U Magazine, Fall 1989

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Nature's Treasure

A ground squirrel skittered through the under– brush and up an ancient pine. A blue jay screeched from a hidden perch. The soft breeze rustled brass– colored leaves upon the ground- and warned of the evening chill ahead. The brilliant orange sun sank lower in the western sky, slowly extinguishing the fireworks of brilliant hues in the canyon below. Gnarled oak trees soon stood like sentinels against night's falling curtain, thrusting barren branches toward heavenly treasures. A churchlike hush descended over the dozen of us perched on the canyon's south rim. No one stirred. Even the breeze grew still. Barely had night's blanket settled gently over us when a new light beckoned. A harvest moon in golden majesty rose low above the canyon's eastern peaks. And now I finally knew, I thought, how fitting was the Grand Canyon's name. Bathed in moon– light, cloaked in silence, I drank deeply from nature's healing cup. The soul-cleansing power brought peace. Lost in awe, life's daily distractions melted to proper perspective. New strength flowed through my veins. Finally, though, it was time to go. No words were spoken, no signals given. Still, we knew. I stepped carefully through the rock-strewn path toward car and parking lot and daily life. At the end of the path I paused, glancing back to the canyon rim. I heard the blue jay screech.

John Sutherland Editor

To the editor,

university in dealing with the people has not been forgotten. The Jame noise made by these children about burning a cross as an act of spiritual purification is garbage. Were it otherwise, it could be debated and some consensus reached on whether the most famous of KKK symbols could have a double meaning. That no one did this speaks volumes by its silence.

the problem for the school on the hill. At the least it is to be hoped that the message that everyone has the right to live, to be free and to enjoy life as he sees fit will be engrnved on the minds of USO students.

It should not be assumed that the beginning of a school year has erased the bitter memories of the last one. I refer to the vile actions of the frat downs who torched a cross at Torrey Pines ( UMaga– zine, Summer 1989) in an initiation ceremony that for all their vacuous cant, was but a racist slur against their fellow students and an insult to the faith they were supposedly honoring by that act. Also, the inertia of the

I shudder to think what the community view of USO must be. Surely they must think we are returning to the mindset of the Spanish Inquisition. Yeah, gimme that old time religion. To do this city and the rest of us who have been disgraced by this act a favor, the university should take some energetic steps to punish these fools. Unfortunately, this will not end

Jobn Rippo '83

(F.ditor's note: See related story, page 4.)