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_The_Po_lem_ic_• w_,d_nes_dq_, Fe_hru_arv_21_, 1_"'----------------~Bwlffiw 7 A Men need to contribute BY K. J. HANSON STAFF WRITER A show of hands, how many men have been asked these questions during an in- terview? Do you have any children, and if so how many and how old? Now, how many women have been asked these same questions? Why do answers to these questions hold different meanings for men and women? In my opinion, the way you answer these questions should have no bearing on the outcome of the interview, but they do. When men are asked if they are married with chil- dren, they are generally looked upon as being respon- sible and reliable. In contrast, when a woman is asked this same question, her prospective em- ployers generally see her as being unreliable , because of her other family commit- ments. The way I see it, just be- cause the man's paycheck is going to support his family doesn't necessarily guarantee a loyalty to his job. Isn't it the man who is more likely to use his current position as a step- ping stone? They will gain as much information as possible in a short period of time. They will take that new-found experience and move on to a higher paying position with a different company. Women, on the other hand, who have a family to support, tend to stick with a position for longer periods of time. They have been known to put up with reprehensible working conditions to ensure continued financial stability for their families. Many people would ar- gue that the reason employers are wary of hiring women over men is because they have a higher rate of absenteeism. I feel this is largely due to the fact that the women are more likely to fall prey to sick children, and inclement weather, which in turn causes school closings, lackadaisical baby-sitting services, and auto problems. Aren't men just as likely to experience problems with their cars, health, and weather? These emergencies can also keep them from their jobs. They seem minor com- pared to the stress of juggling your schedule at the last minute to accommodate the needs of a sick child, or late baby-sitter. Often the hus- band will leave for work, knowing the latest family cri- sis will be handled proficiently by the Wife. Even though women have consistently taken the rap for the high turnover rate in the work force, it is often the men, who are paid 10-20% more in wages, that are al- lowed to go to work stress free knowing the family's needs are being met. As a mother, I feel that running a household should be looked upon as over quali- fication for some positions. Keeping track of your children and husbands activities is Gang violence needs to be addressed BY KILE RONDEAU STAFF WRITER A few months ago, a young man was exiting a gym after he had been working out. When he walked out on the sidewalk, he ran into an- other young man. They got into a fight . over different opinions, and within seconds a third young man pulled out a gun and shot the first young older than themselves. Kids armed and dangerous, are killing and being killed in sickening numbers. There are so many reports that after a while they become all too fa- miliar and we are less shocked. Maybe a little shock therapy could help kids. Take them down to the morgue where the bodies of kids lay. Tell them that this could be them if they pick up a gun and join a gang. comparable to the responsi- bilities of someone in a management position. Moth- ers must always keep abreast of the issues pertaining to their household. In this same sense, a manager must always know what is happening in his/her department. In defense of the men of the 90's, I would like to ac- knowledge that yes, you are putting your hands into dirty dishwater more often. Yes, you can now go to the store and successfully shop for your family, and a few of you have also been known to show_ up at parent/teacher conferences, But, in my opinion, when push comes to shove it is of- ten the trend to allow the Mother to shoulder most of the responsibility for her family's well being. Is this be- cause she earns less, works sporadic hours, and her job is less critical? Walking in to a popular fast food restaurant recently, I noticed a flyer advertising for help wanted. The ad was directed toward high school/ college students, retired men, and housewives. The com- pany was offering to work their schedule around your family commitments. At first glance I thought this was a step in the right direction to- ward equality for women in the work place. After closer examination, I realized the company was basing this ad on the assump- tion that only Mothers would need to apply for a position that would allow them more time with their family's. My question is why is it the women who are expected to work at a job that is more flex- ible with their schedules? Having a position that will work around your schedule usually means taking a lower paying job. I was offended that this ad was not directed toward the family man. Are they not expected to rearrange their lives to fit their families? It is the rare man who is willing to take the lower wage, but more flexible job in order to be more involved on a day to day basis with his family. ___ / ACC CA~ I~ Male bashing is not cool BYLYNLY STAFF WRITER One thing I do not understand is this new trend that I see happening every place I look: Watching television, I see men who are buffoonish in their ways of dealing with women, children, and life in general. When a woman's voice can be heard guid- ing the simpleton man through buying cough syrup, and he proudly boasts "I can shop," I want to scream. When women gather together and talk about personal hygiene, then cut men down in the next breath, I want to puke. Why are men being treated like this? Forty years ago when women were the subject of cut- downs and simple minded jokes, people took offense. But now men are being treated like the airheads of our society, and I for one ea woman) resent the hell out of it. When you go to buy a greeting card, yo:-1 see there are a variety that slam dunk meo. This makes me sick. Whatever happened to Equal Rights, whose goals were to have equality between the sexes. Nowhere in those ideals did it say superiority of one sex over the other. We must come to realize that male bash- ing is not a cool thing to do. I saw an eye-catching greeting card re- cently that showed a woman gardening. "Grow your own dope", it said. But when I opened it up, inside it said "Raise a Man." I find that offensive. Wake up people, one form of sexism is · NOT better than the other. Enough is enough! Seek the balance. Guardian angel protects writer BY DONALD FILARSKI STAFF WRITER Do you believe in angels•? I do. I believe in the unconditional love of my guard- ian angel. My Angel isn't a big strong man or a meek and gentle man. She's got long sandy blonde hair draped down her shoulders and a prolific light behind her. I don't particularly know why my angel is female, but if I asked her why I wasn't sent a male angel, I'm sure that she would say that I needn't worry. All angels are equal in strength regardless of sex or race. And it shouldn't be a surprise that one of my favorite shows is "Touched by an Angel" with Della Reese. And it shouldn't be a sur- prise that my guardian angel is just as beautiful as the angel on that show. Although I tried to find out her name in real life, I was unsuccessful. Now, to stop beating around the bush, I'd like to tell you a story. I was walking to col- lege one day when I stepped on a patch of ice ahd fell. I hit my hand pretty hard on the ground in catching my fall . It was throbbing and I had a small cut on my palm. I immediately got back up. While stand- ing to my feet, a woman's voice called out to me by name. She asked, "Are you all right?" I looked all around, but there was no- body in sight. Maybe I was just a little shocked by my fall. "Maybe I'm going crazy", I thought. Now, I've only told some close frienqs about this, and I know some won't believe, but regardless of your beliefs, color, religion, or sex, I think I have a Gaurdian Angel. I pray that bestowed on each of us there is a guardian angel, promoting acts of love around us; helping each of us to understand peace, silence, patience, and unconditional love. "Your ego doesn't mean anything if you 're dead." This violence that leaves thousands of children scarred, wounded, or even dead, con- tinues to spread. Society now installs metal detectors and guards in public . scr..ools. Many people feel hopeless and even helpless in this over- whelming violence. American Gothic inflicts pain upon viewers - Individuals offer solu-man three times in the chest, because one "gang member" protects another. tions that are ignored like investing in schools, increas- ing opportunities to get higher education, or rebuild- ing communities. Yet the cry for social reform goes unad- dressed and kids continue to The young man was rushed to the hospital. After a few hours of surgery, he fell into a coma that lasted sev- eral weeks. Everyone had given up hope, even me, al- though he was one of my great friends. But after three months, he started to get bet- - ter. Today he is fine, back to his old self. Unfortunately, not everyone is this fortunate. "Don't be a hot head if you can help it," my friend said. "Just walk away. Your ego doesn't mean anything if you're dead. If I had it to do over again, I would walk away," he said. Children are too fre- quently murdered in this country, by killers not much be victims of this society's policy of neglect. Bv RITA MACIEJEWSKI STAFF WRITER American Gothic is a television show that comes on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. What exactly is this TV show about? What are the pros and cons of this show that seems to glorify evil over good. The cons would be a l~w /j T omo.s -:fo/.hson official, Lucas Buck, who has evil powers that he uses to get his own way. The pros are, there is a good force that is portrayed in the show, a ghost, that may have stronger powers than Buck. So the question is who is going to win, good or bad? Buck treats the people in the community well, and life is good for them in this small South Carolina town, where he runs the town by the power of his dark force. But only if they follow his rules! If they don't, strange, bad things happen to those who don't share in his vision. For example, in a recent episode Buck intimidated a man to cut off his own hand with a table saw. The people are afraid of him and what he might do to them and their families, so no one stands up to him. Is this the type of pro- gramming that we like to watch, or will let our children watch? What we have here is a sheriff who controls his town by fear. The director of this show is Sam Raimi, who directed movies such as "Evil Dead," "Evil Dead 2," "Army of Dar-15- ness," "Darkman," and "The Quick and the Dead." What are the viewers get- ting from watching this program? Some of the view- ers are children, too young and naive to understand the meaning of fact and fantasy. Some believe that what they are seeing on TV is reality. Granted, the program comes on 10 p.m., so there should not be any young viewers watching, but what about the 13 -to- 16 year olds. Even some kids younger than that don't have a bed- time. For most of them it is not 10 p.m., but much later. So, here we have chil- dren with impressionable minds, that are supposed to be our country's future, watching a television show that glorifies evil and vio- lence, by making the evil force a law official who can do as he pleases with the town people. Are the children who are watching interpreting this as a way to get what they want by inflicting pain on someone? Or do they realize that when they cause harm to someone they are really inflicting some type of pain on another hu- man, and it is real. Unlike television, where it is made up, and after the person gets hurt they can get up and walk away. In the real world when someone is hurt they are re.:. ally hurt.