Eventually everybody becomes a crotchety old fart who hates the younger generation. Fifty years from now, you’ll sit in your recliner or rocking chair, flick on the holo-tube, and wonder what the hell is wrong with kids these days.

Or if you’re like me, that situation describes your current life — sans holo-tube of course.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering what it is I’m specifically referring to. Could it be the rising fashion of dresses pressing boobs to rest just under the chin? The insipid drama of television shows like “The Hills?” The slop that passes for literature or film — “cough’Twilight’cough?” Well, while I could go off any one of those topics, what I’m talking about here is what I consider to be one of the most asinine, waste of time activities in Western youth culture:

Prom.

I know, I’m a fun hater.

Despite my attempts to distance myself from the loathsome event, I was nonetheless recently subjected to picture after picture from friends and relatives still in high school. “Look at how gorgeous she looks!” they would exclaim. “They make such an adorable couple,” they would coo. “Isn’t prom great?” they would ask.

“No,” I would say. “She looks like a cinnamon roll with her fake-bake skin drowning in glitter,” I would sneer. “They’re a terrible couple; he’s cheating on her constantly,” I would assert. “Prom is not great. Prom is stupid,” I would, and do, argue.

See, there was a time when prom meant something. Much like a coming-out party for young aristocratic women, prom was originally designed to be a rite of passage, congratulating and welcoming young adults into the tidiness and status of adulthood. That was the reason behind the dresses and tuxes: to be a display of formal respect and maturity. Today, the event exists as vanity for vanity’s sake. It revels in its pointlessness consumerism. It’s a black hole of excuses that can and often do lead to traffic violations, sexual assault and death.

As shown in 2006 by the National Traffic Safety Administration, traffic deaths during prom season weekends are higher than any other time of year. At my high school, alcohol consumed before the after-prom party likely played a role in the death of a classmate. The school and community could do nothing but stand and watch as her skull fractured, blood seeped onto the gymnasium floor, medics rushed her to the hospital and her body lay comatose until eventually she was removed from life support.

All I can do is stare and ask: “Why?”

Why put yourself at that kind of personal risk? Or even if you think you’re invincible or the death of your peers doesn’t faze you, why spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a dress or tux you wear once? Why present yourself like cattle for community applause? Why scrutinize your appearance and popularity, as if those were the most important attributes of your being? Why, why, why?

When I attended my stepbrothers’ graduation Saturday, I knew this was their coming-of-age event. They had taken on real responsibilities, were seen as adults, and the rest of life is now ahead of them. I could tell this was true, because they had earned it. They worked, they struggled, they expanded their knowledge and applied themselves to the community.

In comparison, prom — still seen for some reason I cannot discern as a coming-of-age ritual — is nothing but vapid emptiness and social frivolity; a chance to be seen. A chance to play dress-up and pretend to be adults by overindulging in restricted vices. Are we really so desperate and unmotivated in our high school years that we need to define ourselves by such low standards?

With the end of April came the end of prom season for most schools. But it’ll be back. Kind of like a recurring rash that might also have its own little special tie to prom night.

If you have younger siblings who are looking, or perhaps you yourself still look, to prom as a milestone of life, please don’t. We’re better than that. Pride yourself on your individuality, your achievements, your intelligence. These are the valued assets that will be most useful to you throughout life.

Or hey, you can feel free to ignore everything I’ve just told you. After all, I’m apparently just some old coot.

— Sophie Prell is an Iowa State U. senior

When most people hear tornado sirens go off, they run the basement and wait for the storm to pass, but for several Iowa State U. meteorology student, sit means storm chasing.

Students in meteorology pile into cars, sometimes with a professor if one is available, and chase the storm to learn more how to identify different types of severe weather and tornadoes, and, if the cars are equipped with the technology, gather scientific information about the weather.

Some students loosely associate with the American Metrological Society Student Chapter at Iowa State to schedule trips through e-mail to help pair up graduate students with undergraduates, while others decide to team up with friends in their major to track the storms.

There are at least five to 10 students per trip, but the number can range up to 20 depending on how the students predict the storm and the information provided on various meteorological sites. There is no way to know where or when a tornado will hit, so student must use the education and information available to them to pick what storms they should chase.

William Gallus, professor in geological and atmospheric sciences, is one of the advisers for the ISU AMS chapter, and often accompanies students on the storm chasing. He also took students in a lab storm chasing for one if their classes.

“For students, it can be helpful to storm chase. It allows them to see with their eyes what theories are being played out right in front of them.” Gallus said.

Gallus also said storm chasers are helpful not only to gather scientific information about the storm, but also to help inform the public of tornadoes in the area. Most times when tornadoes are reported to weather stations, a storm chaser first spotted and called it in. This allows for a quick response to turn on tornado sirens to keep people safe.

Due to the dangerous and often unpredictable nature of severe weather, people should not storm chase unless they know what they are doing. Meteorology students need to know where the tornado will be in relationship to the rest of the storm to ensure they are safe and watch for lighting and hail.

Meteorology students also need to take into consideration various components, including how fast the storm is moving, what the winds are doing and air pressure, in order to be ready for anything. Weather is unpredictable, even more so when someone doesn’t understand all the factors that create and change the storm.

Another component of safety is traffic and speed. In April and May, when severe weather is the most predominant, many storm chasers will be chasing the same storm if it looks like it will be a severe enough. This can lead to clusters of speeding cars that could get into accidents if the drivers aren’t careful. Chasers have to take consideration of other storm chasers as well as people trying to get away from the storm.

“Most of the accidents that happen with storm chasing are from poor decisions. For some reason, people act crazy when storms happen.” Gallus said.

Students can travel anywhere from Southern Canada all the ways to Texas, but usually stay near tornado alley, which is centered in the Midwest. While there is no set boundary for tornado alley, maps show it generally runs from South Dakota, down to northern Texas and out to the west of Iowa and Missouri.

This is a prime location for tornados because the warm wet air from the Gulf of Mexico mixes with the dry cold air from the Rocky Mountains to create the unstable atmosphere that is important for tornados to form.

There is no way to predict if a season will have lots of bad weather due to lack of current information about tornados and the science behind how they work. Generally though, after an El Nino winter like Iowa had this winter, the Midwest will have less severe weather in the spring and summer.

“My gut feeling is that we aren’t going to see a lot of severe weather in Iowa this May because of El Nino and the lack of activity in April.” Gallus said.

The students try to go out at least once a year, but the weather will determine how frequently students go out. If a year is particularly full of bad weather, a student can go out six or seven times but in a low activity year maybe only once or twice in the spring.

It’s the time of the year when no one seems to have any balance among academics, social life, and sleep. Chances are that if you’re reading this column, you’re on a study break or you’re done with finals.

Many students have passed out in their newly opened textbook or passed out with the newly empty case of Keystone by their side. Either way, the sleep and the morning after passing out from academics or frivolity cannot feel that good.

In a week’s time, last-minute studiers are probably logging as many study hours as habitual studiers log in a month — sans sleep, of course. While one can argue that it gets the job done, I took this column as an opportunity to interview Eric Dyken, the director of the U. Iowa Sleep Disorders Center to see how much sleepless cramming for exams can help a student.

His answer?

“There is a diminishing return between how much new information you are learning and how inefficient you are when you are learning the new information because you have not slept enough to absorb the information,” he said.

Our body needs sleep to survive, Dyken said. Researchers have conducted studies on animals, depriving them of sleep for 16 to 20 days. The animals all died. The world record for staying awake was 13 days, by a little boy. When researchers studied him, they had him shoot baskets, but after he did so, he fell asleep. Thus, regardless of whether you want to, your body will fall asleep.

That doesn’t say a lot about endless hours of late-night cramming.

In addition, Dyken said, the Bush administration received accusations of torture for forcing captured prisoners to stay awake for three days during interrogation. Yet college students sometimes do the same thing to prepare for that last exam.

While I am not here to reopen the torture (or “enhanced interrogation,” if you like) debate, it goes to show you that sleep deprivation via studying for finals seems to be a bad way to prepare. If you could avoid the torture of finals week by studying instead of attending Mug Night once a month, why not?

The point is not to bust your butt too much this week. The closer you get to finals means a diminishing margin of return, as Dyken said.

Realizing this knowledge may have found you late, for the rest of the week, create a study schedule. Give yourself a fixed amount of time to prepare for your exams, and then stop and rest. If you only have four more hours to study for organic chemistry, why not maximize your efficiency for that time? Isn’t four hours of concentrated studying much better than four days of half-hearted and sleep-deprived efforts to learn the material?

And for those of you who have already completed finals: Next semester, create a comprehensive schedule of deadlines, and study. While I cannot guarantee every Thursday night will be homework-free, if you plan and get your work done in advance, you will find more and more spare time to do what you want — not what you have to.

After all, the drinks specials are so much better as a reward for work well-done than as an escape from falling asleep in your final and bombing it.

While I cannot say I have not prepared like crazy for a final, I have never pulled an all-nighter to prepare for any class or final. And I credit that to planning my work and my fun well in advance.

This week is no different. Being a senior and having taken classes without finals if possible (another benefit of prior research and planning), you will not see me inlibrary past 6 p.m. With a calendar, some willpower, and a taste for certain bar specials, you can, too.

It’s official: Arizona has become the new target of the liberal bloc. The Obama Administration and several liberal activist groups have taken a break from mocking the tea party movement, and have focused their attention on the state of Arizona.

The state’s newest illegal immigration law demands proper immigration documentation, illegalizes the transport of illegal immigrants and prohibits people from blocking traffic as they try to solicit work. So why are so many radicals boycotting Arizona?

Aside from questioning its constitutionality, liberal spin-doctors have twisted this immigration law into a racial controversy in hopes of fostering a stronger political following. After all, the race card has been effective in gaining Democratic support for other issues. Why not try it now? According to these folks, the new law steps on the toes of the federal government and encourages racial profiling.

This would be an excellent argument … that is, if it were actually valid.

The truth is, President Obama knows Arizona has not broken any federal laws. Although he has severely scolded the state for taking this recent action, he really can’t do anything about it. Aside from 10th Amendment protection, Plyer v. Doe (1982) affirmed the states ability to deter the influx of persons entering the United States against federal law. If Arizona had done anything legally inappropriate, the Obama Administration would have immediately denounced it as unconstitutional. Instead, Attorney General Eric Holder claims that the Justice Department is still “considering all of our options.” In other words, the Obama Administration is stalling for its own federal immigration legislation to make its way through Congress.

Many argue that the local police should not be burdened with the responsibilities of federal law. However, the inactivity of the federal government has given the state no choice but to take matters into their own hands. Several Arizona citizens have been brutally murdered by illegal immigrants, the kidnapping rate has skyrocketed and drug use has dramatically increased. Sorry, but I thought the purpose of local law enforcement was to maintain and encourage a safe environment for its citizens.

Opponents of this law neglect to understand the infeasibility of Arizona police using racial profiling to control immigration. With Hispanics making up over 30 percent of Arizona’s population, it would be impossible to pull over every Hispanic driver. As a result, the bill would only target those that were acting blatantly suspicious.

Even Sen. Harry Reid admits that “the system is broken” when it comes to illegal immigration policy. However, the liberal-supported policy of amnesty to illegal immigrants is no policy, and has no element of sustainability. In 1986, over 2.7 million immigrants were granted amnesty. Statistics show this only encouraged more to cross the border. National illegal immigration policy has failed, and Arizona has stepped up to the plate.

Obama said Arizona’s new legislation threatens to “undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.” But tell me, is it fair that so many illegal immigrants reap the social benefits of our government? Or is it fair that many of our own citizens get rejected to our state universities year after year in favor of students from illegal immigrant families?

We often generalize that all illegal immigrants are taking on the unskilled jobs that Americans don’t want. Yet Jeffrey Passell, a demographer at Pew Hispanic Center estimates that “20 percent of cooks … and about 14 percent of all workers in the construction industry are in the United States illegally.” I know plenty of unemployed Americans that would leap at these job opportunities.

Furthermore, other states are indeed following Arizona’s “daring” move as they are likewise tired of federal inactivity. When we think of illegal immigration, we often don’t consider Canadian immigrants. However, Pennsylvania legislature is looking to replicate Arizona’s bill as they fight their own “illegal alien invasion” from the north.

I don’t understand why this is such a sensitive matter to our government and to the general public. The government should be looking out for the rights and liberties of its own citizens. Too often, illegal aliens are generalized under the umbrella term of “undocumented citizens.” They have crossed the border illegally, and they are not citizens. Immigrants are not entitled to the rights and benefits of American citizens until they are citizens.

I believe it is a blessing to live in this wonderful country and have the opportunity to receive an education at one of the nation’s finest institutions. My grandfather struggled to gain citizenship in America when he emigrated from Ireland, but he worked hard for it and succeeded. He valued America for its endless opportunity and felt it was a privilege to be an American. Most of us at Cal Poly share similar immigration stories, as do millions of Mexican-Americans. Legal immigration can be a time-consuming process, but it is not impossible.

Kudos to the state of Arizona. It’s about time the American Dream was protected.

– Brendan Pringle is a sophomore at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.

The father of a Saint Joseph’s U. freshman died on May 7 during move-out procedures in McShain Hall.

According to sources close to the situation, Dennis R. Baize had been feeling ill throughout the day. In the process of helping his son Sean Michael Baize move out of the residence hall, he passed out on a bench. Emergency services personnel were called to the scene, and Baize was taken to Lankeneau Hospital, where he died.

A funeral mass was held on May 12 in his home state of Massachusetts.

Cary Anderson, Ed.D., vice president of Student Life, arrived at the scene after Baize collapsed.

“When I arrived at the scene, the emergency medical people were there already, so I called our Counseling Center and campus ministry to send people over to provide support,” Anderson said. “They were there to do that and later there were some students who did meet with members of the counseling staff.”

James Joyce, S.J., assistant to the vice president for Mission and Identity, administered last rites.

Anderson said that the university wants students, faculty, and staff to know that there is counseling support available for any member of the university community who might need it at this time.

“In any of these kinds of cases, we do everything that we can and call in emergency medical personnel and provide support to students,” Anderson said. “Not only the students of the family, but the students who may have been affected who were around the area as well. Our main concern at that moment was that everyone who needed support got that support.”

Any students who are seeking support should contact the university’s Counseling Center, located in A504 Merion Gardens. Individuals can also call the Counseling Center’s office at (610) 660-1090 or visit online.

The Temple U. bookstore put up this handy whiteboard letting students know which books are in high demand, because we all know all those books you bought for GenEd are pretty much worthless in the dollars department. In case you can’t read the scribe on this board, it reads as follows:

Most Wanted Books

Cash Reward!!!*

1. Risk Management (Hardbound version) – Redja; New: $51.75; Used: $42.25

2. Law and American Society – Hodge; New: $51.75; Used: $38.75

3. Law for Business Enterprise – Hodge; New: $48.25; Used: $30.50

4. Rethinking the Color Line – Gallagher; New: $40.75; Used: $30.50

5. Cultural Conversations – Dilks; New: $31.50; Used: $23.75

6. Principles of Information Systems – Hodge; New: $48.25; Used: $30.50

7. Composing Gender – Groner; New: $30.00; Used: $27.50

7. Pocket Style w/ MLA Update – Hacker; New: $13.00; Used: $9.75

*We are paying 1/2 of the retail back on the above books until we reach our buy back limit.

The Prom Ball tourney was hosted by the U. Wisconsin-Oshkosh Women’s Rugby team and drew 4 other college teams from throughout Wisconsin, including UW-Stout, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Parkside, and UW-Eau Claire.

Uniforms for the tourney took an interesting twist, as all players wore “prom dresses” with their socks and cleats.

The tourney is the team’s main fundraiser, and proved successful with an impressive turn-out of players and fans. After beating UW-Stevens Point 12-0 their first game and UW-Eau Claire 12-5 their second, the UWO ruggers faced Eau Claire again in the Championship game and took 2^nd place.

Speaking to a mostly-full audience at DePauw U. Friday night, former South African President F.W. de Klerk discussed the many reasons that South Africa was able to end its policy of apartheid.

The former president said economic growth that took place during the 1960s and 1970s contributed to the end of apartheid. Many blacks moved into big cities, which led many of them toward economic prosperity.

He also said that the eradication of communism, culminating with the collapse of the Soviet Union, helped hasten apartheid’s end. He noted that without the willpower of the United States during the Cold War, South Africa could have been in a very different state than it is today.

“What we have learned over the past 20 years is that conflict does not come from country to country, but spans across different ideologies,” he said.

De Klerk said while South Africa has improved significantly in recent years, he believes that the country still has much to overcome.

“South Africa still has many problems, such as poverty, crime and AIDS,” de Klerk said. “But problems can be solved with hard work and proper use of resources.”

Negotiations was also a key theme of de Klerk’s speech. He said both sides must be able to take risks, but compromise is also an important element in determining whether a negotiation is successful.

Mac Dixon-Fyle, DePauw professor of history, introduced de Klerk before his speech, relating South Africa’s history with events that took place on DePauw’s campus. Dixon-Fyle pointed out that while the conflict over apartheid took place in South Africa during the 1980s, a group of DePauw students actively lobbied the Board of Trustees to stop investing in South African securities.

On a lighter note, de Klerk said that arriving at DePauw had reminded him of his college days, as he attended a university with approximately 3,000 students.

“The town…was a little bit bigger than DePauw’s,” de Klerk said.

De Klerk said that his experience at a smaller university was helpful for him, since he was able to get to know his professors and build a community with the students on campus.

The former president spoke as part of the Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture Series. He was the seventh state president of South Africa, serving from 1989-1994. His most notable acts in office included ending South Africa’s ban on the African National Congress, along with ordering the release of Nelson Mandela, who would succeed him as president of South Africa.

DePauw sophomore Margaret Wambura said that while she enjoyed de Klerk’s speech, the issue of race was notably absent.

“I think it was a good speech, but it did not highlight the racial matters that I thought would be very, very good for the speech,” Wambura said. “It’s a very touchy topic, and that’s why I don’t think he brought it up much.”