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Western Carolinia Volume 47 Number 13

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  • Editorial We'll All Miss Him Jim Buchanan will no longer be member of the Carolinian Staff as of this issue. I believe 1 am speaking for the entire Staff in stating that Jim will be missed; we will miss his sense of humor, his knowledge, but mainly we will miss his presence as a person. My personal feeling is one of loss, 1 will miss his input to this paper. My interactions with Jim have ranged from employee to employer. In that span of time I have come to know and respect this person and to call him friend. 1 feel the Western Carolinian is a better newspaper due to his interactions with it. His contributions of time, worry, sweat, concern, social life, sleep, girlfriends and QPR have all contributed to the quality of this school's newspaper. (Look at any of the issues of the Carolinian prior to Jim's take-over as Editor-in-Chief.) I would like to thank him as a student of this University and personally for these contributions. I would also like to thank Jim for "hanging around" this semester and helping out. Sometimes I do not know what we would have done without his knowledge and his ability to laugh. Taking over as Editor-in-Chief when Jim left office has not been an easy act to follow. What I do know and understand about the functioning of newspapers I owe to him, in a certain sense he was my teacher. The bonus to these interactions is 1 also have a lifelong friend out of the deal. The bottom line could be simply stated that we as students of WCU owe Jim Buchanan a special "thanks" for the paper as you see it today. I did not want to see him depart the Carolinian without some mention of his accomplishments and value in producing a quality newspaper. 1 will miss you Jim. I would also like to take time to comment on the November 11th Nuclear Freeze Conference. First, let me give credit where credit is due;Dr Pfost, we appreciate all your efforts to bring this issue to student consciousness. All the people who participated and worked to see this nationwide event take place at Western should be given a standing round of applause. Next, I have to admit I was suprised to see so many individuals from the "right" (conservatives and radicals) attending this Conference. More so I was even more amazed at the lack of individuals from the "left" (liberals and radicals). So many who profess to be in favor of the freeze never bothered to show up at all. I am sure I could hear 3 Western Carolinian/November 18,1982 o A %• Hwfc ^ S0=ET3«BJ=G>'TllVS every manner of excuse in the book for this lack of support. I am also sure there were many who wanted to attend but simply could not be there for real and legit reasons. M ost of us have found ourselves in that situation before. However, this Conference also had a local band play after the discussion, I was shocked and angered to see so many of those professing a nuclear freeze position come strolling in after the presentation was over. Sorry folks, your presence might of made the band feel better but it did nothing as far as helping out the single most important issue in our times. You blew it! Your actions were a hindrance, a negative factor as opposed to a positive one. Your presence was needed at the Conference, not the boogie. I personally know many of you who pulled this stunt. 1 was going to name names but I did not want to embarrass you publicly; you know who you are and so do I. What 1 think of you and your actions is really unimportant; what you think of yourselves is important, what you think about your actions is important. 1 have tried to understand your behaviors to get over my anger of the whole affair. Perhaps being Pro-Freeze is just another "cool" game played by all of you "cool" people? Perhaps you are so wrapped up in your own ego that you simply do not know what in the hell you are doing? Perhaps you are nothing more than phonies—plastic fantastic replicas of professed ideas and actions? I do not know, I do not have an answer that satisfies my own curiosity. I do know these words are not likely to enhance my popularity with those of you I am writing about, however someone needed to say something in order for the records to be kept straight. I also know that I personally do not care what you think about me any more than you should care what 1 think about you. Still, just for the record, I think slipping into the Conference for the music alone was totally inexcusable...Shame on you-youdoknowbetterandcan do better. by Larry Hardin Graduate Students Face Burdens by M.J. Schutz Western Carolina University does not place as great an emphasis on post-graduate work as would, for instance, a medicine- or law-oriented university. Still, different departments at WCU maintain reputations which continue to attract students here for grad-level courses. The Education and Psychology department has such an excellent reputation that students are attracted here from all over the country to pursue their post-grad work. The fine reputations of other departments on campus combine with the beauty of the area to bring grad students here to study. In short, the community of graduate students here is a growing one. Graduate programs have their own, somewhat tougher standards, as well they should. People with postgraduate degrees are expected to be experts in their fields. Keeping this in mind, the university has set some pretty tough standards for graduate students. They are expected to maintain a B- average, and students who can't maintain this average usually find the university to be fairly inflexible on this stance. And after all, post-grad work isn't for everybody. Students who receive master's degrees are supposed to be the cream of the American collegiate crop, and the grade standards just mentioned maintain the integrity of WCU's graduate programs. The courses themselves are generally more difficult than under-grad classes, with much outside reading expected of those in the programs. Most graduate students agree with and support these academic standards. Graduate students are encountering difficulties whcih have nothing to do with academic life. CM" all the groups placed under a financial burden by Federal SGA Notes by Pat Carmody On December 1 the Student Government Association will have an election for eight new commuter senators. In orderto run for a commuter senator position you must come by and register in the SGA Office before 5 p.m. Tuesday, November 30. SGA and Last Minute Productions are currently working on a better system for campus concerts: from now on, concerts will be voted on by the students. This has been proposed so that the students can choose from a variety of bands, thus better satisfying the student wants. The office of president and presidential assistant are currently working on a possible escort service for the campus. This has been proposed so that if anyone would like an escort in the night hours, for example, to and from the library or from one end of campus to the other, there will be a number of volunteer escorts on duty for anyone's service. This service has not been finalized but it is currently in the making. Connie Robertson, the Public Defender for SGA, will be stepping down after this semester, because she will be leaving to do her student teaching. John Womack, currently the Judicial Assistant, will step up and fill the office of Public Defender. Larry Hamrick has been appointed to fill the office of Judicial Assistant. A reminder that Traffic Court is held every Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in the Catamount Room. budgeting cutbacks, graduate students who are dependent on financial aid are some of the hardest hit. Reaganomics have made federal financial aid difficult to impossible to get. Most get along by maintaining full- time status and combining work with careful budgeting. WCU has demonstrated its concern for the financial problems of graduate students by its dedicated efforts to find most of these students graduate-assistantship jobs within each student's discipline of study. These jobs can make a great deal of difference both financially and professionally to the master's candidate. There is one regulation that grad students are subjected to which seems both unnecessary and an impediment to the successful pursuit of a post-graduate degree. The rule to which I refer is one which limits the number of credit hours attempted by students in any given semester to twelve. There is some flexibility in this policy for students who work less than ten hours a week, but such students are certainly the fortunate few. The reasons behind the rule are clear- the amount of time spent on homework per hour class time is supposed to be three hours for a grad student as opposed to the two-to one ratio suggested for under-grad students. Obviously, there has to be a limit on the number of hours per week a working student can spend on school work. Just as obviously, this limit will be somewhat lower proportionate to the number of additional hours per week that a student spends working. But I cannot help but question the necessity and the fairness of such policy all the same. In the first place, most graduate students plan on taking as many hours as possible while enrolled as full- time students simply because it's cheaper that way. Graduate students usually try to wrap up the majority of the required classed in two or three semesters of full-time studies, and then tie up the loose ends in a final semester of part-time study. The more hours one is forced to take as a part-time student, the more money one has to spend. This is no small consideration to financially burdened graduate students. In the second place, the QPR regulations that grad students must live up to already preclude the possibility of a student's letting his/ he r grades slide for long- if they slip below a B they lose graduate student status regardless of their work. The limit on attempted hours does nothing to assure the quality of one's graduate education, as the grade status policy already does that. There is another, more subtle issue at hand here. I can't agree that it is the university's place to determine how much work is too much work. As a graduate student, I believe that each of these people has the exclusive right to determine what he or she can handle. Advice is one thing, but I cannot help but feel that these people should have the right to attempt whatever they believe that they can or must do. If they fail to handle the so-called overload successfully, then the failure is their own. I have heard that the policy is maintained primarily because it is the status quo: if no better reason than unwillingness on the part of university administrators to change and adapt to the growing financial problems faced by universities and students alike, then I suggest this particular policy be vigorously re-evaluated. Flexibility is the ticket to success in the changing world of the eighties. .Arms Race Conference Conducted By Ashley Osment "Solutions to the Arms Race" was the title of a campus-wide conference at WCU, Thursday, Nov. 11. The conference included a keynote address, six dialogue sessions and an informal debate. John Isaacs, legislative director for Council for a Livable World, Washington, D.C, delivered the keynote address at 11 a.m. in Hoey Auditorium. Isaacs, visiting scholar of the Sociology and Political Science Departments, spoke in favor of a bilateral, verifiable freeze on the research, production, testing and deployment of nuclear weapons. Isaacs said that the United States and the Soviet Union have a rough parity in their nuclear defenses and that, contrary to the common myth that the Russians are ahead, "if either side is ahead, it is certainly the U.S." Isaacs compared the question of balance with the scenario of "two people standing on different sides of a gas-filled room—one with 13 matches, the other with 10." Dialogue sessions began at 2 p.m., following a conference luncheon in Brown Cafeteria. The sessions were conducted on various issues, with each session following a lecture-discussion format. The sessions Goodbye by Jim Buchanan Well Cullowhee, this is it. After four years as an employee of the Western Carolinian, 1 have decided to fade into the background and call it quits. Let me make it clear here at the beginning that 1 am not leaving the paper because of any conflict between myself and the current editor of this paper, Larry Hardin. I have served under three different editors, and Larry Hardin is not a bad editor, as some people might think. I've seen people in here who have created fewer waves, but when it all said and done, what being a good editor boils down to is caring. And Larry Hardin cares. With that out of the way, let me explain my real reason for leaving. I've been inching imperceptibly to the brink of graduation, so it's time to play student for a sememster or so. I leave the Carolinian with many fond memories. My adventure with the newspaper crowd began in 1979 under the tutelage of Al Lagano and the infamous Eddie "Scandal" Yandle. It continued under Royce Smith. Royce had a rough year, to say the least. In case you've been vacationing in Outer Mongolia and haven't heard, Joyner Building and our former offices-burned to the groud early in the Spring semester of 1981.1 was the lucky dog who inherited an ashpile for a newspaper. The next few months were awkward for the Carolinian, as we struggled to get back on our feet. Much of the credit for our rapid rebuilding must go to former Business Manager Tim Thompson, now gainfully employed by the Spartanburg Herald. It was his second term as Business Manager, but I had made the leap from staff writer to Editor in Chief in a matter of weeks, so needless to say I was a tad confused. And somehow, through the work of a dedicated staff, the paper managed to grow. And grow. We started out with a small eight page tabloid, and within four months had set a record for the largest Carolinian ever produced. Probably the biggest move made during last year's administration was the decision to go to a full size newspaper. The moves made last year opened new opportunities for staffs to come. I am proud of the way the Carolinian bounced back to business as usual, and I still think it is a newspaper to be proud of. So much for background information. What this paper really has given to me is memories. I will always have a fond spot in my heart for the Carolinian. Some specific episodes can help illustrate the kind of maniac that a typical Carolinian employee is: —the type of people who leave exacto blades hanging from the ceilings in a ball of wax that will probably melt one of these days and kill somebody. —the type of people who mash a coconut cake in your face when you are retiring. —the type of people who stay up all night ranting and raving at a typesetter that really doesn't care. —the type of people who will damn near anything for a laugh, like putting obscene pictures down on our newspaper layout sheet at 6:30 in the morning, just to make sure the editor is still on his toes. —the type of people who will sneak stuff into the classifieds just to the get the editor in hot water, seeing how he managed to dodge that last lawsuit. —just plain crazy folks. These are the memories I will carry. The good times and the bad, the faces that have come and gone, and the experiences. Yes, it was worth it. Ed. Note-Jim Buchanan will continue to haunt the pages of the Carolinian as a contributing writer. occurring from 2:00-3:15 were: -Biological and Medical Consequences of Nuclear War, which featured Drs. Jerry Dirkers and Barry Nathan, members of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Allen Moore, Biology Dept., and Jerry VeHaun of the Buncombe County Office of Civil Preparedness. -Grassroots Politics of Nuclear Disarmament: Theory and Practice, with John Isaacs, Veronica Nicholas, a Jackson County Commissioner and Edward Price, Sociology Dept. —Historical and Political Aspects of the Nuclear Arms Race including speakers Albert Gilman, Math Dept. and Ellerd Hulbert and Gerald Schwartz, History Dept. The sessions from 3:00-3:30 were: —Disarmament and International Relations: Is World Federalism the Answer,which featured John Fobes, adjunct professor of Political Science and Larry Luton, Gordon Mercer and Charles Stevens, each with Political Science and Public Affairs. —The Economic and Social Costs of the Nuclear Arms Race with Austin Spencer, Economics Dept., Virginia Stevens of Advocates for a Nuclear Arms Freeze, Asheville, and Virginia Sweet, Social Work Dept. —The Economic and Social Costs of the Nuclear Arms Race with Austin Spencer, Economics Dept., Virginia Stevens of Advocates for a Nuclear Arms -The Ethics of the Arms Race: Religious and Philosophical Views including Darrel Colson and Jerry Jackson, Philosophy Dept., James Hornsby of the Presbyterian Student Center, Sherry Matson of St. to page 7 65 41 54 29 48 22 59 25 58 19 53 41 Warm, moist air moving in from the Gulf of Mexico is combining with relatively cool air in the east to form a widespread band of cloudiness and gentle precipitation from Louisiana to New England. The central portion of the country is clear. Today and tomorrow, temperatures should remain mild. Clouds and light precipitation will dominate until Saturday when a general clearing will improve our weather. Past week temperatures from the Earth Sciences Department Weather Station atop the Natural Science Building Hi Lo 63 36 Thursday, Nov. 11 Friday, Nov. 12 Saturday, Nov. 13 Sunday, Nov. 14 Monday, Nov. 15 Tuesday. Nov. 16 Wednesday, Nov. 17 V.P. Notes by Charles Bonnell In this week's Senate meeting, I tried to establish an Ad-hoc committee to investigate the Carolinian. The word investigate is used loosely in this respect. 1 formed this committee not to hinder the paper's processes, but instead to further educate the Senate about the production of the Carolinian. Since Larry has made a step toward peace between the Carolinian and SGA, 1 feel it is now SGA's turn. I hope this newly-formed Ad- hoc committee will bring further peace between both parties concerned. This committee has of yet to be approved by the Senate, but its chances of acceptance in next week's meeting looks hopeful. The committee will consist of five appointed Senators. I have spoken to the individual s concerned, and have given them my objectives for this committee. These people are expected to observe the Carolinian Staff during their weekly activities. This is not a committee to tell the paper's staff how to run the paper. They are merely there to educate themselves and the Senate on a future date. A written report of the committee's observations will be issued to Larry Hardin and the Student Senate. It is my hope that this report will further educate the Senate on the functions of the Carolinian. 1 believe understanding is a key function necessary to have harmony between two organizations. I hope this is a step in a positive direction in forming a working union between the Senate and the Carolinian. To use the words of Tilhel, "If not us, who? If not now, when?" 1 look forward to a greater future with the Carolinian. I sincerely hope you do too.
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