Savoring these Christmas moments

with hundreds of people racking up on Elmo's, Dora the Explorer merchandise and other toys that children must have this year.

constant reminder on the young person's hand that they've actually made a decision about this. They have a lot of information in their head, but that doesn't stop them in the back seat of a car."

When taking the pledge, it can be"done either privately or publicly. Teenagers actually get the chance to make the vow at a rock concert event sponsored by Silver Ring Thing, with loud music, flashy lights, and the chance to buy t-shirts and other memorabilia to generate enthusiasm for their pledge, according to ABCNews.com.

The article went on to describe how more boys are say- mg no to sex. The statistics are stunning. More than half of all' male high school students reported in 2001 that they were virgins, up from 39 percent in 1990. However ,1 even though the numbers show a decline in sexual activity, Columbia University came up with a different conclusion.

Upon research they conducted, their study of 12,000 teenagers suggested that a whopping 88 percent of those who made a chastity vow did have sex before marriage.- It seems as though the little ring is only good for so long until the hormones kick in.

Toilet literature

' SHATOYAHOWARD STAFF WRITER SRH725@CABRIN1 .EDU

As I stare out the window and watch the trees go swiftly by me, I am engulfed into my own world. While I'm thinking about if I left anything at home, how stressful this week will be and how to get over exhaustion, I realize that the semester is quick1y coming to a close. In exactly two weeks I will be home again for an entire month. These last few weeks symbolize more than that however; it signifies that my favorite holiday is fast approaching.

Soon Santa Clauses, elves, wreaths, bright lights and candles will fill everyone's windows like a sign stating, "Christmas is right around the corner!" The stores are already being filled

This Christmas means so much to me because both my sisters are old enough this year to fully appreciate the true meanings of Christmas, being 13 and 16 years younger than me. This year they'll understand that Christmas is about not only Santa Claus and gifts, but family and being able to be with the ·people you love.

Christmas is about sitting around the Christmas tree drinking hot cocoa while you share stories of embarrassing moments and the past Christmas' of your youth. It's when I sit each of my sisters on one knee while we look at our baby pictures. It's when we laugh over moments that we vowed would never be talked about because it's the season of being thankful for the people you love and the many things you are blessed to have.

So many people are homeless due to natural disasters that have taken place over the last two years, and I'm at least thankful to have a warm room to run into out of the cold, to have a warm bed to sleep in and, although it's not much, the money to buy the food and clothes I need on a budget, to have a family far from perfect, to have friends to listen to my problems and wipe away my tears, to have freedom of speech, to have mote equality than women in other societies and to be able to have my decisions not made by another person and forced upon me.

These things and so much more cross my mind as I think of what Christmas exemplifies not only to me but in a broader sense.

As Christmas creeps upon us, I can honestly state that although I complain about small things, at the end of the day I can name at least 20 things that I am thankful for that may be a necessity but many still do not have. I'm thankful for what I have and not so worried about what I don't. So as Christmas approaches, I urge you all to think of the little things, because when money and wants are out of your grasp, the little things will be all you have.

TUNOMUKWATIUASJNO

AsST. Eva-rs EDITOR TA725@CABRINI.EDU

"Me and my friends do not read the Loquitur because there is nothing inter~ting to read," are the words of a Cabrini student exercising her freedom of speech. It is no secret that some people think that the Loquitur is boring. I must admit that I was one of a few who thought that nobody reads the •Loquitur, but I recently found out that people do in fact read it, just in awkward places.

Just when some people thought going to classes with pajamas was crazy. there is a new trend going on, even crazier. Yep, some people like to keep themselves busy while sitting on a toilet seat with a copy of the Loquitur. Go in a bathroom today and you are most likely to be greeted by a copy of the Loquitur lying next to a toilet seat.

Now, I know st?ries in the Loquitur are very interesting. We don't always have time to sit and read a newspaper, so we tend to carry our newspapers wherever ·we go and read it when we get a chance. But reading in the bathroom?

What will be so important to read that I will carry a newspaper to the toilet? "The secret to winning the lotto," "How to make a girl fall in love with you in seven minutes." I can't think of anything that will make me read while sitting on a t()ilet seat. Not even if I had to write a quiz and I had to get a good grade or l will be forced to withdraw.

Guess I was wrong when I thought that it was only parking that was a problem at Cabrini. Reading places too? I thought the library had enough places.

Some people are using this trend to their advantages. Advertisements are being put in the bathrooms because one is assured to reach an attentive audience. Gone are the days when people only went to toilets when they ''had-to-go."

People arenow spending extra time in bathrooms. If you are wondering where your friend is, take a look in the bathroom, he or she is probably reading the Loquitur's editorial.

To prove that this is not just some crazy trend I am making up; I was sitting with my informant (To protect my source's identity, I will just call her BigJ .) She knows everything that happens on campus. She keeps me informed with everythfog around campus. She also loves reading the Loquitur. One day we were sitting outside on a lovelf Friday morning when • she suddenly said, holding a copy of the Loquitur, "I will read this when I go to the toilet." I finally felt happy because, as usual, BigJ gave me the information 1 needed. But she did not explain why she wanted to go and read in the toilet, aka restroom, instead of just going to the library. BigJ did not explain, and I was too chicken to ask her to explain. Good sources are hard to find these days; I couldn't risk upsetting BigJ.

Well, I am having headaches thinking about it. No matter how hard I try, I cannot understand why people read in bathrooms. Could this be a new Cabrini tradition that I haven't yet been informed about? Or is the culture gap too wide? Maybe I am the crazy one. I am confused.

I am the type of person who is easily influenced. I love imitating other people. I do not let a trend pass me by without trying it out, but the "reading in the toilet trend" will have to pass me by. Guess I am still old fashioned, I still prefer the library.