Summer a time for opportune moments

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This is probably going to sound familiar to those of you who read these staff essays.

It has got to be the topic of the present, the here and now. What is it? Why, summer, of course.

Summer is here.

"Well of course it is," you might say. "It's been here for quite some time now, you idiot!"

Well, yes. But I'm talking about my summer. You see, I took classes during the first summer session. Add to that my work at University Chronicle, and you get a whole load of worrying and hard work.

The way I've always imagined it (and I say imagine because there is no such thing as summer in Malaysia) is that summer is a time for people to keep those books away, break out the shorts, sleeveless tops, swimwear and sunblock, and cruise in their cars with the tops down. I imagined it as a time for relaxing and doing fun stuff you could never do during the school year, especially in a cold place like Minnesota.

So, you see, studying and working doesn't exactly cut it for me as far as summers go.

But now, I get to relax. Well, by the time you read this anyway. I have to put this issue of the paper to bed and deliver them before I can finally relax.

I have no classes during the second summer session, and I will be taking a break for the final three issues of University Chronicle this summer.

My plans? My girlfriend, Tracy, and I will be going on a road trip. We will be driving down to California. Oakland to be exact.

We've been looking forward to the trip for a long time. We fly down to Oakland a couple of times a year to visit her grandparents, and its always a nice getaway from SCSU.

This time around, we opted to drive because, being international students, we haven't really seen much of this country. The United States is a huge country after all. Especially when you consider that Malaysia is only the size of New Mexico, with only 22 million people in it. And it would be shame if we didn't try to see at least some of the sights here.

The first stop on our itinerary � South Dakota. Well, Mount Rushmore anyway. From there, we aim to drive to the Black Hills, followed by a stopover at Salt Lake City.

We originally planned to go to Reno, Nev. after that, but we've decided to stop there on the way back home to good old St. Cloud.

So, from Salt Lake City, we will be heading straight down to Oakland, which will take the better part of a day.

Before we leave, however, there is one thing that I simply have to say.

Being the editor of this newspaper, I had decided to take myself out of writing reports in favor of concentrating on everything else in its day-to-day running. Therefore, this space here is the only place where I can get to write.

Last week, we reported on a protest organized by five SCSU students. The five women had also written a letter to SCSU President Roy Saigo, asking for the removal of a plaque dedicated to Jane Grey Swisshelm. Apart from being noted as a feminist and abolitionist, Swisshelm was also an anti-American Indian.

On the University Chronicle Web site, we ran an online poll asking people what they thought about the issue. The majority of those who participated in the poll said the plaque should not be removed.

Of course, these people are entitled to their own opinions, as everybody is, but I still personally think that the plaque should be removed. But to each, his/her own.

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