Head coaching different
In response to the letter, “Keep good coaches,” I must say that I respectfully disagree with the author.
It is quite clear Gary Crowton was let go because he couldn’t win. Just look at the records. Furthermore, the “BYU tradition” was lost under Crowton. If you listen to the players in their interviews now, they say “BYU football is back.” Why would something need to come back if it was never gone? The answer is that the tradition was lost under Crowton, and Coach Bronco Mendenhall was the one who brought it back.
Some guys are not cut out to be head coaches. Some guys are meant to play the supporting roles. Scottie Pippen was never a superstar, even after Jordan left. However, Michael Jordan needed Pippen in his supporting role to be a superstar. Some guys are leaders, others supporters.
In response to Norm Chow, remember that everyone has their own aspirations. Even championships at USC couldn’t keep Norm from leaving. Why? My guess is his dream was to coach in the NFL, hence his current position. Not even his Alma mater, West Virginia, could keep Rich Rodriguez. Not even Michigan, his alma mater, could get Les Miles to leave LSU.
One point worth mentioning is that both Chow and Crowton won national championships as assistants, not head coaches. Big difference. LSU is Les Miles’ team, not Crowton’s. USC is Pete Carroll’s team, not Chow’s. You never saw Crowton’s team finish the year ranked No. 14 .
Jeff Bullock
Greenwood Village, Colo.
Paul’s ideas
I am surprised at the skewed views students have regarding Rep. Ron Paul’s ideas.
Paul wants to abolish income tax. The first reaction I typically hear to this is “That’ll never happen.” That is not a valid argument. Whether or not it will happen is irrelevant. Whether or not it is a good idea has all the relevance in the world. Ron Paul wants to shrink the size of the government back to a Constitutionally-supported size. That will leave a lot of money the government won’t need to waste (oops! I mean spend), opening the way to fewer income taxes. Past Presidents have, cut taxes and increased spending, thus increasing the national debt. Not a good idea.
Paul has a non-interventionist foreign policy. He wants to pull troops home from all over the world except in cases of obvious and immediate danger to our country. Why do we still have troops in Korea, Japan, Germany, Egypt and Cuba? There is just no reason to risk lives and separate families to keep peace in other nations that are, for the most part, already peaceful (except when protesting the U.S. presence in their country). Either bring the troops home or send them somewhere where they will really be doing their country service. This is what Paul argues. No wonder he has so much support in the military vote.
I would just encourage people to look at Paul as he is, not as TV presents him.
David Moberly
Manhattan, Kan.
Preventable accident
The accident on Monday night involving the death of a BYU student at the crosswalk on UniversityAvenue is tragic because it was preventable. As residents of Wyview Park, we’ve feared for a long time that a fatality at the crosswalk was not a matter of if but when.
The crosswalk is poorly lit. The orange flags are inadequately small for drivers to see at the posted speed limit (45 mph). We realize the hazard at this location because we’ve all had close calls – both as pedestrians and motorists.
We feel this tragedy should be a wake up call to all of us. As pedestrians, we need to be more cautious. It’s not worth risking our lives to jaywalk or cross on a red light. As drivers we need to stop for pedestrians as the law already requires, but which few of us choose to follow.
Most importantly, we ask the Utah Department of Transportation to install a pedestrian walk signal at 1800 North and University Avenue. In addition, we feel the state should install a “refuge island” and bulb-out the curbs into the emergency lanes at the crosswalk. These techniques are used in other cities to make crosswalks safer and more visible, while still maintaining the flow of traffic.
We call on UDOT, the BYU student body, faculty and administration as well as Provo’s residents and city council to use every honorable means to ensure this tragedy isn’t repeated.
Rob Sanders
Magna
David Pruitt
Houston, Texas
Evan Merrell
Jefferson City, Mo.
Brandon Crowther
Magna
News fit to print?
For many years, I have been a somewhat regular reader of The New York Times. Despite my relatively conservative views, I have enjoyed the self-proclaimed liberal periodical for its superb writing and witty flavor.
It seems though, as of late, The Times has taken a long walk off a short cliff in terms of class and journalistic integrity. From Jayson Blair to Judith Miller, it seems that faux pas has been the modus operandi of the Times – an observation which was solidified by a venomous and unfounded rant of Pulitzer Prize winner Maureen Dowd.
Citing the writings of a known anti-Mormon, Dowd opens wide and spews forth a tidal wave of half-truths and speculation about the church, referring to Joseph Smith, Jr. as “a lusty, charismatic Prospero” who sought wealth by “attempting to divine the location of buried treasure by means of black magic and crystal gazing.” She further criticizes Mitt Romney and his speech, “Faith in America,” saying, “He did not give a brave speech, but a pandering one.”
It amazes me that journalists can swoon over the “reverends” that so often appear in the political limelight, despite being true filanderers and adulterers, and have the nerve to criticize a man, and a faith, that stands for family strength and unity. This is not news, not journalism, but pure filth. I would exhort all professors who have the New York Times as required reading next semester to remove it entirely from the syllabus.
James M. Potts
Atlanta, Ga.
Rethink system
Regarding Wednesday’s letter on pedestrians, while I acknowledge that it is a good idea to look motorists in the eyes while crossing the busy streets around campus, it really doesn’t solve everything. The fact is the roads here are dangerous, and the accident you saw near Wyview wasn’t just serious it was deadly. Rebecca Blazzard was pronounced dead later that night.
Apparently, there were no flags available for her to signal her crossing. It was approaching evening; dark. How exactly do you look a driver in the eyes when all you can see is headlights? How do you signal your presence when there are no flags? I’ve crossed the streets around here hundreds of times, and about half the time, there were no flags available to me.
Whether Rebecca was at fault or not, the resources available to students crossing busy streets around BYU are unacceptably low. Maybe now that someone has died we should take a step back and rethink the system.
David Moberly
Manhattan, Kan.
