Disappointed Student
I would just like to comment on the unprofessional appearance of this current voting ballot. The glaring typos and confusing errors were unacceptable on an official document of this nature. Especially the question that asks whether a phrase should replace the italicized area in the excerpt above and the whole excerpt was italicized. I expected more from a an official ballot.
Jessica Preciado
This is in response to the recent article
Have You Hugged an Evangelical Today? I am a nondenominational Christian, so this piece immediately caught my eye. Afraid that it would be a complete bash on the Christian faith, I was thoroughly impressed with how well Clint Nicholson has handled such a touchy topic. He is fair-minded, trying very hard not to be judgmental. I'm especially taken by how he has risen above others' opinions, within his own circle and outside of it, stating "places are what you make of them". I like that.
It's funny the two places he mentions in his paper as getting all the media's attention (Focus on the Family and New Life Church) are two places I know quite well. I've gone to New Life for almost 10 years now, and my mom is the producer/director of chapels at FOTF. Focus, while it has headed some great programs for the community/world/etc., I see as extremely close minded. This is unfortunate since they are one of the leading Christian groups in our city and even the nation.
On the subject of New Life though, Clint states that they get all the media attention because their beliefs are so extreme, and they are, but that is not all New Life's about. The church has made significant contributions to the community and the world over. Senior Pastor Ted Haggard has met with countless leaders/politicians/renowned world figures because they want his opinion, and not just on religious matters. He strives to constantly be up to date on all matters happening in the world. New Life has donated thousands upon thousands of dollars for missions trips. Those trips being used not only to spread the gospel, but to make significant changes in the way people live, whether by helping build a new school or improving basic living conditions like water supplies.
In other words, they're not only concerned with pushing their opinions off on others. I respect New Life greatly because they are open to anyone. They do not, however, accept anyone's way of living. The Christian opinion of any human being is supposed to be highly respectful, never demeaning in any way though. I am so sorry if Christianity has been misrepresented, Clint. "Love the sinner, not the sin" is one of the main mottos of Christianity, and yet there are so many times this motto is ignored.
You may call New Life's beliefs extreme, but what's wrong with that? Aren't we as humans always encouraged to stand up for what we believe in? Aren't we supposed to make a difference in the world? I personally disagree strongly with the act of homosexuality because it's not how we were emotionally or simply biologically designed to be. We were made in opposite sexes for a reason. At the same time, I still respect any human being, no matter what their lifestyle, because they are just that, a person. What they do does not change in any way who they are, and again I apologize on behalf of the Christian community if that has not come across correctly.
Rob Bourgeois
What comes to mind when I mention ADD? Probably someone who can't stay focused on anything for long and whose mind wanders around aimlessly for no reason apparent even to the mind's owner. That's not really the case.
Attention Deficit Disorder doesn't prevent extended concentration. It just impedes it. Things that interest the person with ADD can hold their focus easily, while things that don't don't. How would I know? I've had it all my life.
When I get really bored or frustrated while trying to do something, such as listening to a lecture, watching a TV program, or trying to type an essay, my mind searches for an interesting topic. It's a built-in check. People who remain bored for periods of time will eventually go insane. We need diversion. However, people with ADD have a shorter boredom threshold, and, therefore, a shorter attention span.
Here's an example of how ADD works. In elementary school, I had a mandatory typing class. The program repeatedly tried to stick the "home row" down our throats. Most students got right into it. I didn't.
It was exceedingly boring to use only three to five keys again and again for what was probably 15 minutes but felt like hours. So I went back to the "hunt and peck" method; instantly my times and accuracy improved. My teacher really frowned on this, but I was so bored it was the only thing I could tolerate. Now, 10 years later, I use a slightly comprised version of the "hunt and peck" method (using all my fingers most of the time, instead of only two), but Ican now type a20 words a minute.
Generally, you can't tell if someone has ADD. Instead, they may be labeled as "childish" because they play with markers, crayons or toothpicks during class. They might also be called "stupid" because they missed a key point, went on without it, and made a mistake that no one else did.
Most of you may ask why I don't take Ritalin. Let me tell you something: it doesn't work. My dad had me try it during one year in middle school because of a prescription from my psychiatrist. I only took it for a month. I hated the way it made my brain work. I couldn't focus on anything. Soon I had a week's homework piled up to do in one night, and no time to do. That year I had my only D and my lowest GPA ever. That's right. Ritalin doesn't work. It makes it worse.
So if Ritalin doesn't work, then how do we get over ADD? Really, we don't. It never goes away. Like a river through the course of a year, it ebbs and flows. Instead of trying to get over it, it is best to control it. Focus on something. Find some element of fun in it and keep coming back to that one fun element. It may be a fairly lopsided project, but you took a decent whack at it, and that's all anyone can expect.
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As a first time reader of the PPCC college newspaper I was impressed with the content even though I cannot benefit from the contrast of having read the paper prior to its being reworked. Many of the articles are interesting because the topics are provocative. Included in the paper are topics from smoking, traffic problems (who can't contribute to this one), lack of funding and interest in the theater and even tattoos.
In the half hour I spend reviewing
The Pikes Peak News, I read tens of articles and identified something that seems to be missing wholesale as a topic: having fun. My intention is not to undermine the necessity of discussing topics that are important to us culturally but to remind us that life is not all business. I am not a full-time student, so I suppose that my level of stress is inherently lower than many of you reading this article. Don't let being busy stop you from enjoying yourself. In fact, a busier person should have more interest in this article than those who have time on their hands.
Let's talk tactics. My tactic for enjoying myself is simple. If I do the work first, then the rest of my time belongs to me and I can enjoy it that much more. I buckle down and "git'r done" as Larry would say. Personally I spend my leisure time either playing console games such as "Shadows of the Colossus" and "Black" (the Uzi is terrible), surfing the internet and coming up with other ways to have fun. Examples of other things I have done are purchase a yo-yo and a jump-rope (fun and exercise) . One of my roommates told I was doing "something stupid."
Don't sell your TV or stop your subscription to the newspaper. Instead, turn off the television and put down the paper from time to time, go outside and do "something stupid."
