A little memorization never hurt anyone

I must admit that I was rather surprised by Ryan Johnson’s article on how this is an open-book kind of world and professors should accommodate that by allowing their students to take tests with the use of the Internet and other reference materials. I would ask Ryan if he prefers to visit a medical doctor who has “”memorized”” a variety of health-related information or one who is a wiz at using WebMD. For that matter, why learn foreign languages, with all their tedious vocabulary words and conjugation charts, when we could just translate online with BabelFish? Anyone who has tried to self-diagnose an illness or translate a paragraph online will know the answer: The Internet is not always right, not always smarter than human beings and not always accessible when you want it. I ask, how does Ryan expect to discuss world economics and international issues if he doesn’t know the capitals of the countries he plans to discuss (in this case, Bolivia)? It is a sad world we are living in when students rely on calculators to do simple equations and on computers to think for them. A little memorization might be good for you, Ryan. That’s the whole reason we’re here at the university, isn’t it? We want information that isn’t necessarilly available on the Internet. Would the world be a better place if no one actually had to learn anything, just how to look it up online? If that’s the case, I suggest you spend the time you have left at this institution sitting on the couch with your computer.

Science not attacking Christianity

Janne Perona’s article reminds me of a quote from the play “”Inherit the Wind””: “”An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral. And the advance of man’s knowledge is a greater miracle than all the sticks turned to snakes or the parting of the waters.””

I’m tired of hearing some Christians complain that science is “”attacking”” our religion. There are too many phenomenal and astounding things (i.e. yesterday’s sunset, moon jellyfish, etc.) in this world to ignore God’s presence here. Science doesn’t contradict my faith, it expands my understanding of our complex universe and deepens my appreciation of God’s creative power.

Tuscon high school activists care about the issues

It’s really amusing that people are so bold to make accusations about issues they are not involved in themselves.

In response to the letter that was printed claiming the “”protesting kids only care about half-price, all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at Pizza Hut,”” I would like to say on behalf of those students that you are very, very wrong. I can guarantee that you were not present at these marches, thus you have no observational evidence to support your bogus claims. I was there. I saw the power these young adults have. In the middle of this political divide, they understand the issues unlike many people who get publicity today, and they are not afraid to take action in what they believe in. Nor am I. I will continue to support and bear witness to this Human Rights Movement. We have been called the “”sleeping giant”” too many times, but as you can see across the United States, we are awake. Our time is now. Social oppression can only last for so long, and when people continue to pretend it isn’t happening is its greatest opportunity to become more powerful.

I congratulate and appreciate all of those who marched yesterday. We have been heard, and we have made it crystal clear that we will not be racially profiled by this country.

The April 10 march was not just about being Mexican. It was about being human. It just so happens that the state of Arizona is bordered by Mexico, and it has become very easy for the news to target Mexicans. People from all over the world were present on Monday, and that is a fact that needs to be made very clear. Maybe we all should take a look at ourselves and see where the real battle lies.

“”The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice,”” Ezekiel 22:29. Powerful, isn’t it?

Columnist should take her own advice

Janne Perona’s recent article titled “”Christianity under fire”” rejects the authenticity of the recently translated “”Gospel of Judas.””

She claims that because the message contained in the fragments don’t match widely held Christian beliefs and cannot be found in the Bible, it isn’t an authentic Gospel account. She also goes on to claim that because it was found in Egypt, that it wasn’t as credible as those found “”in and around Jerusalem.””

Perona should take her own advice and not blindly reject things that she doesn’t agree with. If she did a little research into the field of textual criticism, she would quickly discover that authenticating gospels is quite complex. Just because a story isn’t told in the New Testament doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. And she may be interested in knowing that many of the reliable Greek texts that were circulating in the centuries following the death of Christ were found in Alexandria.

It seems that Perona is the one doing most of the blind attacking in this case. She should get off of her soapbox and open a book.

Wildcat should include more international coverage

Every day I open up the newspaper to the international news section, and every day I am disappointed. There is so much going on in the world and as college students, we need to know about it. We are the next world leaders and this paper is depriving us of what is really important. The sports section is five pages where the international news section is only about a half of a page. It is disgusting how little importance this newspaper puts on what is going on in our world. This newspaper has a reputation of being one of the country’s best college newspapers. It’s time that we start living up to that.