It's Only College: I Realize This is Supposed to be Practice for the Real World, but There Comes a Time When You Must Draw a Line

THE RIGHT ANGLE: It's only college - Opinions

"You shouldn't take life too seriously. You'll never get out alive." -- Ryan Reynolds as Van Wilder

I have to say, I never expected to begin one of my columns with a quote from a National Lampoon movie. But sometimes you find yourself in a stupid situation that can only be explained through a quote from a mindless college movie. That's where I'm at right now.

I've always been amazed by the number of college students who take themselves too seriously. For four years now, I've heard that silly statistic about how 60 percent of women meet their husbands as undergrads, and for four years, I've been urged by my fellow coeds to hurry up and find one. Now, I'm not sure what the real statistic is, as I've heard several different numbers from several different people, but numbers like that tend to send women into a panic. As a result, I've seen many desperate female college students spend more time trying to attract a mate than actually preparing for their own futures.

I'm not saying that doesn't work for some women, but if they're going to get terrified over that statistic, they should pay attention to the others. 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. With that in mind, do you really want to spend your college years stressing out over some guy? I'm almost 22 and single, and the last thing on my mind is marriage. Don't take insignificant things too seriously this early on in your lives. Years in the future, you'll look back and realize how trivial it all is in comparison.

Recently, I've encountered another group of people who take themselves too seriously. After the last issue of the Carolinian, a certain Opinions columnist (ahem) was accused of "leaking" information about one of the SGA Vice-Presidential candidates. Because I repeatedly refused to "reveal my source", I've been constantly answering to student journalists trying to guess my source and my motives. I can't even tell you how many times I've been referred to as Judith Miller. And I really can't do anything but laugh about the situation.

We are in COLLEGE, people! I realize this is supposed to be practice for the real world, but there comes a time when you must draw a line. Everyone wants this to be such a bigger deal than it actually is. The truth of the matter is, the information I gave the Carolinian was public information which can be obtained by doing a simple Google search. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the equivalent of leaking the identity of a CIA agent. The identity of my "source" is unnecessary, and seeing as how the information was already public, I don't see what all the fuss is about. I don't even think it's possible to "leak" public information.

Among the students who want this to be so much more than it actually is was a WUAG reporter who had already decided what "really" happened. He went around the school interviewing students he thought were involved in a manner which can only be described as harassing, and attempted to prove his own story through very leading questions. I'm sure this is a good technique to use when you're involved in a real news story, like the Judith Miller case, but on a college campus you're not going to win any Pulitzers.

I try to not take myself too seriously. I'm the first one to make fun of myself, my columns, and my own beliefs, but even I found myself getting caught up in the campus drama. I let it interfere with my schoolwork, as I got stuck in a wave of non-stop interviews and meetings, trying voraciously to save my reputation. And then one night, a friend of mine told me, "You think this is bad? Wait until the New York Times is gunning for you."

In an instant, things were put into perspective for me. If I worry so much about what the college media says about me now, how am I ever going to make it in the real political world? That's when I realized how ridiculous it all is. I'm no Judith Miller, and this isn't going to ruin anyone's life. We are in college to learn about and prepare for the real world, and we can't let extracurricular drama control our lives.

So the next time you find yourself in a situation that seems to be taking over your life, try to put things in perspective. While boyfriend/girlfriend drama might seem like the most important thing in your life right now, when you're applying to grad school years in the future, you'll wish you hadn't let a stupid fight result in an F on that midterm. Chances are, these are the best years of your life, and you shouldn't waste them stressing over the little things. And so, I'll leave you with one more quote from Van Wilder: "Worrying is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."

Write that down.

Al Gore versus Dick Cheney

THE RIGHT ANGLE: Al Gore versus Dick Cheney - Opinions

Last week, Al Gore gave a speech to a mostly American-educated audience in Saudi Arabia. During this speech, he basically denounced the United States government as being anti-Arab, saying that Arabs have been "indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."

Normally, if a former Vice President were to make such anti-American remarks to a foreign audience, it would be big news. However, Gore's timing couldn't have been better: he gave his speech on the same day news broke that current Vice President Dick Cheney shot a guy.

Never mind the fact that it was a hunting accident. Never mind the risks that go along with the sport of hunting. The way this story spread, you would have thought that Dick Cheney had illegally obtained a sawed-off shotgun and gone out looking for Democrats. I wouldn't go so far as to say that an accident like this isn't news, because clearly if the Vice President of the U.S. is involved in the accident, then it's going to be news, but it did not deserve the amount of attention that it received.

Regardless of Cheney's involvement in this incident, there's only one reason the national media has made such a colossal deal out of this: they're bitter that a local station in Texas got the story before they did.

Another reason people claim it is important news is because some believe Cheney had a duty to inform the country about the accident right after it occurred. And Vice President Cheney finally went public, several days after the event, in an interview with Fox News' Brit Hume, to explain why he did not do so earlier:

"If we'd put out a report Saturday night - we could have then - one report [that] came in said, 'superficial injuries.' Had we gone with a statement of that, then we would have been wrong. And it was also important, I thought, to get the story out as accurately as possible."

And he's right. Had the White House released a report right away that said Cheney's hunting partner had "superficial injuries", can you imagine what the response would have been when it became apparent it was much more serious than that? Regardless of the fact that no one knew right away just how badly he had been hurt, the media would be accusing Cheney of attempting to cover up the seriousness of the injury.

There is absolutely no need for this story to be spamming our news stations 24/7. It happened, it can't be undone, and Cheney is even feeling remorseful about it, according to his Hume interview (that disproves everyone that's been saying he's a robot for the past few years).

The fact that it was a fairly slow news week obviously didn't help matters much. Which takes me back to my first comment: had Al Gore voiced such anti-American sentiments during such a slow news week, everyone would know about it. Instead, people who don't regularly keep up with the news are talking about Cheney's hunting accident, and probably can't even remember who Al Gore is (of course, these are also the same people who are convinced he had the 2000 election stolen from him).

On a final note, for those of you who will try to tell me that Gore is right, that Arabs in America are being "rounded up" for minor offenses, let me remind you of something: the terrorists who hijacked four planes on September 11, 2001, had frequently used document fraud to move about the country freely. After the terrorist attacks, the U.S. government was criticized for being too lenient when dealing with visas and passports. Does Al Gore really think these issues are "minor"?

(Apparently, The Carolinian felt the need to post the aforementioned "retraction" twice in their online paper, so as to make sure everyone saw what a "liar" I was. That's the media for you.)