The Way It Is. . .

Editorial Rambling

By Judy Geissler

Few are the times when a student government editor has both the cau[se] and the free rein to philosophize at will; Thanksgiving is one of those rare occasions.

During the past few days, comments muttered by more than a few students have reached my ears to the effect of “Thanksgiving? Ha! What do I have to be thankful for?”

At first, I tended to agree with these cynics, thinking how behind I am in my classes, how I almost had to stay in Provo for vacation, and how internal and external pressures were building. Then I sat and reflected for a moment, and came up with a most extraordinary list of things to be thankful for. It left me devoid of any basis for self-pity.

I’M THANKFUL FOR. . .

I’m thankful for my family, which has protected me when I needed protection, guided me when I needed guidance, fed me, clothed me, sheltered me throughout my life. They maintain me in college at a great financial sacrifice, and do so with no thought other than the importance of my education.

I appreciate the opportunity I have of attending this university. I knew what BYU was like before I came here; it was a conscious choice to attend this school, with no outside pressure applied. A college education [is] invaluable in both financial and intellectual benefit, and the fact that we are here, obtaining this education, should be cause enough for thanksgiving.

Believe it or not. I’m thankful for the entire gang in student government. They frustrate me to tears at times, but they are dedicated to serving the student body, and there is little more we can ask of them.

Student government has many critics—myself not among the least of them. And yet we must admit this year’s officers are running their offiice[s] more effectively, efficiently and with more student participation than ever before. Isn’t that something to be thankful for?

As an individual, I’m especially thankful for members of the staff and administration. Merwin Fairbanks, adviser to student publications, has the most thankless job in the world. When anything goes wrong in UNIVERSE, who gets the blame? Merwin Fairbanks. And if a student [is] incorrectly identified in the BANYAN who gets the blame? Merwin Fairbanks. But when something goes right, who gets the credit? You guessed it. Everybody except Merwin Fairbanks.

Lyle Curtis, director of the Wilkinson Center and of student activities, [is] a trusted adviser and a valued friend; he’s kept me out of deep water more than once. And Dean of Students Elliot Cameron has had far more patience with me than I would have had under similar circumstances.

And what about Howard and the back shop at the Press? When we [or] the editorial staff are asleep, this crew takes over, and prints the paper. They are the ones who physically put out the paper, and yet the editorial staff gets all the credit. The press crew deserves a hearty thanks for a job well done . . . except, of course, for the usual typographical errors. . .

BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY . . .

I'm thankful for being of the white race in a land where the white is supreme. But I’m even more thankful for having the sense of social responsibility to know it’s my job to do everything I can to end the hypocrisy of the racial “double standard” in America. I’m grateful for being in a country where the Bill of Rights can still be implemented, [if] only enough people will work to overcome the barriers which separate man from man.

I appreciate the opportunity I have to do what I can, as little as that might be, to end the violence which has destroyed our cities and stoIen many promising leaders from our midst in the last few years.

We, the college generation, are faced with awesome responsibilities. We are challenged on every front--the domestic scene, the internationai scene, business, education, medicine--and we must meet these challenges not with emotional panic, and a desire to escape from the burden of challenge. We must meet them with determination to overcome them, and make this world a place for thanksgiving every day.

It’s not an easy road, but I’m willing to try it. Are you? I’ll mull it over as I sit in Montana, and I hope you will, wherever you may be.

With hopes that it will be THE WAY IT IS, I wish you the best.