A resolute New Year?

Right about now, every Gold’s Gym in the valley is packed with so many people there is a line three bodies deep at each apparatus.

No doubt diet pills and nicotine gum are flying off Wal-Mart’s shelves at a record pace, and local booksellers are grappling with a two-week backorder on all touchy-feely self-help guidebooks.

In two weeks, or at best, a month from now, it will all go back to normal and those failed attempts will, once again, be saved for next year.

Some people think New Year’s resolutions are a bunch of honky horse pucky. Not me. As far as I’m concerned, the arbitrary passing of one year and beginning of the new is good enough reason to attempt a little positive change.

To those who did not bother with any resolutions, maybe next year you should resolve to resolve. And for others, here is a list of possibilities to consider:

Drive less
If you live within reasonable distance, why not resolve to forget dealing with the campus-parking debacle? If you don’t see parking as an issue, there are a multitude of other reasons to drive less.

The fact that oil hit the $100 per barrel mark last week and most reports are predicting a continued increase in the price of crude might provoke you a little.

When money isn’t a compelling enough reason, then perhaps reducing the pollution in Utah Valley will motivate. According to a National Institute of Health study, the higher concentrations of particulate emissions that become trapped under a stagnant air mass during inversion episodes are roughly equivalent to smoking five cigarettes a day.

This resolution allows you to kill three birds with one stone. You’ll be able to save dough, get exercise, and adopt a greener lifestyle when you choose to ride a bike, push a skateboard, longboard, or scooter, ride public transit or just walk to campus.
 
Volunteer
Perhaps you have the will but don’t know where to start. If so, the Center for Service and Learning located in SC 101 would be a good place to visit.

The service center staff and its six-member Student Service Council organize a range of service-oriented events throughout the school year. These include blood and food drives, hunger banquets, a Community Outreach Day, Habitat for Humanity buildings and a service-focused alternative spring break.

If none of those events suit your fancy, the Center for Service and Learning can point you toward other opportunities. Or, if you know what to do and where to start but lack the will, then perhaps you should resolve to stop sucking.

Be politically active
That is, unless you are content with the status quo, in which case your resolution should be to lay off the sodium pentothal this year and join the game the next time around.

The government belongs to us; why not take ownership of it?
 Register to vote if you haven’t already. There are political clubs on campus, so find the one that represents your views and join.
However, if you like to roll with the Neo-Cons, mingling religion and government, bear in mind that UVSC is a state school and therefore cannot officially sanction any pacts with the devil. The official rule is B.Y.O. pentagram.

These are just a few friendly suggestions, not stern mandates dictated by a judgmental authority figure.
If we haven’t provided enough stimulus, readers can send their New Year’s resolution suggestions for The College Times to [email protected]