January 19, 2000
Martin Luther King Jr.'s work marches on
By RYAN JOHNSON
Assistant News Editor
Martin Luther King Jr. is a prolific man. Although he has been gone for nearly 31 years, the work that he took on is still getting done. His dream of racial tolerance and peace is being carried out across the globe, in cities, schools, and event he campus of Ferris State University.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission was started in 1999 to "promote the annual celebration as well as ongoing events throughout the year," Sandra Strothers, special Assistant to the President on Multicultural Affairs, said.
Since its inception, the commission has been working on a slew of events that will cover Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as well as the week surrounding it.
The events were kicked off Saturday, as actor Darryl Van Leer performed a portrayal of King giving some of his most famous speeches. Van Leer has starred in several movies, including two HBO original films and a Nickelodeon movie special. He has also been on General Hospital, and he played the groundskeeper in the major motion picture, A League of Their Own.
Van Leer, who also does portrayals of other famous figures such as Thurgood Marshall and Malcom X, feels very strongly about the work he does. "I am doing my part for society," Van Leer said, "I am trying to bring out bits and pieces of things that a lot of people don't know. I come from a family of entertainers, and I have my foundation in civil rights. I am trying to educate by entertaining."
The student turnout for this particular event was very low, their numbers apparently being topped by high-schoolers and administrators, and Williams Auditorium could barely fill up the middle set of seats.
The turnout Sunday, however, was much greater, as a massive march in honor of King was held. "We are here to honor and acknowledge the vision of Martin Luther King Jr.," Raymond Gant, Director of Minority Student Affairs, said. " In our own way we are showing recognition to the dream that this man set forth."
The march began in the lobby of Merril-Travis and would its way around campus. Chanting singing, and laughter could be heard all through the line as sign-carrying students marched in honor of Dr. King's dream.
"It is always a joyous occasion for me to celebrate this annual event," Matt Chaney, Assistant Director of Minority Student Affairs, said. "Dr. King was a great man with a great vision. His dream is not just for black people, but for all mankind."
Student participation was obvious, as marchers filled up the entire lobby of Merril-Travis and spilled outside into the cold. The students felt very strongly about why they were there.
"We are here in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.," Darrell Singleton, a junior in English Education, said. "We are here to celebrate his legacy, to bring all cultures and people together as one.
"Even on a cold day like this, people still take the time to come out and celebrate it all," Singleton said.
At 7 p.m. Sunday evening, the United Church of Big Rapids hosted "Celebrating the Spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr." Faculty and staff attended an inservice on Monday, entitled "Civility in an Uncivil World: Social Justice in Everyday Life. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Basketball Tournament was also held Monday afternoon. Monday evening, videos chronicling the life of King were shown in the Rankin Center Student Lounge.
The highlight of the events occurred Tuesday evening, when Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the NAACP, gave a keynote address in the Student Convocation Center. A former congressman and past leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, Mfume has eliminated the NAACP's six-figure debt and has worked at revitalizing its image among young African-Americans during his four-year period as president.
King, a southern Reverend and a Nobel Peace Price recipient, was assassinated April 3, 1968, just days after his final speech.
Senior Amy Wozniak will complete an internship to graduate
By LAURA CHENE
Ferris State Torch
Students have been told over and over by teachers, advisors and even fellow classmates that internships are beneficial in many ways. One student uses her mandatory internship as a way to help out her political career by gaining hands-on experience and meeting new people.
According to a press release, Amy Wozniak, a senior in Public Administration, is currently in Washington D.C. mentoring under Congressman James A. Barcia. Richard Griffin, coordinator of the Public Administration program, states that Wozniak left on Wednesday and began her internship Jan. 10. She will internship for three months.
Griffin states that Amy will be the first student to complete the entire program from beginning to end. The Public Administration program is a fairly new program. "She's very deserving of this opportunity," Griffin said.
According to Griffin, Wozniak's internship pays 2,000 dollars per month; however, her rent in Washington is also 2,000 dollars per month. "It costs her more to do the internship out of state than she could have done locally," Griffin said. Griffin admits that she still needs to take advantage of Pell grants and other forms of financial aid to pay for school.
One of the requirements for graduating from the program is completing an internship. "(The internship) has to be 160 hours long," Griffin said.
"Most of the students have done (internships) locally," Griffin said. "If a student needs to do one locally, then that's no problem, but internships locally don't pay."
Griffin also admits that Amy was proficient in finding an internship. "She just hustled it up herself," Griffin said. "Amy's been working on (finding an internship) since last winter."
Wozniak states in a press release that she is excited about the experience that she will gain for her political career. "I want to go into politics," Wozniak said. "Specifically, I'm interested in state or local government within Michigan."
Griffin states that it is not difficult for a student in the program to become involved in an internship. He states that he has a folder full of different internships in his office. "I have all kinds of stuff," Griffin said. "Some of them pay, and some don't. They're there. They're not hard to get."
"We try to be real flexible," Griffin said. "A lot of programs are more structured."
For more information on the Public Administration program or internships, contact Professor Griffin at x2761.
The Ferris and global community both pass Y2K with flying colors
By RYAN JOHNSON
Assistant News Editor
As the clock rolled over to midnight on the eve of the new year, century, and millennium, computers at Ferris State University noisily exploded, the dining centers combusted violently, a herd of zebras overran the campus, and water pipes burst, turning residence hall rooms into aquariums.
This is what could have possibly occurred if Ferris had not been up-to-date and ready for Y2K. Fortunately, Ferris was open for business as usual the moment that 2000 began. "The key," Ted Halm, News Services Manager said, "is that we were prepared."
FSU's Emergency Management Team, which has been preparing campus for the millennium bug for many months, reported January 1 at 11 a.m. that "there were no technical difficulties or Y2K problems reported. Physical Plant reports no power problems, and all systems on the Ferris computer backbone are functioning normally at this time."
"We had done testing before," Halm said, "and we were able to pull all of our people together. We even had people working the evening itself."
Most of the world outside of Ferris also experienced no problems related to the Y2K bug. As the day passed from New Zealand to Alaska, airplanes remained aloft, clocks kept time as well as they always had, nuclear missiles stayed where they were supposed to, and almost all other computers behaved normally.
There were though, some malfunctions linked directly to Y2K. Gamblers at Delaware racetracks were surprised to find that some machines used for placing bets would not function. The machines had a three-day "look-ahead" feature, and they would not look ahead past January first. The 150 machines were fixed within 24 hours.
Several "time and date" web sites experienced problems. One site, swissinfo.net, reported the date to be January 1, 19100. Another, businesswindow.com, gave it as 100-01-01.
On a more serious note, several power plants, including eight in the U.S. east and mid-west and a nuclear plant in Japan experienced date-glitches. Fortunately, none of the problems disrupted power or posed any serious danger.
The Iraqi oil pipeline in Turkey, if not Y2K-compliant, will possibly never be tested, as officials set the year back on the pipelines clocks from 1999 to 1995 to avoid any possible date-related problems.
In a massive example of Y2K noncompliance, the entire Islamabad Stock Exchange collapsed, as the computers used to handle the transactions would not acknowledge the turn of the century. The computers read new transactions as taking place at the beginning of this century, putting the year "00" as coming before the year "99." Members of the stock exchange were forced to record each one of their thousands of daily transactions manually.
But along with the real problems, industries around the globe were hit by saboteurs, pranksters, hackers, and real accidents not related to Y2K.
Hackers broke their way into a British train services' website, and posted a message that train service would be delayed until February, due to Y2K. The company removed the message some two hours later.
A giant digital clock, situated on the Eiffel Tower , which had been counting down the time until 2000 since 1997, stopped functioning just hours before midnight, to the disappointment of tens of thousands of people who were gathered to celebrate in France. The problem was related to previous storm damage, and the rest of the celebrations went ahead as planned.
U.S. telecommunications experienced a kind of date-related problem, as millions of people rushed to phones to wish a happy new year to others. AT&T processed 1.5 million calls within five minutes after midnight on the east coast. "We did see about a 6-to-8 times increase in normal volume," Paul Lacouture, group president for network services for Bell Atlantic Corp., said.
Experts warn to beware though, as glitches resulting from the Y2K bug could possibly show up in the coming weeks, even months. The Gartner Group, a technology consulting firm, estimates only 10 percent of all Y2K failures will occur during the first two weeks of January.
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 Winter Welcome 2000 a success
By BRIAN VAN STEENKISTE
Amusement Editor
Students found more than classes waiting for them when they returned to Ferris last week. Winter Welcome 2000 started the millennium on the right foot with fun activities in the Rankin center. Each day featured a different free event to help ease the transition back to classes after an extended break.
The Winter Welcome 2000 events were funded by the Student Activities Fund which takes a refundable $7.50 from each student every semester. Monday night kicked of the festivities with The Ultimate Laser Tag Arena in the Dome Room. The event was put on by the Pom Squad and Entertainment Unlimited and had a great turnout. Attendees were treated to games of laser tag inside a giant inflatable arena which had black lights and fake smoke.
Tuesday afternoon the Rankin Center TV lounge was the site of Illusion _N' Fusion, a virtual reality-like ride. The ride was sponsored by the Minority Students in Criminal Justice, and EU. Participants were seated on a hydraulic ride and put headsets on which featured headphones and small video monitors. The combination of the movable ride and the sensory deceiving headsets produced a sense of motion throughout the roller coaster/car ride/helicopter/computer animated video. "It seemed pretty real if you were in the right frame of mind," Ferris student Chris Trombley said.
Wednesday afternoon brought Fun Flicks to the TV lounge. Fun Clicks was sponsored by the Diamonds and EU. Students were treated to the chance to make their very own MTV style video which they could take home on video cassette. According to the staff at Kramer International Inc., the company who brought Fun Flicks, well over 200 people participated in making their own video, not including countless other who stopped by to watch the happenings. Musically inclined Ferris students, danced, sang and acted out their favorite songs in front of the camera and have proof of their good time which they can watch for years to come.
Thursday afternoon brought Amazing Fantasy Photos. The photos were sponsored by the Minority Students in Criminal Justice and EU. Through the wonders of modern technology students were able to have their faces superimposed on the bodies of other. Students could be whatever they wanted from an angel, to a muscle man, a cowboy or Indian, a caveman or even have their picture on the front of a popular magazine. The attraction had lines throughout the entire day with students collecting copies of their Fantasy Photos on the spot.
Thursday night EU sponsored a dance in the TV lounge from 10 p.m. until 1a.m. DJ David Reed played music for the crowd and fun was had by all. Friday night wrapped up Winter Welcome 200 with the Panhellenic council hosting a big screen movie and costume contest in the Dome Room. Austin Powers was shown and students were invited to dress as their favorite shaggadelic character for the costume contest featuring fabulous prizes.
All in all Winter Welcome 2000 was a tremendous success. Students seemed to enjoy all the events and didn't complain that their SAFAC funds were spent foolishly. Students will have physical reminder to go along with the memories of all the fun they had until the next welcome week comes along.
RC Gallery hosts show featuring three female painters
By BRIAN VANSTEENKISTE
Amusement Editor
Now through Friday, January 28 the Rankin Center Art Gallery will be hosting an exhibition featuring three female painters, Caroline Musselman, Amy Packard and Jill Waskowsky. The women worked with oil paints, oil pastels and chalk pastels to produce the paintings featured in the show. A variety of styles are represented and visitors have many different works to examine.
Musselman is a painter who had been working locally and she produced the works featured in the exhibition specially for the show. Musselman, who says she loves the human figure, usually paints figures but diverged from the norm for this show. Her works in the show are based on a mural in Mexico of the serpent Quetzalcoatl, and are abstract and colorful. She did point out that they are not finished and they she plans on finishing them in the future.
Jill Waskowsky was recommended by Kathleen Vandemar, who was featured in the gallery last year, and appears to paint portraits. However, she quickly pointed out that her works are more than just portraits. Waskowsky has been painting seriously since the early 80's and attempts to capture more than just her subjects likeness on canvas. She wants to capture the physical, personal and universal aspects of her subject. She wants viewers of her works to be conscious of the moment the painting was done and of the larger experience that led up to that moment. Her paintings are worth more than they appear to be on the surface and are satisfying glimpses into her subjects soles as well as her own.
Packard, who works in oils and pastels brings a fresh perspective to art in the RC gallery. Her paintings are slightly abstract and are referenced from landscapes. She particularly enjoys painting natural enclosures such as caves, caverns and pits. Some of Packard's painting in this show were inspired by pictures taken at Yellowstone National Park. She like painting big and said, "I want the viewer to feel they can enter the piece and it's more fun to do it (on a large scale)."
The RC gallery is located in the RC atrium and is free and open to everyone. Carrie Weis, the Director of the RC gallery is glad to be supporting women artists and women in general. "Finally women are starting to be recognized for their contributions in the art world," Weis said. "We have three especially talented women (for this show)."
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Young guns getting it done for Bulldogs
By CHRIS MILLER
Sports Editor
The Ferris State hockey team is young, fast and now ranked in the top ten in collegiate hockey. Over the holiday season, FSU gained national recognition by winning the University of Minnesota-Duluth Silverado Shoot-out on Dec. 27-28.
"We had to face a couple of the top teams and beat them for the championship," Head Coach Bob Daniels said. Ferris took on Boston University in the first round defeating them 4-3. In the championship game, the Bulldogs captured the title in a 4-0 shutout against Northeastern College located outside of Boston.
Freshman Chris Kunitz was named Most Valuable Player for the tournament, while a total of six Bulldogs were recognized on the All-Tournament Team. Included in those six were junior goalie Phil Osaer and freshman Phil Lewandowski.
Kunitz lead the Bulldogs with four goals and one assist for a total of five points for the two games. Lewandowski added two goals against Northeastern.
"This tournament really showed us what potential we have for the rest of the season. It gave us a lot of confidence that hopefully will aid us in conference play," Daniels said. Currently, FSU is 15-9-0 overall and 8-8-0 in the CCHA. The Bulldogs have been 12-3 in their last 15 games with a 7-1 record on the road.
According to Daniels, the top ten teams play in the first round of the CCHA tournament with the top five teams hosting a game. After the five games are played, the fourth and fifth ranked teams play in a one-game playoff on a Tuesday for a bid to the CCHA Championships held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
"If we continue to win, we have a great shot at a major first in Bulldog hockey history. We could get a bid to the NCAA Tournament which has never been done for FSU," Daniels said. After the two games on the road, FSU returned to Michigan to take on Northern Michigan University for a two game set on Jan. 7-8. The Bulldogs fell in the first game 2-1, but rebounded for the second game dominating to a 5-1 victory.
"The winning score in the first game came on a lucky bounce that slipped past Osaer. It was really a hard fought game that just didn't go our way," Daniels said. Junior Kevin Swider scored the only goal for the Bulldogs in the loss. Osaer saved a total of 25 shots for the game.
In the second game, Swider came out firing first with a goal early in the first period. Assisting on the goal were senior Brian McCullough and sophomore Rob Collins. After a NMU score, Ferris added two more goals in the second period and never looked back. Swider added his second goal of the game and Kunitz stuck in a goal to put the Bulldogs ahead 3-1.
"Our team played tough defense because NMU came at us with everything late in the game." Daniels said, "It was an onslaught with the credit given to Osaer who performed extremely well when he had to." Scoring the final two goals for the Bulldogs were McCullough who is tied with Kunitz for the team lead in goals with 12 and Collins.
"Going into the season, the biggest factor that we had to deal with was our youth. It has been a surprise to see freshmen Kunitz and Lewandowski perform like season veterans." Daniels said, "Our team leadership though shows through our five seniors."
The five seniors have proven that they can lead the team by their outstanding play on defense. The Bulldogs have been able to shutout the opposing team's power plays over the course of the last two months. Against NMU, Ferris stopped all 11 of Northern's power play chances.
"This has been the biggest improvement throughout the season." Daniels said, "We struggled with it in the beginning of the season, but have pulled it together lately." FSU's goaltending has also been their strength this year. Osaer leads the team with a record of 10-4 overall. Owen has also contributed with an overall record of 5-5.
"They both have shown that they can win. Osaer has played a little better as of late, but I am still going to go back and forth between the two," Daniels said. FSU will travel to Miami University for a two game set then return home on Jan. 28-29 to take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha. This is Nebraska-Omaha's first season in the CCHA.
"We have to take that final step in our conference this year." Daniels said, "It's like a weight lifter when he switches the amount being lifted. If you move from 170-180 pounds it's no big deal, but it is tougher when you move from 270-280 pounds."
Women hoop up a 10-game winning streak
By PAM PRESTON
Assistant Sports Editor
The Women's basketball team opened up the semester with three home games at The Jim Wink Arena. The Bulldogs added three wins to their new 11-3 record.
Monday night's game against the Grand Valley Lakers was a major milestones for the women.
"It was a huge win," sophomore, guard Amy Popielarz said, who popped three 3-pointer and sank 15 points total.
At half time the Bulldogs lead by four points. "We decided to take better care of the ball in the second half," Popielarz said. The Bulldogs had 13 unpleasant turnovers in the first half.
Other leading scorers for the Bulldogs against the Lakers were juniors Jen Newsone (19), Dawn Baker and Debbie Killips (15).
At Saturday afternoon's game the Bulldogs trampled the Mercyhurst Lakers (86-63).
On Thursday the Bulldogs stomped on the Gannon Golden Knights (72-59). Gannon was picked by the GLIAC coaches poll to win the South Division Title. Leading scorers for the Bulldogs were senior Tianna Kirkland (13), Newsone (12) and Killips (10).
While Ferris is a big contender for the North Division Conference Title the rivals will be Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan. Ferris faces Tech and Northern next week on the road. "We hope to keep rolling on our winning streak, but these games will be tough," Popielarz said.
This season eight of the GLIAC's top teams will compete in the league's post-season tournament in Grand Rapids. The Delta Plex will be the host site for both the men's and women's tournament, which will be held March 1-4.
Most Ferris students had the whole break to kick back and relax, but the women's basketball team was on the court. The team won all of these games that built momentum for these conference matches. The team beat Lewis (83-63) on Dec.10 and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (64-55) on Dec. 19. The team had a pair of close wins against Missuori-St.Louis (76-73) and Central Michigan (67-60). The Bulldogs trampled conference opponent Ashland (78-48) in there first game of the year. Then another game fought wire to wire against conference opponent Wayne State (59-58).
Next basketball action is on Sat. Jan.22 at the Wink Arena at 1 p.m. while the Bulldogs come head to head with conference opponent, Lake Superior State.
Tom Kirinovic now fills the Athletics Director position
By MEGHAN CARBARY
Ferris State Torch
Since the resignation of Larry Marfise last July, Ferris State has been in search of a new Athletics Director. Even though the search committee, made up of twelve members of the university, drew applicants from across the nation, they needn't have looked any farther away than right at home to find their top choice, and ultimately, FSU's new Athletics Director.
Tom Kirinovic now holds the title of Ferris State University Athletics Director, a position to which he was named on Nov. 29 1999, by FSU President William Sederburg. This is just one of the many positions that he has held in his 17 years with Ferris. "I have done a number of things for the university, from managing the ice rink, to coaching," Kirinovic said. Most recently, Kirinovic was acting Interim Athletics Director since August, when Marfise accepted the position of Director of Athletics and Intramurals at the University of Tampa, in Florida. Kirinovic also held this position from 1993-94, just prior to the hiring of Marfise.
Kirinovic first came to FSU as a student in 1973. He graduated with a degree in Business Education in 1977. After that he went on to teach business and accounting at Ovid-Elise High School, in his hometown of Elsie, Mich. Aside form teaching he also served as head coach for freshmen and junior varsity baseball and assistant coach for the football and basketball teams.
After five years of teaching, Kirinovic got his masters degree in Education Administration from Central Michigan University in 1982. From there he was hired as Athletics Business Manager by Dean Davenport, the Athletics Director at the time. "I had know dean while I attended school here and had been keeping in touch, after I got my masters, he mentioned there was an opening at the university, and [my family] felt it was the right time to make a move."
"We thought that I would be at the university for an few years, and then perhaps move on to something else, but we're still here, and we are very happy," Kirinovic said.
In his 17 years here, Kirinovic has served in many position which include, Business Manager for sports, Ice Arena manager, Assistant and Associate Athletics Director and, at one point, women's softball coach. "When I was softball coach back in 1989, the team held a 17-15 record, one of the best that they had had in years, I liked to tease the other softball coaches that if a business manager could come in and bring out a winning season, than anyone could. It's all in good fun," Kirinovic said.
As for taking on this new position, Kirinovic said that he was glad to except the job, and is glad that the process is over so that the department can once again move forward.
Initially, there will be no major changes in the near future. "I have been part of this staff for a while now, so I pretty much like the way things are going. The first thing that I am looking to do is find someone to fill my former spot, other than that, not too much new will be coming into play," Kirinovic said.
"What I am going to focus on is funding, as with all Division II schools, that is always an issue. I am working on appropriating funds for what we currently have, looking at how we can work with scholarships, salaries and travel and recruiting moneys."
We have made tremendous improvements to our facilities, and have the new men's track and cross country and women's soccer to work with. I think we are really in good shape here," Kirinovic said.
Kirinovic and his family have settled nicely into the Big Rapids community. His wife teaches at Riverview elementary, and their two sons both attend Big Rapids High School.
Kirinovic hopes to do well in his new role at Ferris and is glad to continue to serve the university. |
Millennium celebrations come and go without a glitch
By STEPHANIE GUILES
Opinions Editor
We had no idea what New Years of 2,000 would bring. Whatever prompted us to believe the coming of a new millennium would cause events "out-of-the-ordinary" is slowly fading away as if washed down a historical drain. It was primarily superstition and mythology that brought on fears.
Those who believed that some cataclysmic event was eminent are now pretty quiet. Those who believed that nothing was eminent are now pretty quiet. Those who weren't sure, well, they are quiet. Did I say nothing happened? I must be wrong and something must have. The indifferent, the fanatical and the mainstream are all giving it a rest.
Everywhere I turn this new feeling is being projected. It's an undercurrent of the most wonderful social awareness and warmth. It's as if everyone has exhaled a huge sigh of relief. We were all wrong. Something has happened, but it certainly isn't bad. What we saw on this New Years Day has touched us like no other. It is very beautiful.
Because of threats that preceded New Year's on this new millennium, many people opted to stay home and watch celebrations from afar. There were a few scares in Seattle. Obviously this was enough of a "scare" to lead authorities to cancel festivities there. This incident did not stop many, though. Millions turned out everywhere around the world. It was unbelievable.
The outpouring and examples of many different world cultures was not only visually breathtaking but also a spectacular testament to humanity's technological achievements. I sat and watched live TV and realized how precious and important each culture and person on this earth really is. Never before have we seen each other live this way. I was in tears more than one time. This was brought about by the shear magnitude of it all.
Seeing these world celebrations was worth staying home for. CNN, PBS and the local networks covered the events so thoroughly I felt as if I had a "birds-eye" view of the world and it's diversity. Imagine the view of the Earth from space on New Year's Eve. The light produced by the fire work displays has never before been equaled. It must have been quite a sight to passing space creatures. To some distant and observing planet it may have appeared as if we were destroying ourselves; like the planet was on fire. Imagine the signals we gave.
For the most part it seems as if humanity has readily accepted what this new millennium has brought with it. It remains to be seen, though, if we can fully accept this peace when it is put right in front of us. Is our inability to accept peace the only obstacle in the way of achieving it?
What has amazed me, though, may seem insignificant to many. That's ok too. The message of the New Year was, "Learn how to get along, people. This is all so very important."
Humanity is reproducing at an alarming rate
By JOSH LAREAU
Ferris State Torch
Freedom isn't going to work in the future folks. Sure, it seems great now, but we are quickly using up the privilege. I'm talking about nothing less than the continued survival of mankind on this planet. Democracy as we know it, the lifestyle we have come to know and cherish as Americans, is only going to lead us towards extinction. The idea that we can not be completely free and unregulated is totally repugnant to me, but unless something drastic happens, we are going to have to give up our freedom in the not too distant future. Actually, that option might be forced upon us.
The problem is this: without strict regulation of consumption, production, and procreation, we, as a species, will not live for another thousand years. Actually, I should say we wouldn't live comfortably for another thousand years. There still might be human beings around, but they won't have our current standards of living, technology, scientific know how or even our moral standards.
We are going to reach a breaking point, where the problem of overpopulation and resource shortages will "fix" itself. Population will become so large, and resources will become so scarce that people will start dying off by the millions. Entire infrastructures will collapse, governments will fall into anarchy, and law enforcement will be non-existent. Humanity will be forced into the dark ages again. Left to our own devices, (and casually forgetting about the threat of nuclear catastrophe or a meteorite strike) our species will survive in large and small pockets around the globe, but set back thousands of years and with dramatically reduced life spans and quality of living standards.
That is how the problem will fix itself. Obviously, we want to correct it ourselves before that happens, before wars break out over wheat and fresh water, before populations revolt against governments that can't protect them, before terrorists hold entire cities hostage with nuclear weapons. We want to avert such a disaster, and unfortunately, and despite how alien it sounds to my American ears, nothing short of a totalitarian, strict, military style government that can avert the coming catastrophe.
Most of us think it is unjust when a government can regulate how many children we have, or put a salary cap on our earnings, or tell us what we can and cannot buy. I am one of them. We hear about it all the time in other countries like China, and we get sudden urges to salute our flag. God bless our hedonistic, self indulgent, microscopic view of life.
God Bless our disregard for the future of our species. Why should we care what happens to our children's grandchildren? We will be dead anyway. Why not live life to it's fullest now, instead of worrying about something that might not happen in our lifetimes? The problem is, unless we want a future where our children are forced to live under the iron curtain of communism, we need to take drastic steps now if we want to save our democracy.
It's kind of like trying to ration food, but not being very good at it. We are hungry now, but we have to make our food last for a long time. With our current mindset, we want to eat all the food now, and worry about what to do the next time we get hungry. We want instant gratification, and that is what we are getting.
With every day that passes, we as a species are consuming more than we can produce, more than the Earth can give us, and we are going to run out very soon. As it stands, we are scraping by on reserves of fossil fuels that are going to run out in less than fifty years. With the population set to double every twenty years or so, we are going to run out of land, food, water, medicine, everything we need to sustain us as 21st century human beings.
We are destroying our futures to live now. We need to bring a complete halt to industrial expansion. We need to educate, not procreate. We need to recognize now that the road we are driving on leads off a cliff. We need to avert ourselves somehow; we need to change the whole momentum of western civilization. It seems like impossibility, and it may be. I'm not certain. All I know is that we either pull off to the side of the road now or we end up as flaming wreckage.
Sappy shows should give us warning
By JACOB CRAFT
Ferris State Torch
I know that you have been anxiously awaiting the first Torch of the new millennium. I'll cut right to the chase.
I'm sick and tired of the media forming policy for our country. Whatever we are shown on the evening news, or God forbid, MTV news, is typically the extent of the average American's knowledge of current events. The factoids and stories spewed out by these "talking heads" are designed to do nothing but one thing-attract viewers. No matter how little tragedy occurred during a given day, the media would typically give the same amount of coverage to some events, even if we have to go abroad to find a suitable story.
Even worse are those "special" news shows. This tripe, composed of an all-star line-up include Nightline, 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes 2, 48 Hours and many others, highlight violent crimes in which the suspected offender has gone unpunished. These shows focus all of their journalistic might on proving that the "sleaze" is actually guilty, even though the courts may have determined him/her to not be. If they are lucky, they may then incite a lynch mob, which will then give them something to show the next week. By being taken in by these shows one could soon believe that everyone who commits a heinous crime goes unpunished and that we had better lock our doors. In reality, the only people who get away with murder in this country are ex-football players and senators.
To balance the manufactured tragedies and try to make us forget about the fear that has been implanted in our mushy minds we are then hit with a heart wrenching, pseudo-inspirational "human interest" story. These are usually focused on some poor sap overcoming long odds. Who cares? Should we care about someone who has had a run of fabulously bad luck and then had some good luck? What about the reverse? Should we see stories about the kid who had everything and then lost it all because of some horrible incident?
They should put all this inspirational bull on a separate show, so I can flip over to Fox and watch "When animals attack cops during their deadliest cases, caught on tape".
I don't like the fact that the only time something is done about the atrocities committed on this planet is when there are ratings to be gained. If that little Cuban kid's mom hadn't drowned, we probably wouldn't care about him. We would have turned his little inner tube around and sent him packing. Unless, of course, he could throw a baseball.
Instead of believing Mr. Commentator or any of those idiots who tell you that you should let your heart be wrenched-out over this or that, think for a second.
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