U.N. a ‘waste of human resources’

Kara Karlson (“”An exercise in futility””) always seems to enjoy finding a new way to demonize the United Nations, and she has good reason to do it.

The U.N. truly amazes me at how much money it can squander while doing nothing more than attempting to undermine the sovereignty of benevolent industrial nations such as America, while at the same time putting Third World pigsties such as Syria on the Human Rights Commission. The United Nations is a waste of human resources, but it is a great place to put human garbage.

Alex Hoogasian political science senior

UAPD at Manzi-Mo ineffective

I am a resident in the Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall. Recently, there was an article published about the police presence inside the dorms. The article suggested that this was benefiting all members of the dorm. However, I would beg to differ.

From my experience, I have gathered that the residents of the dorm feel that there is no need for the added security personnel. Their job is to make sure that residents make it safely to their rooms inside the hall, yet the police officers have taken it upon themselves to go on a power-hungry crusade against the residents.

For fear of being accused of crimes, residents have taken to locking their doors, detracting from the overall friendly community atmosphere that once existed in the dorms. For example, a police officer took the liberty to open a door that was merely cracked, and as a result a resident was cited. The officer had violated the resident’s privacy, and as a direct result the resident was punished.

It would be much more effective if the officers assigned to the residence hall were constantly stationed at the desk and therefore were easily accessible at all times. The police accompaniment gives the residents a feeling of being constantly monitored by a police force that is perpetually waiting for them to commit the slightest of errors, and be taken to jail, as a police officer threatened one of my residents.

In a separate incident, this weekend, one of my residents was in the smoking area of Manzanita-Mohave when he was assaulted by six men while there was a police car parked in the loading zone only feet away. This is only further proof that the police are ineffective and only a nuisance to the residents and the general atmosphere of the dorm.

Manzanita-Mohave no longer feels like the friendly, welcoming community it once was. It has become a hollow shell of what it once was due to the Gestapo-like tactics of the UAPD and its general inefficiency.

Taylor Brinckerhoff musical theater freshman

Time for unity on global warming issue

I had just watched a Sunday segment on “”Hannity’s America,”” which is on Fox News. This segment showed Hannity discussing the global warming craze and how five statements seen on the documentary “”An Inconvenient Truth”” were incorrect.

As I watched, I began to wonder if even this argument was constructive to begin with. You see, my capacities fail to recognize why someone would want to criticize a movement that – very simplistically – leads to humans breathing and therefore living better. The statements on “”An Inconvenient Truth”” may be incorrect. However, this “”green movement”” can potentially lead to greater economic opportunities.

The more these green-conscience people rant, the better it will be for our society to think outside oil and move to other forms of energy. As obvious as this may sound, forms of transportation will not disappear no matter what form of energy we decide (as consumers) to use. There will always be a demand for a specific type of energy that will allow people to travel. Whether ethanol is the most suitable form of alternative energy, or even if it is efficient to produce to make a profit, is not the point.

My point is that we live in a capitalist society where competition creates better products in the long run because we, the consumer, decide what we need or want. There are alternatives beyond ethanol, such as hydrogen and electricity. There are even efficient forms of alternative energy that lead to less home energy consumption, like photovoltaic (solar) panels. All of which can compete if we the consumer request (through purchasing power) to receive them. These alternative forms of energy can only become better, smaller and even more efficient if there is a hunger or demand for them.

Twenty years ago, cell phones were the size of a modern-day gas pump handle; now they can fit on our ears without needing any hands to hold. Consumers drove the transition to these more technologically advanced phones. As time passed, people began to demand smaller, colorful and more professional phones. Cell phone producers recognized the needs and wants of the market (the people), and they began to make smaller, sleeker and more colorful cell phones compared to their competitors, which attracted the consumers who demanded them.

With this economic standpoint stated above, I fail to see the strength of Hannity’s words. I do appreciate the fact that Hannity is bringing out inconsistencies within this movement about greenhouse gasses, yet if a movie is what it takes to lead the American people to cleaner air (less chronic respiratory disease), less dependency on other countries for energy and a new market from which people can potentially make a living within the United States, then I say, so what?

We as Republicans and Democrats should put the political games aside and not attack a movement that could potentially lead to greater economic growth. Instead of making this a political agenda for any side, let’s come together as consumers to better society and not politicians.

Patrick Boyan finance junior