It's all in how you talk to cops
Jessica Watson's "Ask Your Lawyer" column on Wednesday asks the question "Do I have to let the police in if they show up at my party?" and begins with the thesis that "…for the most part, you do not have to let them enter." It's important to add, however, that while Watson's column correctly states various parts of the law, the issue of whether or not a police officer's search of your home was constitutional will be litigated at a later time in court, not during the encounter itself.
Police have great discretion as to what to charge someone with, and even whether to charge them with anything at all. Very often the difference between being issued a minor Class C Noise Ordinance violation, instead of being arrested for a Class A Misdemeanor or even a felony, is your attitude when you talk to and interact with the police.
If the police ask to search your house, and you don't want them to come in, here's what you should do: Politely ask whether you must let them enter. If they say "no," there you go. If they say "yes," let them enter. Then tell your lawyer all the facts surrounding the case, if the subsequent search ends up leading to charges being filed.
Jamie Spencer UT alum Austin criminal defense lawyer October 18, 2006
Literally irregardless of laziness
I must say, Brian Morrison must have never had a class in linguistics, or if so, only with some overly academic professor in an ivory tower ("Saving English from itself," Oct. 17). The idea of "linguistic laziness" is only used to create a stratified class system of the educated (read well-to-do) versus those with less access to education.
"Irregardless" of what you and many people who are concerned with preserving this system believe, the only measure of how "good" a language is is its ability to communicate meaning. Often, this so-called "lazy" language is literally more effective at portraying many ideas and emotions. In fact, linguistic (especially semantic) change is necessary for language survival, or else language would no longer relate to the culture it was used in.
Literal meanings shift and change - it is a natural process. The word "literally" itself has shifted meaning, now used as an intensifier, not only to describe a specific style of use. Language rules always fail, as shown by the Acadamie Francaise and its various counterparts across Europe.
Study a bit more, and learn how language really works: "Right" and "Wrong" only exist for those trying to break up society. How un-American …
Chris Severen Latin American studies and linguistics junior October 17, 2006
Paying good samaritan forward
Two weeks ago, I left my apartment in a bit of a rush, late for class. I grabbed my driver's license and some cash out of the jeans I had been wearing the night before, and in too big of a hurry to put them in my wallet, I stuck them in the back pocket of my jeans. When I got to school, I realized that I didn't have them. I was certain I had brought them with me, but figured I must have set them down.
After I got home, my roommate and I turned our apartment upside down looking for them. I searched my car, my purse, my backpack - everywhere I could think of. I couldn't find the cash or the ID. I chalked it up to my disorganization and figured they were lost forever.
Today, I checked my mail to find a simple envelope with no return address. Inside I found my ID, my $26 and a simple note from a girl named Elizabeth. She found them at the 40 Acres bus stop and kindly put them in an envelope to my old address in San Antonio. So today, I received them with her kind regards and blessings and a P.S. asking me to "pay it forward."
I would like to tell this young woman thank you so much for her kindness. It is seldom people go out of their way to help someone else, especially someone they have never met and don't know.
So, Elizabeth, thank you very much, and you can be assured that I will "pay it forward." My blessings back to you!
Emily Grobe Journalism graduate student October 16, 2006
APO doesn't discriminate
It should be noted that the Alpha Phi Omega service organization does not condemn or promote the policy that does not allow men who have had sexual contact with other men to donate blood. Tuesday's article "StandOut raises blood donation policy awareness" made several references to the Alpha Phi Omega organization that seem to point the finger at the organization as the responsible party for this policy. The organization's role in the event is to coordinate the blood drive with both the MD Anderson and Central Texas Blood and Tissue Center. This policy was adopted by their organizations, not the Alpha Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega.
Alpha Phi Omega merely organizes the campus portion of the event: parking and advertising. The UT blood drive is one of the most successful in the state of Texas and averages more than 1,300 pints of blood every semester. In 2003, the UT chapter of APO was recognized as having the largest blood drive in the state of Texas. It should also be pointed out that Alpha Phi Omega is an organization founded on the principles of the Scout Oath and Law, but the national organization takes a different stance than the Boy Scouts do on the "straight" portion of the Scout Oath, and does not discriminate against homosexuals in any form or fashion.
Billy Russell Past UT (Alpha Rho) APO President Government senior October 17, 2006
Reverse diversity apathy at UT
Two of the Firing Lines in Tuesday's Daily Texan attacking Robert Jensen's Monday guest column were downright appalling. Both Firing Lines provided loose and sometimes unfounded arguments behind the law school students' "ghetto party" and the issues surrounding it.
Clark Patterson noted that the ghetto fabulous party could actually "demonstrate that most white students think gangstas are cool." If certain students on campus dressed up in a fashion and named themselves in a way that mimicked, say, stereotypically poor whites, would that demonstrate that those students believed that poor whites were cool, as well? Furthermore, Mr. Patterson notes that "it's not 1955 anymore. The Montgomery bus boycott is as much ancient history as Perry Como singing 'Papa Loves Mambo.'" If Mr. Patterson can remember such "ancient history" as a Perry Como song, surely other students will remember the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, especially since the person the boycott is commonly associated with, Rosa Parks, passed away just last year.
Dan Hamilton accused the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society of "expressing their distaste with childish and vindictive actions." But doesn't the idea of a ghetto fabulous-themed party seem pretty childish and immature for students at an institution of higher education? If Hamilton had read Friday's edition of The Daily Texan, he might have seen the less than vindictive comments made by the president of TMLS saying the party "didn't indicate that racism was common at the law school."
The actions of the law school students and the responses in these Firing Lines overshadow the bigger issue: the fact that students at institutions of higher education may find themselves apathetic to issues of diversity. This should be adequate evidence that a mandatory diversity course (addressing various identities and communities a person may identify and interact with) is needed at our University.
Bradford Howard English junior October 18, 2006
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