1994_03 The Daily Collegian March 1994

              ' 4—News
THE COLLEGIAN
Friday, March 11,1994
drug France may outlaw foreign languages
ever, marijuana has never killed any¬
one. While not without risk, mari¬
juana is certainly safer than these
two and does not deserve the harsh
laws against it
Many people oppose the re-le¬
galization of marijuana for good and
moral reasons. They have seen the
damage that abuse can do and worry
that might happen is marijuana be¬
comes more available. We appreci¬
ate these concerns and. wish to ad¬
dress them. This initiative will regu¬
late cannabis in a manner similar to
wine. This will allow society to deal
with marijuana abuse as a health
Issue while reducing the deleterious
side-effects ofProhibition by remov¬
ing cannabis users from the criminal
underworld.
Allowing hemp to be grown for
industrial, medicinal, nutritional and
persona] use will provide many ben¬
efits: tax revenue, new jobs, a cleaner
environment, reduced medical suf¬
fering, redirection of scarce law en¬
forcement resources, increased re¬
spect for government, decreased
deforestation, reduced global warm¬
ing, improved civil liberties and
other. I urge you to inform yourself
about these benefits, especially if you
are sceptical. The truth is the truth.
Please consider signing and cir¬
culating this petition so it can be
placed on the ballot. The voters of
California will then be able to consider
the arguments for and against legal
hemp and choose for themselves.
Thank you.
Kelly Lee O'Boylan
Fresno County California
Hemp Initiative Coordinator
Streakers
no longer
amusing
COLLEGE PRESS SERVICE
 - ;	
Gainesville, Fla. —»Twenty years
ago, students and professors erupted
in laughter when streakers dashed in
and out of classrooms.
Tunes have changed.
Several faculty members from the
'College of Journalism and Commu¬
nication expressed outrage after a
naked man burst into an advertising
classroom, loudly identified himself
as "Batman" and beat a nasty retreat,
the Independent Florida Alligator
reported.       ^    *  -
Professor Sal lie Middlebrook,
who was teaching the class, said she
didn't appreciate the interruption.
"He spread his arms.and legs and
said, 'Batman,'" Middlebrook said.
"I was standing there in awe."
Middlebrook said she locked the
door after the slender male with light-
brown hair left the room. "I can see
the humor [in the situation]," she
said, "but to me" it's nV funny."
Streaking is not as innocent an
activity asj£pnce was. "You don't
. know what motivates that," she said.
;  'Times have changed so much."
Meanwhile, Journalism Dean
Ralph Lowenstein said he found the
incident "absolutely disgusting."
"I believe if the person can be
found he ought to be prosecuted," he
said. ,     \   •
By Ivan Landen
THECOLLEGIAN
The French, ever jealous of their
cultural identity, are erecting a lan¬
guage barrier to defend themselves
against the English invasion.
If parliament passes a bill an¬
nounced last week by the govern¬
ment, advertising fbf "le Car" br
hiring staff for "un job" could lead
to a fine or possibly prison.
The bill bans the use of foreign
words in public announcements,
.work contracts, advertising and on
radio and television. -\
Although the bill does not name
the offending invader language, it
is clearly aimed at English, which
many intellectuals accuse of adul¬
terating French into "Franglais".
French researchers often pub¬
lish findings in English, and busi¬
nessmen prefer to use English
terms, sometimes understandable,
such as when "cash-flow" trans¬
lates into French as "marge brute
d' au to- fi nance m e n t."
"A foreign language often be¬
comes a tool of domination,
uni formati o n, a factor of social ex¬
clusion and, when used snobbishly,
a language of contempt," Culture
Minister Jaques Toubon said in an
interview with the daily Le Monde.
The bill says in order to protect
the right of the French to be ad¬
dressed in their own language, an¬
nouncements and signs in public
places must n0t include any for¬
eign word - unless it has no French
equivalent.
"Of course, this applies onl/ to
businesses and officials, not the
'man in the street,** said Maurice
Gendron, head of the department
of Foreign Languages and Litera¬
ture at FSU, in a reaction. j
Since 1635, the •Institute' of the
French Language, made up of 40
people; mainly academia and writ¬
ers, watches over the proper use of
the French and defines the words
that will be listed in the dictionary.
"This hews may sound strange
to Americans, but the French are
just more aware and concerned
about their language and culture",
he continues, "that's all".
v
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