• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1973-10-25_Vol39_No18_04

page 4 THE WESTERN CAROLINIAN Thursday October 25 1 Editorial Comment ,1973 frorw Optimism There are many reasons for optimism in Cullowhee. We will be getting a new chancellor within the year and Hermann Goering appears to be on his last legs. The time has come, then, for some modest, constructive proposals, recommendations which presuppose that WCU will remain in existence for at least a few more years. First of all, the University must attract better qualified students. After all, a prison is no better than its inmates. Substantial tuition discounts, especially to people from out of state, could be offered to particularly well-qualified applicants, say, those who scored above 1300 on the SAT and graduated in the upper one-fifth of their high school classes. We spent over $100,000 on athletic scholarships last year. A similar figure spent on the tuition discounts would not be out of line. A freshman honors program could be built on the foundation of the current special sections in English, thus providing better-than-average instruction to the more capable students in a wider range of subjects than is now offered. In addition, we should make additional efforts to recruit high school seniors who appear to be good prospects. Once we have lured some bright freshmen here we must do something to keep them from leaving after the first year. WCU is now a college of freshmen; the attrition rate is tremendous. While many of those who first come here are simply not capable of doing the work, many others transfer away because it's no fun when all of one's classmates are dummies. Encouraging the promising prospects to come would help a lot, but we must also do much to improve academic life on the campus. The classical languages have always been ignored at Western, and any serious study of modern foreign languages, history, or literature seems to be fading fast. Something should be done to give vitality to Western Carolina's program of instruction, which at present is characterized by pedantry, dullness, and vacuity. The enlivening of the curriculum lies, of course, within the purview of our pedantic, dull, and vacuous faculty. Many leading faculty members are too busy trying to effect tenure concessions and a 10 percent pay raise to pay much attention to scholarship. (Adam Smith said, "Seldom do men of the same trade meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation turns to a conspiracy against the public, or some contrivance to raise prices.") Leadership in curriculum reform has not surfaced in the faculty, and least of all in the Office for Academic Affairs. New blood and new ideas must be introduced. Russell Kirk, in a recent article in National Review, cites the success of Troy State University in Alabama and Michigan's Hillsdale College and Central Michigan University in bringing scholars of wide reputation to their campuses. Kirk concludes that prominent academics who have demonstrated an ability to earn a living outside the ivory tower, hired even as visiting professors, can do much to purify the fetid intellectual pools of beckwoods state teachers' colleges. The seventies are a competitive age for institutions of higher education; market conditions have changed radically. Colleges face a buyers' market and students are now in the sellers' seat. Western Carolina University must, if it is to survive, offer something worthwhile to those who come here. If it does not accept our proposals, then we hope it will at least survey the directions which we have pointed out. As we said, this is a time for optimism. Published twice weekly through the academic year and weekly during the summer by the students of Western Carolina University. Member: Collegiate Press Service, Intercollegiate Service. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF BUSINESS MANAGER . . . e « « o « • ALICE HARRILL MIKE KILLAM Offices, first floor Joyner, phone 293-7267. Mailing address, Box 66, Cullowhee, NC 28723. Subscription rates, $4.00 per ypar. I c*r\A« t© WCU toGET AnajAv A*** WftY v)^t^ s:?o^ts.. Dear Editor, It is with respect to the re" cent production of "The Boys in the Band" that I am writing. While I thought this to beapro- duction of admirable quality and certainly an action packed social commentary, I did feel that its presentation of the facts regarding the aspects of gay life could easily misinform the general listening audience. It should be noted that this particular audience was composed mainly of students who by nature tend to be dominated by stereotypes and strong heterosexual drives. It is with this in mind that I wish to offer these comments for your edification and use. Perhaps the most significant feature of the production was the display of very overt gayness. This is the worst possible misunderstanding of the gay world. Indeed it is not what would happen to a character such as Emiery in daily life at WCU. It takes no special ability to picture the mass hysteria that"would sweep a dorm or P.E. class that included this type of personality. You can also imagine the unpleasant street comments that would pass among his fellow students and the obtuse comments that would be yelled from the upper floors of Harrill dorm. No, obviously this would not be a practical approach to take at college. In fact most high quality gays not only themselves look down on such behavior as Emory's but also go to great expremes to "blend in" with the rest of the student body* As surprising as it may seem some of the heav- est daters of the opposite six are in reality gay and use this only as a means of 'is- guise. If it should take shoulder length hair, worn out tennis shoes and a beard to look like all the other students then any gay worth his lambda button will adopt these styles. But never, never would he advertise the fact in a climate such as this. As a second consideration, the production presented the fact that gay life is full of parties and social contact. This is again mostly in error. The truth is that for the average gay, life is filled with isolation, loneliness and if he should be unfortunate enough tobedis- ly with'Tag," "queer" and even is far removed from many heterosexuals that in many situations there is actually no difference between a homosexually oriented person. This also brings the discussiontoanother point, that of calssification. It is all to common that an individual is categorized as either homosexual or heterosexual. If this is to be the case then IMS! there must be basic physical traits that distinguish one from he other. Obviously this is not the case. Since no actual physical or structural differences can be found between two categories such as these then it can be assumed that this is an incorrect form of classification. In reality the mere sight of the individual for the value of the person has been destroyed in favor of a convenient grouping. To mnre clearly illustratemypointallow me to state that on numerous occasions I Jiave been told that "I certainly don't look homosexual". I mean am I supposed to have green hair or something? Now that what gay life has been discussed as not being perhaps it should be determined as to what gay life really is. In answer to this question the life experienced by a well adjusted and fairly normal gay consists of such things as : Getting up at 7:00 am for an 8 o'clock class brushing your teeth three times a day, eating in the school cafeteria, worrying about the test you flunked last week, attending a football game (possibly participating in one), being angry with the professor who graded you down two points for a late paper, and yes, possibly even asking that cute blonde girl out that sits behind you in history class. Really there is very little difference in the life style experienced by a non-promiscuous gay and his heterosexual cousin. Perhaps the greatest insult to a gay- comes when his "straight" roommate discovers his gayness and immediately requests the housing" office to move him to another room for fear of being "sexuallyassault- ed". This is in a way rather funny as the truth is that the average gay is no more interested in sexual relations with an individual he is not attracted to than is a straight counter part.^ In summation life for the WCU gay is one of careful action and a degree of seclusion. But in spite of these facts it should be pointed out that gay activity does very much exist and that based on sheer hard core percentages the chances are very good that the good looking guy in the foot- tall jersey sitting beside you in class is exclusively homosexual, you couldn't tell it could you'! Actually it should also be noted that sexual orientation is not a matter of choice. I would chance to say that no gay would encourage someone to choose the gav lifebv sheer choice when alternate forms are available. Since homosexuality itselffol- lows an inalterable course for the most part, the quality of life experienced by a gay is strictly by his own efforts. Now that gay life has been discussed and contrasted to that presented in "The Boys in the Band," reach your own decision. YOU might even check in your own closet!' Yours truly, Robert G. Gregory Dear Editor: Once again the editorial phenomena of JWB has reared its gaping mouth in the direction of the populace and once again it has appeared to have swallowed teeth, tongue, and tonsils. I am referring to Tuesday's editorial, headlined "Where's That Book." From reading this editorial, one would believe that JWB has no longer found that the incorporation of finesse into the realm of journalism is nolong*- er useful or needed. Personally, I found the editorial to be of extremely low caliber and outstandingly disgusting. Humor in an editorial often serves a helpful purpose in attaining a point of fact, but to insert such trash as "A few- students have leaped to their deaths from the new bridges between the mezzanines" is both "hunky" and demeaning to the purpose they were constructed for. A young lady lost her life before it had even begun, and the body was found discarded (just like litter) at Clingman's Dime. That is a tragedy that I believe few fully realize. For JWB to disgrace this tragic event in an attempt to cover his own ineptness in the jour« nalistic art is not only highly- distasteful, but outright disgusting. Anyone using our library for any purpose will readily recognize that it is lacking in many- aspects, but that is not the fault of our hard-working library staff. The main problem is lack of available space, and Robert Balliot and his staff are continually atemptingto improve the cramped situation that the librarv now has„ If it means moving things around to attain more efficiency, then this is a small handicap we will all have to faithfully persevere. Balliot and his staff should by applauded for trying to make the unbearable bearable for us the students. Constructive criticism is exactly what it says it is. In our case that solution is a better and larger library, and this should be the cause that JWB is fighting, for, instead of criticizing people for trying to make what we now have serve the purpose. If James W. Barden is going to continue to write editorials CONTINUED Page 8 . . . . * * «• i a. *■ ■■

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Culowhee 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: 1973-10-25;
  • Date digitized: 2017-11-28
• Extent
  • Dimension: 15.75" x 11"
  • Pages: 12 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_1973-10-25_Vol39_No18
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library