By David Kimball
Everyone has an opinion about something. Some people have more opinions about more subjects than others. Everyone has the right to voice those opinions and that is all well and good. However, to be perfectly honest, sometimes no one wants to hear those opinions.
That being said, anyone reading this column should feel free to stop reading at any time, I won''t be offended. I''d just like to take a moment to sound off on one topic that incites a wide array of opinions, in Utah especially.
Most people in this state have an opinion about BYU; its policies, personnel, students, sports, etc. I have nothing against people having those opinions, but, like stated above, I just don''t want to hear many more.
Here''s an example: I have a friend who is most likely the nicest person in the world. He is very mild mannered and has more friends than anyone I''ve ever met.
His mom is just the opposite. She is nice enough, but she claims that she''s been the den mother in the cub scouts for years because she''s too likely to 'stir the pot' in any other calling in her ward, if you know what I mean.
I saw this woman at another friend''s wedding not long ago and she felt the need to talk to me about nothing more than how much she hates BYU. She graduated from BYU eons ago and was not shy to say she only had one B+ to blemish her record, and that was in a softball class.
She hates BYU because she thinks that Cougars are bookworms. She says we''re cookie-cutter robots with little variety and little excitement, and while she was here she was the victim of sexist discrimination from proud, male classmates.
To BYU''s credit, she did say that once she entered the work force she was very well prepared and her experience at BYU did teach her how to think.
She went off for about five full minutes (which is longer than it sounds) without me getting a word in edge wise. Her son, the Golden Child who attends Utah State, stood there with an embarrassed and shamed look on his face. I decided to take the high road and not say anything then, but I think I''ll take the opportunity now.
First of all, I don''t have many more B''s than she had, but I bet she studied about 100 times more than I do. My friends and I don''t go to the library to study, but to meet girls and be funny. I have more fun than I should and my life is an exhilarating mix of foosball, ping-pong, softball (there''s no way I would get a B+), meeting and making friends, waiting tables and a splash of homework. If she didn''t enjoy her time, that''s her fault.
My point, however, is not to refute her arguments, but to refute the fact that she argued at all. What makes her think that I wanted to hear what she had to say? What makes her think that I value her opinion enough to actually drop out of BYU just because she was that compelling?
I would suggest to my friend''s mom that she not lump 30,000 students from all around the world into one category unless that category is as broad as 'BYU students.' Her delivery needs work because most people don''t take kindly to confrontational words. Most importantly, she might want to offer those opinions to someone who cares.
I would also suggest that BYU students not worry what people like my friend''s mom say, but to her credit I am glad that my friend''s mom at least thinks for herself. I think a lot of us, myself included, can learn from that. Perhaps if we do that we can dispel a few of those nasty rumors and stereotypes. But if not... who cares? I don''t really want to hear it anyway.