Campaign pledge

Students of VCU,

Suppose that a stranger – dressed in a fine suit and a black and gold tie – walks up to you, and says, “Could I have $45 please?”

Before you even reach for your wallet or purse, you look at the stranger curiously. “What do you need it for?” you ask.

Suppose he says, “Oh, for . . . stuff. C’mon, just hand it over. It’s really important.”

Still, you may be skeptical of his purposes, and for good reason. I would say that if the average person was as straightforward as the SGA is about money borrowing, everyone would seem like a desperate crackhead. Okay, a little hyperbole, but . . .

If you are near a computer, check out this URL: www.students.vcu.edu/commons/activities/finance/.

In case you were unaware, the site can tell you what is happening to your $45 student activity fee. Except by “is happening” I mean “happened,” and by “happened,” I mean happened one year ago. Data that old is useless in determining the effectiveness of your current leadership.

If you are still near a computer, check this out, too: www.vcusga.com/forum.

This is the SGA forum, one of the best ever ideas of your student government. At least in conception, students could count on the convenience of the Internet when watching their delegates deliberate, or – better yet – join them! However, the president’s office, unlike the Senate, has closed its forums to the public. It seems to me that your paid public servants should be as accountable as anyone to her supervisor – in this case, you!

The SGA Web site is not very useful to politically active students. The bills that alumni senators put hard time into drafting for your well-being now fall into obscurity because they are invisible. And, for example, a bill I wrote, presented and got passed in early December has yet (as of Jan. 10) to have reached the Web site! The SGA should dedicate more time to preserving our student leaders’ best-laid plans, our legislative backbone.

I am running for student body president. Joining my ticket is Maggie O’Brien, who is running for student body vice president, and E.J. White, who is running to be your executive director. Our Web site is www.vcyou.org because we want to center VCU around you. Please examine it during the coming months for campaign news.

With your support, Maggie, E.J. and I can promise to take on unprecedented accountability. Through a better-informed student body, we could elevate the discourse on how to make VCU a better place to live, work and study. It is a discussion I treasure.

With your support, I pledge that by the end of my first semester in office, I will have established an online archive of every piece of SGA legislation in history and put passed budgets online as soon as the data is available.

Also within that first semester, I will appoint a webmaster to streamline the SGA Web site (www.vcusga.com), remove its empty links and open the private Executive Forum to the public.

All this said, would you feel better about handing the stranger with a black and gold tie $45?

Respectfully yours,

Tyler Bass
Monroe Park Campus
SGA Senator

No offense

Merry Christmas! Oh, but, please take no offense. I do not mean to say it in a demeaning or disparaging manner. It is a simple gesture of kindness used by a group, indeed a nation, of people whom I identify with. However, I cannot say the name of the group for fear of ostracism (insert sarcasm here). The point, however politically incorrect I may portray it, is that we as a people severely lack both maturity and intellectual honesty.

Two mature adults ought to be able to exchange greetings of their respective traditions and part with smiles on their faces. When I receive a “Happy Hanukkah,” an “Assalamualaikum” or any other religious or cultural gesture, I do not take a step back, gasp in disgust, and lunge for the jugular vein in the perpetrator’s neck. My mind registers no negativity and is in fact void of all offensive notions.

You see, these forms of expression, religious or not, are simply meant for sharing the joy one feels in a time of celebration. Certainly, it is ridiculous to feel offended when someone desires to innocently share their joy. Some of us happen to be advocates of peace and harmony, spreading “Christmas cheer.” Why should we feel the brunt of liberal hypocrisy? An American who wishes someone a “Merry Christmas” should not fear that they might offend someone. I challenge any politician (by politician I am referring to anybody who follows the religion of political correctness) to present me with a logical reason why any learned person should be offended by the words “Merry Christmas.” I am, however, very offended by the words “Happy Holidays.” These words appear to teem with altruism, but hidden just beneath the surface are thunderous cries of flagrant disrespect. These words do not support diversity, but crush it under the sledgehammer of societal suppression. To the starck contrary of popular opinion, these words deny the legitimacy of any religious holiday, or for that matter, any religion (besides those of atheism and agnosticism).

I do not intend to preach universalism, but I do hunger for unity. I commend those Athiests, Agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and the rest of Americans who may not believe in Christmas or worship Jesus but who can appreciate someone’s wish of a Merry Christmas. They are the ones who truly value freedom and respect diversity. They are the ones who really know open-mindedness. To the rest of our great country I inexorably plead, “Wake up America.”

– George Belden

Cancer awareness

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, and I hope that all of you made a New Year’s resolution to educate yourselves and the women in your lives about how to prevent cervical cancer.

In 2004 more than 10,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer – 300 in Virginia alone. However, through regular screening and understanding of the disease, cervical cancer can be prevented. I hope all women will talk with their doctors about available screening options and how to reduce their risk for developing the disease.

Cervical cancer develops when abnormal cells in the lining of the cervix begin to multiply out of control. Virtually all cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus. HPV is a common sexually transmitted virus that usually goes away by itself. In fact, most people with HPV never even know they have it. Unfortunately, some HPV types, if they do not go away on their own, may cause abnormal or pre-cancerous cells to form. If these abnormal cells are not found through regular Pap screening and treated, they may become cancerous.

Before doctors started using the Pap test in the 1950s, cervical cancer was one of the leading causes of cancer death in women. Since Pap screening came into widespread use, cervical cancer deaths in the U.S. have fallen by nearly 70 percent. Recent advances in screening and growing awareness that cervical cancer is caused by HPV can help to continue to save lives.

We all need to do our parts to raise awareness and educate all women about how to stop this disease from devastating women and their families. There is a wealth of information available to learn and to share – an easy way to start a dialogue with your friends and family is through the Make the Connection Campaign. I have found that by talking to friends and family about the Make the Connection Campaign as well as other resources that we can raise awareness.

Together, with education, research and screening, we can reduce the incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer. That is why I urge you to start today! Renew your commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Be physically active, eat right and schedule your annual Pap test. Let this be a reminder to all women to take care of themselves and maintain healthy habits.

If you would like additional information on cancer prevention, please contact the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation at 1-800-227-CRFA or visit the web site at www.preventcancer.org or for additional information on cervical cancer, visit www.maketheconnection.org.

– Susan Allen

Mrs. Allen is the wife of U.S. Senator George Allen and is a board member of Congressional Families Action for Cancer Awareness, a program of the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation.