<strong> Bring back Cronkite </strong>

As the third quarter of Saturday’s Texas-Wyoming game wrapped up, necks under the “Godzillatron” craned toward the screen in anticipation but were left waiting and wondering, where is Walter Cronkite’s “Get Your Horns Up” TV spot?

By the fourth quarter, hours in the Texas heat preceded by a day of “studying”/drinking had taken their toll on students. Time and time again, I’ve seen that commercial give the crowds of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium a much-needed boost to the final whistle. Mr. Cronkite’s distinct voice replaces thoughts of tired feet and long walks back to West Campus (or farther) with a sweeping sense of school pride. There’s proof in numerous videos of the crowd’s reaction to the commercial. The commercial is electrifying, even from the small screen of my laptop.

I think it is popular because his message is simple: We don’t care if you’re pursuing a degree here at UT; if you hold your horns high, you’re a Longhorn.

It’s a rally cry that effortlessly unites crowds of more than 100,000 people, and it’s become somewhat of a tradition. I know it was deeply missed by many on Saturday, and it would be a shame if it is continually left out of game-time programming. So, at the UCLA game in two weeks, let’s get our horns up and our Cronkite back.

— Barbara Friend
Radio-television-film senior

<strong> Research organic products </strong>

I was happy to see the Sept. 10 article in The Daily Texan, “Not all ‘organic’ products necessarily healthy for you,” as the word “organic” is certainly both overused and misused. However, although the article starts out cautious, it eventually operates under the assumption that the pesticides in and on foods are present in high enough levels and in the right form to cause ill effects in people that ingest them.

My understanding is that the jury is still out regarding both the effects and the differences in the nutritional value of organic vs. industry foods based on fertilizer composition, but a reference to a scientific study here or there would have been appreciated.

The reason to bother with the organic processed option is that college students will opt for processed food regardless of the health benefits or lack thereof. By giving them an organic option, you are limiting the exposures to these possibly hazardous materials and financially supporting organic farmers, whose produce I assume will be used to make the products, not Cargill’s or Montesanto’s. If you’re trying to get college kids not to microwave all their food, that’s a whole other article.

My advice is this: Research one organic product a week and investigate the issues that are important to you. If you have four brands of organic milk to choose from, Google them. What are the living conditions for Horizon cows? How far does that Promised Land milk have to travel to get to H-E-B? If Stonyfield Farms doesn’t treat its cows with rBST, does it give them antibiotics? This may sound tedious, but consider how many hours of your life you’ve spent looking at lolcats (or Hipster Kitty, as the case may be).

— Lin Huffman
Cell and molecular biology graduate student