• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1970-10-08_Vol36_No11_05

Letters to the Editor The Cat's Paw By THE INIMITABLE PAW ! Dear Editor: After hearing comments from many spectators at our recent football games, it appears that their appreciation and support is in direct proportion to the score and the won~lost record, There seems to be no thought of the fine effort put forth both by Individuals and by the team. It seems that the only yardstick is "win." If you can't do that nothing else counts. Spectacular catches, trem- endous individual and team effort, and the never give up attitide exhibited by our team becomes of secondary impor- tance if we don't win. Let me hasten to say this is not true of many of the fans who remain ardent supporters at all times. Winning is toe object I agree but as in all phases of life, there wUl be some losses. It's during these periods thatindiv- iduals and teams need toe support of the fans, When you are winning that's sufficient, when you are losing support is essential. With this thought in mind and with hope that we may be more understandingand supportive of our teams, I would like to present a short dis- course on what an athlete is. These thoughts are not original but hopefully they wUl provide some food for thought for those who tend to lose interest when the game is lost, "Somewhere between the Innocence of chUdhood and the dignity of adulthood, we find a sturdy individual, the athlete, Athletes come in assorted sizes, weights, shapes, colors, uniforms and in both sexes, but aU athletes have the same creed: to play every second of every minute of every game to the best of their ability. ' 'Athletes are found everywhere, running around, jumping over, passing by, and driving through their opponents. Teammates rib them, officials pen alize them, students cheer them, kidbrothersidoUzethem, coaches criticize them, alumni tolerate them, newspapers publicize them, and mothers worry about them, "An athlete Is courage In cleats, stamina in sneakers, pride in pads, tenacity in a tunic, and the best of youth in a uniform, "When your team is ahead, the athlete Is heroic, courageous, intrepid, valiant, brave, fearless, gallent, a genius, and my boy. When your team is behind, the athlete Is incompetent, careless, indecisive, lazy, uncoordinated and stupid. Just when your team threatens to turn the tide of battle he may fumble the ball, commit an error, fall down, run the wrong way or completely for- get his assignment "The athlete Is a composite • to the publicity man he has the speed of a gazelle, the strength of an ox, the cunningness of a fox, the agility of an adagio dancer, the quickness of a cat, and toe athletic abUity of Bob Cousey, Wilma Rudolph, Mickey Mantel, Dick Butkus and Arnold Palmer combined. "To the coach, for press pur- poses, he has toe stabUity of mush, toe fleetaess of a snail, and the mentality of a mule. He is held together by adhesive tape, bailing wire and sponge rubber, and has about as much chance of playing in the next game as his grandfather. "To the alumnus, an athlete is someone who will never shoot as well, run as fast, fight as hard, score as many points, hit tha ball as far, have to work as hard, or generate nearly the same amount of spirit as did those particular players of his own yesteryear. "An athlete likes long trips away from home, short practice sessions, hot showers, dram ■ atic scores, whirlpool baths, stolen bases, touchdowns, and the quiet satisfaction that comes from being part of a perfectly executed play. They are not much for windsprints, sitting on the bench, rainy days, scouting reports, tough practices, curfews of calesthinics. "An athlete Is a wonderful creature. You can criticize him but you can't discourage him, You can defeat his team, but you can't make him quit. You can get him put out of the game, but you can't get him out of athletics. Yes, you might as well admit it, be you alumnus, coach, parent or fan, He Is your personal representative on the field, your symbol of fair and hard play. He may not be an ail-American but he is an example of the modern way of life. He is judged, not by his race nor by his religion, not for his social standing, and not for his finances, but by the democratic yardstick of how well he hits, shoots, runs, swims, and sacrifices individual glory for the overall success of the team, and all done in full view of those who do the judging. "He is a hard working, untiring, determined individual doing his very best for his school or coUege, and when you leave the game, grousing and feeling upset that your team lost, he can make you feel mighty ashamed with just two sincerely spoken words, WE TRIED." Let us try too. W. Douglas Davis Nixon presents five points on Vietnam Last night President Richard M, Nixon, in a nationally televised program, presented to the American people "the most comprehensive statement on the war in Vietnam" ever given. Nixon presented five points in his speech which are as follows: 1. All armed forces through out Indo-China cease fire anfl remain where they are. This may caU for the following: effective supervision by international observers as well as the participants themselves; that this cease fire should not be a means by which either side builds up their forces: that it include aU of Indo-China; that aU actions stop during this cease fire; and that this may be part of the move to end the war in Indo-China. 2. Nixon hopes there can be established an Indo-China Peace Conference. However, he stated that he will continue to use Paris as the primary forum until this can be ac= compUshed. 3. The U. S. wUl continue to withdraw forces and wiU work towards negotiations of a timetable for complete withdrawal. 4. The U, S. wUl search for a political settlement that reflects the wUl of the South Vietnamese people and that the U. S. wiU abide by the out- come. CNixon stated that we stand firm for the right of the South Vietnamese people to determine their government.) 5. Finally, Nixon proposed the immediate and unconditional release of all war prisoners by all sides. Nixon concluded by stating that nobody has anything to gain by delay in working toward peace, and only lives to lose. Today Ambassador Bruce of the United States will present Nixon's proposals In the Paris conference, A few days ago the Viet Cong presented a program for the United States to consider, A few of the points are as follows: 1. The deadline for final pullout of U, S. troops - June 30,1971, 2. A promise not to attack withdrawing U. S. troops. 3. And a willingness to discuss an exchange of war prisoners immediately - if Washington announces wUling- ness to withdraw. Dear Editor, Perhaps in the midst of all of WCU's world-shaking problems such as the attire we must wear for maybe fifteen minutes for our annual pictures or the gripes about cafeteria hours or the beanie, one problem has gone unnoticed and unsolved for years, This is the problem of regular transportation between Cullowhee and Syl- Va. To many people this is a real and perplexing problem. I'm sure the residents of toe CuUowhee community must also suffer from the lack of bus service between Cullowhee and Sylva. I know there are some extremely lucky people who have cars on campus and come and go as they please, but that isn't doing us others a darn bit of good. Instead of griping about silly things that don't cause real honest - to - goodness problems, why don't we, as a campus geton the necks of somebody in Sylva and try to get bus service of some sort established here, Perhaps the merchants in Sylva would be willing to help. Somebody could make quite a bit of money oper- ating a bus service. Somebody's bright child is going to say: "What about a taxi?" That's just fine and dandy if you want to pay the man $2,00 going and $2.00 coming back. Not me. Not a whole lot of others. As anybody knows, someone is always looking for a ride home, Well, maybetheycan't get any other way but a TraUways bus out of Sylva. Well, heck, who wants to pay a taxi $2,00 and then pay bus fare too? (fare to Ashe- viile is $1.95) Maybe nobody on campus happens to be traveling to Sylva in time to catch your bus. So you pay a cab to take you seven miles. Let's see if we can solve a real problem for once and get a bus service from Cullowhee to Sylva. Thank you, Sally M. WUson HeUoa once again dear readers. I trust you did survive another week in this here valley of llllles, frustration, depression, constipated minds, etc., without falling prey to pop quizzes, late hours, too much booze, or too much of anything as far as that goes. Also, I hope none of our longhaired friends were visited by the highly elite and most intellectual group of rednecked Butchwax freaks commonly or otherwise known unto themselves as vigilantes. Now where do you suppose any of them learned such a big word as vigUante? I bet "the" was hard enough for them to master. At any length, let's hope such bullshit ceases and look forward to toe time when one's hair length, race, shoe size, or whatever matters not. and people start taking stock in intelligence and abUity. Dream on. Did anyone attempt to see Bill Shakespeare's "Henry V" over at Hooeee (!) Auditorium? For those who braved the ever- growing and seemingly endless lines to gain entrance by way of a 50<! investment, there were rare treats and delights galore for the avid movie-goer or the Shakespeare Scholar. It seems the audience was composed chiefly of freshmen whose English professors had threatened them most menacingly into seeing the movie "because you will be quizzed of its contents on the morrow." For those of us who are used to viewing our movies at the Ritz, the scene at RKO - Hoey was not one of air-conditioned, wide screened, swiv- el-seated, rancid popcorn odored theater-going splendor. Not only were the acoustics poor, but several times during the first performance, due to the supercrowded conditions, a young co-ed scratched my knee thinking it to be her own. The only reason I stayed to see the end of the show, was to see if the girl would mistake anything else of mine. Needless to say, she had drifted off into a most peaceful sleep just after Henry's most famous line ( as I heard It), "mxpg! this qdopur qwertyuiop," Stunning evening at the flick. As for the football team, well- keep trying guys. Everyone is behind your gallant gridiron attempts, It's like CoL Custer said at the Little Big Horn, "Things can't get much worse." Seriously though, whenever the team does get it together, look out. Speaking of looking out and football and aU, how many of you fans were lucky enough to be entertained by a friendly drunk Saturday night (in the stands, that is). I'm sure every section and possibly every row has one or even two or three of these guys. Now dont get me wrong, some of them can be pretty funny at times. Now isn't it a riot to see him spill his bourbonated coke down a poor freshman girl's blouse (quite accidentally). And don't you feel like splitting your sides as he barfs all over your brand new Gant shirt or insults you in front of your nice-looking blind date by cracking a funny about your long hair. The ones who really steal the show are the clowns that have to be carried out by their supporting cast of friends. When things are slack on toe field, just look around for the funny man nearest you. Well, its frat time of the year again, so that brings us down to the PAW PLATFORM, upon which are presented and exposed pressing problems, questions, and whatnot for toe benefit of those who might need it. Newcomers to campus and/ or college life: If a friendly guy in a blue and white jacket (three letters or two), red and yellow jacket, maroon and gold jacket, maroon and white jacket, or gold and green jacket approaches you and asks if you would like to go to his smoker and go through rush, don't get the wrong idea and start feeling paranoid. I believe there may be some sort of new generation gap in the works at present. Think on it, Until next time, I remain, respectfully, your humble servant, T„ P. TRIVIA OF THE WEEK: the men's room stalls in McKee don't have doors. Surprise and keep smiling! NEXT WEEK: Mr. Natural gets kicked out of the vigilantes for thinking "Minnie Pearl" was an Indian's description of a large oyster bed. Storms Eye point of view of the National Guard." So, we wiU. We are told that the poor guys had about three hours sleep. What about replacements, or rotation? We are told that toe Guard were being harrassed. Does that justify their actions - were they so poorly trained that they did not know control and discipline? (and, maybe it would not have happened toe way it did if they would not have had loaded rifles). And, toe Guard were running out of tear gas etc. Did they have to march through the crowd and leave their supplies? The Report stated that the National Guard should not have been issued loaded weapons, should not have tried to disperse a peaceful demonstration and should not have fired toe weapons. The Report concluded by stating that the tragedy at Kent State must surely mark toe last time that loaded weapons are issued to guardsmen confronting student demonstrations, Heard about the idea to Issue . . . .FROM Page 4 M-16's rather then M-l's to the Guards in the future? Does not look like that will make the situation of campus unrest improve. Remind you of overkUl? X can blow up the world 10 times, Y can only blow it up 7 times - thus, X is safe, Y won't be stupid enough to attack X. Good solid logic. (what good is a notebook and a pen when it is opposed by a deadly weapon?) Unwarranted and inexcusable violence is not confined to Kent State or any other campus. What about the appearance of something that looks like toe Easy Rider theme right here in our quiet and peaceful hiUs of Western North Carolina? Is "vigilante" a euphemism for "redneck"? you may not feel safe on the campus, or in your own home, or wherever ... Don't just think about violence, or war, or murder, or whatever . . . try to think about peace - not peace in relation to war, just peace in itself. (The other day I looked up Pacifism in some encyclopedia and it said: See War.) ?

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1970-10-08;
  • Date digitized: 2017-11-08
• Extent
  • Dimension: 15.75" x 11"
  • Pages: 8 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1970-10-08_Vol36_No11
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library