The best in last week's editorials from college campuses around the nation

Off to Canada

Earth to Democrats: Canada is not the Eden that Bush-bashers think it is. No nectar or manna from heaven await America's politically "disenfranchised," only brutally cold winters, Bryan Adams music and the political clout of Luxembourg - the song "Blame Canada" from the "South Park" movie was surely not nominated for an Oscar based on its satire alone.

The Canadian government has pre-empted a possible exodus of U.S. left-wingers by saying the line to get into the country could take more than a year, and becoming a full citizen could take three, according to a Reuters article.

More importantly, though, Americans heading to hockeyland in response to the election's result are cowards and defeatists.

Instead of quitting, Democrats and other dissatisfied Americans should double their efforts to make their voices heard to the governmental powers that be.

Bush's victory is not a rubber stamp approving every single policy idea he has.

Differences still exist, even within Bush's own party, and Democrats can play an important role in ironing out the kinks. Both parties still have plenty of work to be done in the next four years; Democrats need to be a part of it here, not sipping LaBatt Blues and shivering by a fireplace in the Great White North.

- Ohio State University's The Lantern

Yet again, youth vote unimpressive

Leading up to this week's presidential election, much was made about the alleged surge of youth-voter interest in this election, but after the final numbers have been tallied, it looks as if that interest may have been a myth. With so much that was at stake during this election season, it is extremely disappointing to see young voters act with such apathy and lack of respect for civic responsibility.

The youth vote accounted for 17 percent of the overall turnout when the age group in question is expanded to 18- to 29-year-olds, also about the same as 2000. Voters aged 18 to 30 make up around 25 percent of the electorate, and they could have had a significant impact on this election.

These numbers are particularly troublesome when considering all of the massive voter-registration drives that specifically targeted the youth vote. While these organizations may have succeeded in registering large numbers of new voters, too many of them still did not make the effort to get out to the polls.

If young people want to continue to be ignored by our politicians and leaders - as young voters typically complain they are - they are heading down the right track.

- University of Iowa's The Daily Iowan

Passengers weighing down airplanes

The obesity epidemic has hit this country in a big way, with the average American weighing 10 pounds more than he or she did in the '90s. But now, according to a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control, the epidemic is weighing heavily on airlines as well.

Wider people translate into having to use more fuel, and the airlines have had to eat the cost, spending $275 million on 350 million more gallons of fuel in 2000, the CDC reported. And as a super-sized bonus, the extra fuel produced 3.8 million extra tons of carbon dioxide, which, in addition to being the stuff we exhale, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

With the price of fuel on the rise and the heftiness of the majority of Americans increasing burger-by-burger, airlines will have to think of other ways to compensate for the rising costs and diminishing returns.

But there's not much they can do that wouldn't lead to bloated prices, though "You must be this wide to ride this airplane" signs would give airports a carnival-like atmosphere. Flying post-Sept. 11, 2001 is already a hassle: first the metal detectors, then the terrorism detectors, now fat detectors?

- University of Pittsburgh's The Pitt News