through town with my older upon entering a relationship. So, of computerized fingerprints.
landing strip of Gaza International
brother, my now x-boyfriend I say a message to females and
came behind me and yanked my myself; we deserve love with a SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN- Airport. The airport had been a vi
head back by my hair. My soft touch not an angry hand. Australian combat troops have tal link between the Palestinians
brother is built like a football That also goes to guys who get joined the United States’ Marines and the rest of the world since it
player and let’s just say one hit beat up by women, it does hap who seized a remote air base last was opened in 1998. It was closed
dropped that guy. He got up and pen, we have to believe we de week, while Marine reconnais to regular traffic for most of the past
14 months.
waved a policeman over who serve better and want better for sance units aggressively patrolled
happened to be driving by. He ourselves before the cycle of the surrounding desert.
WASHINGTON-Serious negotia
said he wanted to press charges hurt and pain will be broken.
on my brother for hitting him.
If you or someone you know KABUL, Afghanistan-Taliban tions are expected to begin on an
Well, needless to say my brother is in an abusive relationship, fighters and members of Osama bin economic stimulus bill now that
explained why he hit the guy and don’t keep it to yourself. You Laden’s al-Qaida militia were put Republicans and Democrats have
the policeman said if he’d done don’t deserve it. Tell a family ting up fierce resistance against settled a feud over procedure that
that to his sister he’d get the member, a friend, or a counselor. opposition Afghan forces outside had delayed the talks for a week.
same thing.
I’m happy to say I didn’t see
If you or
that guy after that except in pass
ing. It saddens me to say that
you know
help
United
on heightened
against
same guy, with a friend, later
contact
Domestic
raped my best friend.
Violence Hotline at
I’ve grown up since then and
learned that women need to be
Information compiled from KA.TU sources as well as The
loved and not the sick twisted
Oregonian.
kind this guy tried to show me. I
this. I was babysitting his little
brother when all of the sudden
he demanded to hold him. He
seemed rather distraught, per
haps on drugs, so I said no. He
left the room and came back with
a metal pipe. I looked behind me
that was the last thing I remem
bered before I woke up with a
huge headache. I left and unfor
Say It Loud
&
Proud!
someone
needs
the
'I want to define dignity for myself’
This letter is in response to the
opinion piece, “Assisted suicide
not dignified.” I would ask: What
makes anyone think that dying
“naturally” is more dignified? The
media and the isolation and tech
nology of nursing homes and hos
pitals have sanitized our concept
of dying to the point that few have
faced the true realities of death.
I write from personal experience.
When my husband, Richard
Andrews, former college board
member and English instructor and
a UCG Pastor, was dying at home
of cancer in 1992,1 found little that
one could call dignified. Nightmar
ish would be the better term.
His last weeks were filled with in
dignities and heartbreaking pain.
The decision we had made not to
have pain-prolonging, intrusive
medical intervention those last
days had wrenching conse
quences. He became unable to con
trol his bodily functions and had to
alert
States
terrorism.
1-800-799-7233.
Leuuers uo die EE luole ^
Letter to The Print:
/V eux^
be diapered. The effects of the dis
ease caused an odor that could not
be completely eradicated despite
our best care. As his system broke
down, the build-up of toxins in the
body caused hallucinations and
nightmares, and this man of cour
age was filled with anxiety and fear.
Drugs left him confused and inco
herent. He struggled to breathe. He
became unable to eat and drink, and
faced hunger and thirst along with
pain. He tore at his clothes, a com
mon aspect of dying, and we even
tually abandoned them.. .except for
his diaper. His lapse into a coma was
a blessing, but even then he was
wracked by a pain that drugs could
not touch. I communicated with hos
pice and the hospital, but drugs suf
ficient to truly ease the pain would
have killed him.. .and that, of course,
was illegal for all of us. My tempta
tion in the light of his suffering was
almost unbearable. The sound of his
moaning filled our home and will
haunt me forever. I literally prayed
for him to die, for his escape from
suffering.
And
he
did,
“naturally”.. .but not with any dig
nity that I could discern.
This story is not unique. It is also
the story of my mother, who had
died of cancer 18 months before. It
is a story that is still replicated regu
larly. It is true that not everyone ex
periences this kind of death, and for
that I am grateful. But, I find it unac
ceptable that earlier, when my well
loved dog developed cancer, we
were able to kindly end his pain, but
subsequently we did not have a
choice for a beloved husband. The
law gave greater compassion to my
pet than to my spouse!
I hope that as a state we never
again restrict another’s right to
choose how to die. If that choice is
not right for you, then don’t choose
it, but don’t take another’s right to
do so. I want to define dignity for
myself. Thank you.
Cyndi Andrews
Director, Distance Learning,
Library and Media Services
Join us Winter
Term and read
Potter article
your peers
lacked research
opinions and hnw
Letter to the Editor:
Flipping through the Nov. 28 issue,
you can rospnnd.
I started reading the “ What do you
think?” column titled "Hany Potter:
See you in 2002.
fantasy versus reality" written by Liesl
Muggli. While I agree with the opin
ion stated in the column, it is the lack
of research done of the subject Now, I
would only describe myself as a ca
sual harry Potter fan (I read the first
two books and saw the movie), but
poor research is poor research. Muggli
states: “Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s
Stone’ has been renamed as ‘Hany
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.’”
A little research would have shown
that “Philosopher’s Stone” was the
original title when the book came out
in England and Europe. Even the Eu
ropean version of the movie has no
reference to the “Sorcerer’s Stone.”
I’m not here standing up for the rights
ofHarryPotterites or anything. I’m just
looking for good research.
Sincerely,
Matt Roberts
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