America's addiction to Potter

The "craze" that has swept the country off its feet has believers. It has converts. It has critics. It has haters, nonbelievers, people who think it represents evil. It has addicts.

The fifth is required reading for some AP English students. What if they haven't read the prequels? What is this assumption that everyone will appreciate that Harry Potter is good literature?

Perhaps it is because his latest book might just beat the Bible for the best-selling book in history.

No book is that good. No writer can satisfy such a diverse audience

There are lots of good stories out there. Millions, even. But the world has stopped reading them. So why, all of a sudden, is there a writer powerful enough to captivate both children and adults?

Ginny Farmer


SUVs not cause of war... but not far off

They’re SUVs or sport utility vehicles, whatever that means, and they’re selling at a furious rate. While they may be menacing and scary to pass, they are by no means causing war.

“It could take America to work in the morning without sending it to war in the afternoon,” the groups purport in the latest advertisement for their anti-SUV campaign. They argue that if SUVs got 40 miles per gallon, it would allow the United States to stop importing oil from the Middle East, cutting off financial support for governments that support terrorism.

The problem is compounded by the sheer popularity of the SUV. It seems as though everyone wants an uber vehicle of their own, regardless of whether or not it guzzles gas and then guzzles some more. The fact remains that Americans want SUVs and they want them bigger and more extravagant than the next. Demand inevitably drives every market and automakers are simply responding to demand.

Genevieve Fussell


Don't forget about you

Moderation, we are taught, to take in all things. Despite all practicality (and in some cases possibility), this axiom applies to schoolwork, as well.

We are taught the two greatest gifts that we have been given in this life are our physical bodies and our free agencies. The Word of Wisdom teaches us to abstain form addictive substances and further to take all things in moderation.

Be responsible but sane. Get your work done in a timely fashion and there will be time enough for yourself, (a principle I need to subscribe to myself).

Leave everything in its place. You are much more important than grades or a class. However, be responsible, know that this education being pursued is not coming easily or cheaply and the knowledge gained is very meaningful.


Ryan Wilson