The Great Debate
Opinion by Collegiate Editorial Board

Darwin’s Origin of Species outlines the process of evolution as shown through observations and a series of laws that can easily be found in nature. However, there are gaps in history that cannot yet be explained by the Theory of Evolution and its role in the creation of man.

To this some scientists offer up the theory of Intelligent Design, the concept that physical and biological systems are too complex to be a product of chance and must, therefore, have been a result of purposeful design.

The question is, should Intelligent Design be taught alongside evolution at the college level?
First let’s consider the machine known as college selection—price, reputation, acceptance, classes, majors, liberal, conservative—there is an infinite amount of factors that lead a student to choose his or her college.

There are a multitude of theological institutions throughout the US, as well as Grand Rapids. However, Intelligent Designs’ claim is to be theologically neutral, and therefore isn’t hindered by the separation of church and state. But is it a science?

Science is defined as a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing operation of general laws. From here, we can assume that for anything to be scientific, there have to be facts to back it up.

Evolution as a process has fulfilled this requirement to an extent—scientists can outline evolution as evidenced in nature. The purpose of intelligent design, however, is a theory covering things where there is no factual basis.

Perhaps Intelligent Design should not be taught as a science in the public domain. It does, however, merit a look at how we teach scientific theory.

Intelligent Design could be offered alongside other theories within the college curriculum for scientific speculation, something that is severely lacking in modern studies.

Intelligent Design is merely a theory and has not been proven to be fact, which is also the case for the Evolution Theory and the Big Bang Theory. For some reason though, both have found a home in textbooks and schools across the nation.

If one theory is being taught, shouldn’t others be taught as well? A balance is needed. How much can one learn if alternate theories aren’t even allowed in the classroom?

Even Darwin himself believed in balance, stating, “A fair result can be obtained only by fully balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each question.”

As college students, we have a chance to make the choices that will shape our view of the world. We are capable of analyzing our options and coming out with our own truths, and should be allowed to do so.

Rap music: The cause of all violence?
Opinion by Marcus Reynolds
Collegiate Staff Writer

Some people think violence in rap music is harmless. Others think it encourages, or normalizes, violence in real life. 

This issue was posed in my Com 235 course, Gender Communications. Being an African male, I immediately became defensive because most rappers are black.

Being a black person in America, we are never truly free. America has taken off the chains, but the media and society treats us as guilty. The ratio of blacks in prison compared to being employed and educated is evidence enough. How would you feel if your race were unduly the main blame for all violence in America?

Rap is not the cause of violence. The real culprit is society’s lack of values as a whole.

In this new era of post modernism, the loss of society’s values, rap music is society’s new scapegoat for the cause of violence. People who believe that rap is the cause of violence are giving way to media, lazy-minded thinking, and discrimination.

The American Psychological Association, who conducted a new experiment involving 500 college students, reported that listening to violent songs increased aggressive thoughts and feelings.

The lead researcher, Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D. of Iowa State University, said, “Aggressive thoughts can influence perceptions of ongoing social interactions, coloring them aggressive, thus provoking an aggressive escalatory spiral of antisocial exchanges.”

No one can deny mainstream rap music has a large amount of violent lyrics and persona to it. It is wrong and influences our young to kill each other. To profile one type of violent music is wrong. All violent lyrics have the potential for violent behavior.

The Dead Milkmen have a song called “Violent School Lyrics.” This group is popular among Caucasian youth. The song starts with the lines “Violence rules,” stated five times. The song continues with the chorus: “Violence rules, guns are cool and we’ve got guns in our school.” Other groups, such as the Violent Femmes with their “Country Death” song, add to the ammunition of violent behavior in society.

If America continues to fall for the political media propaganda, we will continue to allow incidents such as the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings to keep repeating. Rap music clearly is not the cause of violence in American society. 

Historically and socially, from the pre-colonial past into the present, violence has always been a part our culture.

Our culture has made violence a form of entertainment from sports, such as Ultimate Fighting and football, to movies with icons such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Why is one form of violent entertainment subject to ridicule while another one is acceptable? Arnold’s infamous character as the “Terminator” gave him part of his publicity to become governor of California.

Let us be real: violence in entertainment is not going to stop, because it sells. According to one study that gauged college students, we spend $3 billion per year on entertainment such as movies, DVDs, and music. This equates to $211 per month, or enough money to by books for two classes in a semester.

The world itself has turned its back on values as a whole and embraced sin for each person’s own pleasure. The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “All men have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

To point the finger at rap music as the cause of violence takes society further away from solving the problem. The young Billy Graham, America’s preacher, summed it up best years ago before rap music existed. He said, “There’s a whole lotta church going on in America, but people aren’t putting it in their hearts.”

Army recruitment an eyesore
Opinion by Ben Roosein
Collegiate Staff Writer

Army recruitment has almost nothing to do with higher education, but it is present at GRCC anyway.

When most people attend college, they go because they have a specific goal or plan for their life. They go to better their chances in the field they want to pursue, to gain an education; they go to gain experience.

One thing attending college doesn’t, shouldn’t, entail is warfare.

The halls of GRCC are filled with posters for clubs, organizations, and opportunities. There are ways to join study abroad trips, attend lecture series, and participate in education-related functions. These are ways to further learning.

Because of the educational nature of such activities, they belong on a college campus.

It seems that joining the Army is just another possibility for college students to consider, much like those advertised in the hallways. There’s a difference.

All of the activities advertised take place in the realm of higher education. Joining the military has little to do with college. While students at GRCC focus on intellectual training, the army, much like the construction field, focuses on physical training.

I have never seen posters or booths for construction work on campus at GRCC.

Yes, joining the armed forces can pay for college, but in times of war, things are anything but certain. When there are other ways to raise money for education, the risk of joining the Army may not be worth it. I say it isn’t.

Military recruitment also preys on the emotions of stressed-out students. The temptation to drop out of college can become overwhelming when a meticulously studied-for test is returned with a less-than-satisfactory mark. In the heat of the moment, people make rash decisions.

The recruitment booth is a place for students to drop out of college and make money. It is, thus, a temptation for exasperated students who would momentarily like to drop out of the system.

During wartime, such a sudden, rash decision may not only mean a major change in lifestyle, it can mean death or injury. Choices like joining the military should be mulled over and made over time, not in the heat of the moment.

Students can always drop by the military recruitment office while they’re out. There is absolutely no reason the office should come to them.

The bottom line is that college is a place where people go when they have made a decision of what to do with their lives. The Army has no place in trying to steal students’ futures.

Digging graves for minors
Opinion by Sarah Norton
Graphics Editor

Quietly they try to place poison into the hands of young adults, and no one is averting them.  

Debate of lowering the drinking age has begun in the U.S. Several states are trying to abolish the minimum drinking age of 21 and change it to 18. 

The National Minimal Drinking Age Act of 1984 stated the minimum age to purchase alcohol was 21 in all states. Before the act was enforced, the drinking age was 18.

It was changed to prevent the death and danger of premature consumption. Medically, it is proven the brain is not entirely developed before the age of 21.

Anyone who argues, saying he or she is considered an adult who should be able to do anything, is blind. Who knows any 18 year-olds who are truly mature and responsible adults?

I know when I turned 18 I was in high school still driving my parents’ car. and had been driving less than two years. I had a job, didn’t budget my time or money properly, and could barely make it to school on time.

Now considering all of this, add alcohol to the mix. Not a pretty picture. 

If the age of alcohol consumption was lowered, what is stopping it from reaching the hands of minors? 18-year-olds are closer to 16-year-olds and will have no problem buying for them.

Do we really want the same 16-year-olds, who recently received their licenses, to have easier access to alcohol?

 America has the highest drinking age compared to other countries. Culture has proven this over time. In Europe, drinking is a way to socialize, a part of their culture. If America’s goal for drinking were a way to socialize civilly, then it would be a different story. In the media, it shows alcohol as an acceptable way of escaping life problems.   

The popular show “The O.C.,” the hyped 90210 remake, portrays life as a party among teenage viewers. In the show, high school students are accepted among peers by using alcohol, drugs, demonstrating violence, and by sexual activity. Parents show no discipline and encourage such activities by how they live their lives. The mentality of the show demonstrates drinking is acceptable, sex with multiple partners is tolerable, and life cannot get any worse, so just flee from every responsibility and problem.

What people misinterpret is this Hollywood-generated, fantasy world is not real life.

Unfortunately, many minors watched the show religiously, and it affected their behavior and view of life. These 15 and 16-year-olds sneak out of the house, lie to their parents, and then go drink and have sex. 

No morals, no responsibility, no values, this is the real world. Alcohol is a depressant; it may temporarily decrease the hurting, but it may cause a greater problem in the end.

Repercussions will show up later in life.

This is teaching our youth that to wash away pain, troubles, and anxiety, we need alcohol to diminish it.

In an online survey regarding underage drinking, posted by “In the Know Zone”in 2001, 88 percent of high school seniors said they consumed alcohol at least once, and 28 percent of seniors admitted to binge drinking at least once in the two weeks prior to the survey.

The survey reported, “Alcohol kills more teenagers than all other drugs combined. It is a factor in the three leading causes of death among 15-24 year olds: accidents, homicides, and suicides.”

People are dying daily from alcohol related accidents. Even if a friend or relative hasn’t died yet, it could happen in a second and hit close to home. A few years ago, two teenagers from my high school, Hudsonville Public, ended up in a fatal accident. They were only 17 and 18, never went to college, and never had a chance to get married or have children. 

Some argue that if someone is old enough to be drafted into the war, they should be able to drink. Are they trying to say that we need alcohol to overcome what has happened in war?

This is just a way to run away from problems, and it seems to be reaching teens at a young age.  

The bottom line is if the drinking age is lowered, we are condoning drinking as a pattern of life for young adults. It will be much harder to keep their focus on school, work, and eventually a career.

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