Some within the Democratic Party hope that Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama run on the same ticket.

All within the Democratic Party should shout from the top of the highest building in a coordinated earsplitting bellow from the diaphragm – NO!

Clinton and Obama together on a ticket would be a mistake of immeasurable proportions.

These two candidates have a lot going for them individually. Clinton and Obama are both strong-willed, determined, intelligent people; both more than capable of running the country.

However, those same strengths will ultimately turn out to be their weaknesses when paired together.

Clinton and Obama in the White House together would equal a continual battle-royale over the best way to reach a particular goal – a knock-down, drag-out, call the police ’cause the neighbors are beating each other again type battles over every little thing. Both being strong-willed, determined, intelligent people, they have their own ideas and agendas which translates into little compromise and little accomplished.

It does not matter which one would be president, the result would be the same. Hence, the dream ticket would turn into a nightmare.

Clinton and Obama could potentially achieve more separately than together, so both should consider other qualified vice presidential candidates that would mesh better with each potential president’s strengths as well as their weaknesses.

The concept is a noble one, though. The possibility of having two minority groups – women and African Americans – in the White House changing the political and social landscape of the country for the better is a heady prospect. And it could still happen; we could still have a woman and an African American in the White House together.

It just should not be Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama together.

While surfing the net the other day, I came across this Web site- lifegem.com.

The company makes diamonds out of your loved ones. That’s right, I said your loved ones.

The process involves an eight-ounce sample of ashes taken from the cremated family member. The ashes are carbon based, and diamonds are also carbon based. Of course, if the loved one in question has a standard burial, carbon can be obtained from a sample of hair from the deceased-about the equivalent of a man’s haircut.

Once the collection has been obtained, the ashes go through a purification process that will transform the carbon into graphite.

In order to create the diamond, the purified graphite must go through the creation process, which simulates how nature creates diamonds-this involves extreme temperatures and pressure. This causes the purified graphite to break down and create atoms that form the diamond. The longer this process continues, the larger the diamond will be.

The Lifegem company claims that the diamond is molecularly similar to diamonds created by nature and have all the qualities sought in a diamond, such as hardness and brilliance.

Finally, when the Lifegem diamond is completed, it will be cut according to the customer’s specifications. It is then certified by a gemologist and given a certificate of authenticity.

The idea behind Lifegem is to give a lasting connection between one who has passed on and those left behind.

It is a nice sentiment, but it begs the question: Why do you need a diamond, made out of your loved one, to help you remember your loved one?

If you loved and cared for the person who passed, they will always be in your heart. Moreover, there will not be a day that goes by that you will not think of them. That is the true connection-the one that really lasts.

A diamond – like a photo or any other memorabilia – can be lost, stolen or destroyed. The loving memories and shared moments cannot be stolen, lost or destroyed-barring Alzheimer’s.

By the way, a Lifegem will cost you around $3,200-$24,999 (depending on the size and cut); a loose diamond-setting will cost more.

A scholarship fund or donation to your loved one’s favorite charity, in their name, would be a better way to honor your departed family member. They would be affecting other people’s lives, in a positive way, even after they are gone.

The other selling point that Lifegem offers is that you will have your loved one with you forever. Nothing lasts forever. That is about the only thing that is certain in this life. We all want to be with the ones we love forever, but there comes a time when you have to let go. Of course, letting go does not mean that you forget about those that have left this world; it means that you have accepted one of the realities of this world. That life is really a series of hellos and goodbyes. What matters most is how we interact with those we love during those hellos, goodbyes and the time in between.

It is the most important date of the presidential election year – Feb. 5, 2008.

This is the day when the largest number of primaries/caucuses will take place. Twenty-four states will cast their votes for the candidate of their choice.

These primaries/caucuses or known as Super Tuesday, can make or break a hopeful candidate’s bid for their party’s nomination. Candidates must do well on Super Tuesday in order to stay in the race.

The large wave of primaries/caucuses will serve to show each party which candidate is most likely to be ‘electable’ and will set the tone for the rest of this election year.

The top three Democratic candidates going into Super Tuesday are Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. The top three Republican candidates going into Super Tuesday are Mitt Romney, John McCain and Mike Huckabee.

The media seem to be on a feeding frenzy over Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. They are focusing so much on these two candidates that you would think that no one else is in the race or that the Republican Party even exists.

It is not because the media favors the democrats more than republicans, nor is it because they think that these two candidates are the only people who are qualified to be president. Of course, there will be those who say that the liberal media will always favor liberal political candidates. And in some cases those critics of the so called “liberal” media may be right, but not this time.

The Presidential Election of 2008 will be an historical event that we can tell our children and grandchildren about. This is the first time in history that not only is a woman running for the highest political office in the land, but an African American is also vying for the position.

This election year will without a doubt change the face of politics forever. This country could have its first woman or African-American president. Even if neither candidate wins this particular election, it stands to reason that more and more women, African-Americans and hopefully other Americans of other nationalities will step up and claim their right to be Commander in Chief.

However, if we look back at this country’s political history, African-American males were granted the right to vote before women of any color and were elected to political office before a woman. Alexander Twilight was elected to the Vermont State Legislature in 1836. Susanna M. Salter was elected Mayor of Argonia, Kansas in 1887.

If history is cyclical instead of linear, and if history does truly repeat itself, we will have an African-American president before we have a woman president of any color.

Nevertheless, don’t count the Republicans out of the race just yet.

A memorial service was held Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Lincoln Music Hall for Gaungle Li, a foreign exchange student from Xiangtan, Hunan, China.

The standing room only crowd had to be moved from the Schultz room to the main hall next door to accommodate everyone that had come to pay their last respects to their friend and fellow student.

The mood was somber and the room was quiet as the service began. Several in attendance were visibly shaken and many were tearful as Li was eulogized.

The service was given in both English and Chinese, which was translated by Dr. C. Y. Wang, the Chinese faculty representative and also a professor of food/nutrition and hospitality science.

The head of the biology-microbiology department, Dr. Tom Cheesbrough, began the service. He spoke warmly and with deep sorrow in his heart as he reminisced about the young, intelligent student who was part of his program.

Li’s wife, Yun Luo, and parents, father Chunlian Li and mother Xiahong Chen, were not in attendance. Dr. Wang read a letter of apology on their behalf. The family stated that the tragic loss of their beloved husband and son was just too painful to bear in public. The letter revealed just how much Li was loved and how much he would be missed.

Faculty advisor Dr. Yang Yen spoke with high regards for Li.

“Li was a handsome, honest and honorable young man,” said Yen. He also credited Li with paving the way for advancing the further research on wheat scab disease.

When Li was in high school in China, he began to show an interest in biology and won many awards while he was still in high school. Li started college in 1999. He attended and received his degree in biology from Xiamen University. Li came to South Dakota State University in 2003 to pursue his graduate studies.

“He was a hardworking student. His goal was to better himself through education. I remember hearing from his friends that he stayed in the lab all the time,” said friend and advisor of the Chinese Student and Scholar Association, Rui Yao. Li was a member of the Chinese Student Scholar Association.

In his spare time Li loved to play computer games and he was also a sports fan. His favorite sports were soccer, Frisbee, fishing and basketball. Li would meet with fellow students every week to organize and play basketball. His friends said that he was not the biggest player on the team, but he was the fiercest. Several of Li’s friends stood up at the end of the service to offer their fondest moments with him and reflect on what a warm, caring, thoughtful person he was.

Campus police found Li dead in his campus apartment on the morning of Oct. 26. Li was reported missing by a fellow student.

Guangle Li was born on Dec. 25, 1981 and was his parents’ only son.

I turned 41 last week. Several of my co-workers on The Collegian staff half-heartedly wished me a happy birthday.

I say half-heartedly because I think some people were afraid to say happy birthday to me because they were not sure how I felt about turning another year older.

When you are young you count down the days until you are 21, then you go out with your friends to have a drink-or more-to celebrate and toast the future. When you are older you start counting down the days to retirement, then go out with your friends to have a drink-or more-to forget and toast the glorious days gone by of your youth.

I guess that might be true for most, but not for me. I like the age I am at now. I am glad for every grey hair on top of my head, though that does not mean that I am ready to display them for the world to see (yes I dye my hair). I am proud of the years I have lived, and I can say without hesitation that I would not be 21 again for anything in the world.

Does that mean that I have no regrets? Of course I have regrets, but I try to live my life so I will have as few regrets to reflect on as possible. That means taking chances and trying new things even when you have reached an age were it is easier and more comfortable to remain in familiar daily routines.

One of those new things for me was going to college. I was afraid that I could not do the class work as well as my younger counter-parts. I was also afraid that the younger students would shun me because of my age. I had nightmares that I would be giving a presentation in class and I would hear people whispering things like, ‘Hey, my grandmother wears those same kind of shoes,’ or ‘my mom dyes her hair that same color’.

Fortunately this has never happened. Every student I have encountered has been very gracious to me. They have never made me feel old or made me feel like I was an outsider. I am treated just like any other student. They say hi to me when we pass on our way to class. I get included in the merry making when in group settings. And my fellow students even poke me on face book just like they do their younger friends.

I have learned something from the younger students. I have learned-or should I say, I have remembered-how to look at the world through young, eager, got-my-whole-life-ahead-of-me eyes. When you age you do forget what it was like when you were younger. And yes sometimes looking back is bittersweet because you no longer have your whole life ahead of you. You see for the first time how finite your time is and how few of your hopes and dreams that have come true.

Youth has the expectation of fulfilling all of your life plans. Age has the reality that life has not always turned out quite the way you had planned.

I hope that the younger students have learned something from me, too. I hope that when they look at me that they see someone who-despite being older-had the courage to change what she did not like about her life and took action to change it. And I hope that lesson will stay with them when they come to a time in their lives when they are middle-aged and not happy with how their lives are going. And I hope they find the courage to change what they don’t like about their lives.

Will I always be so positive about growing older? I don’t know. Come ask me in 10 years when I turn 51.

Guangle Li, a Chinese graduate student at SDSU, was found dead in his campus apartment on Friday by University Police.

The official press release stated a fellow student of Li’s had reported him missing. Police found the body upon entering Li’s residence. The report also indicated that there was no evidence of foul play.

In addition to his graduate studies, Li taught Biology 202 and was researching wheat scab disease. Li was a member of the American Society of Plant Biologists.

The cause of death is unknown pending the release of the medical examiner’s report.

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That is what we should all do. The things that make us different are the things that make life interesting. Life would be boring if we were all the same. These statements are so over-used and clich

Controversy.

It makes for increased readership and increased television ratings, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

It can draw public attention to topics that require action by inciting debate and hopefully resolution to the problem at hand.

But too much controversy can overshadow the issue and cause it to be engulfed by the tidal wave of hostility that arises out of the audiences’ outrage toward the author of the controversial item. Suddenly the topic is no longer the real issue. The author and his or her character become the issue, as well as the credibility and judgment of the organization for which the author is affiliated.

Columnist/cartoonist Grant Woolard, a senior at the University of Virginia and staff member of the school’s paper The Cavalier Daily, learned that valuable lesson after his cartoon appeared in the Sept. 4 issue.

The cartoon that Woolard submitted to his editor was published and set off a heated debate among the minority population on the campus and within the city of Charlottesville Va., which led to national coverage by the Associated Press and The Washington Post, as well as local coverage in the Charlottesville paper, The Daily Progress.

The cartoon depicts, as reported by Ian Shapira of The Washington Post, “nine darkened figures with bald, enlarged heads, dressed only in loincloths, fighting each other over a tree branch, pillow, chair, boot and stool. The caption for the melee: “Ethiopian Food Fight.”

The cartoon also sparked protest by minorities on campus led by the NAACP. The protestors, along with some members of the Charlottesville community, called for the resignation of not only Woolard, but also all the editors that approved the cartoon for publication.

Woolard apologized, stating that he did not mean to offend anyone and that he was only trying to make a statement about the famine in Ethiopia. But he was still forced to resign his position on the paper. He stated in an interview with The Daily Progress that he felt that the editors should also share in the blame. An apology letter was run in The Cavalier Daily, but the damage was already done.

According to The Washington Post’s article, this is not the first time a controversial cartoon by Woolard had been published.

In a column written by Alec Solotorovsky, which appeared in The Cavalier Daily, the editors were taken to task for not refusing to publish this and other material too controversial to print. Solotorovsky said in the article that the editors needed to toughen up and not print questionable material just to make deadline.

Controversy can be a useful tool to gain the audiences’ attention, but as reporters, photographers and editors we need to remember why we are trying to gain their attention-to inform the public. If the audiences’ attention is misguided due to overtly controversial material and the real issues of the day get lost in the shuffle, then we have failed to do our jobs as journalists.

The Sounds of South Dakota Vocal Showcase presented an adapted version of Mozart’s “The Impresario” to a moderately full audience, on Saturday at the University of Sioux Falls.

This version, adapted and directed by Bruce Earnest, director of musical theatre at the University of South Dakota, was set in modern day Sioux Falls with lyrics performed in English and musical accompaniment provided by the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra.

The synopsis of the story goes like this-it’s a comical piece about a struggling opera company trying to pay its bill. The plot thickens, as they say, when an aging diva and a young aspiring soprano battle for the lead in the company’s current production of The Magic Flute.

The opera adaptation was, overall, enjoyable. It had something for everyone-comedy, romance, intrigue, corruption, deception and a happy ending. At times the tempo of the acting was somewhat faster paced than the music. And there were moments when the classical music styling of Mozart did not fit with the modern-day setting. But I have to give credit were credit deserves to be given. The Sounds of South Dakota achieved their goal of introducing opera in an updated form to the city of Sioux Falls.

The vocalists in this production were outstanding. They were all local talent by the way.

The audience favorite was Damian Marchand of Brandon, South Dakota. I have had the pleasure of seeing Marchand perform in the past. He has that rare mix of talent, good looks and charisma. I am even more impressed with Marchand due to the fact that he has never been formally trained.

Another cast member worth noting is our own Emily Toronto, assistant professor of music here at South Dakota State University. Her time on stage was short but memorable and the audience enthusiastically showed their delight with her performance.

It goes without saying that the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra alone was worth the $15 admission-with student ID. However, no matter how fine the productions are from the Sounds of South Dakota, the cost may be a little too much for the average college student.

It was definitely well worth taking the time to see. I give it a three rabbit rating.

If you would like more information on the Sounds Of South Dakota and future productions, visit their Web site at

www.soundofsouthdakota.org.