Opinion

There’s a difference between telling the truth and truth-telling. I know the difference. People who accuse me of lying don’t know the difference. It’s the difference between “telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God,” and telling only part of the truth that serves you.

Someone messed up.

Okay, so I’m not actually calling upon people to leave civility, manners and respect of others on the wayside. These traits should all be observed in relations with other people we interact with on a daily basis. Mutual respect and tolerance for others and their ideas is a foundation of our civil society.

Year after year, a new pool of wide-eyed freshmen flood campus in search of new experiences – or maybe just for where their next class is. Two years ago, I was one of them. Having memorized the campus map and outlined my class-to-class routes beforehand, I concentrated on these new experiences.

Who am I? The school tells me I’m a senior, but I’m a freshman at heart. I’m stuck in that phase of wide-eyed wonder as I discover the world is nothing like I thought it was. Fortunately for you readers, these discoveries are often the result of my extravagant and (to the third-party observer) hilarious screw-ups. As the demotivational poster says, “It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.” So gather round, kids, and learn from Grandma Beth’s haphazard stumble through this thing we call life.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, California is in the midst of a bit of a budget crisis.

This year, the UC Davis Bookstore decided to implement a 10 percent restocking fee for returned textbooks, much to the surprise of the student body.

Amidst this continued national discussion on the course of the U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan, we should all do well to remember, “Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.” So spoke the immortal Thomas Paine, who, having endured the coldest, bleakest days of our 1776 Revolution, assuredly knew something of endurance.

I’m disheartened to hear that the homecoming bonfire has been postponed indefinitely, according to a Dateline UC Davis article published on Oct. 9. The article cites “environmental concerns from the bonfire’s pollution and … the university’s vision of environmental stewardship and sustainability.”

I raise money for an international charity in an outdoor area of heavy foot traffic. The white people nearby are either very rich, or very poor. I have a huge sign, complete with pictures of starving children. Before the Obama election, people stood at my sign, applauded the effort – and perhaps donated – before walking on.

On Aug. 31, the Cowell Student Health Center changed its appointment system to make students’ lives easier. Previously, appointments were not guaranteed for the same day students called. Now, students can call and make an appointment for the day of. This excludes specialty appointments with, say, a neurologist; such appointments still need to be made in advance.

I read with interest your editorial response to my submission last week pledging that, as governor, I’d commit to fully funding the UC, CSU and community college systems.