• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1978-11-09_Vol44_No12_20

PAGE 20/THE WESTERN CAR0LINIAN/N0VEMBER9, 1978 Carolinian opinion and commentary Momma's boy escapes death Dear Mom, Know you weren't expecting this letter because I've already written twice this semester but I just had to tell you about this crazy bizarre dream 1 had last night. It really scared me. This is the way it went: I dreamt I woke up one morning and it seemed like an average morning in Cullowhee: damp with plenty of fog. I got ready to start the day and got in my car to drive to campus. As you know, my driveway is a dirt road that's about half a mile long. As I rounded a curve in my driveway I saw something that really scared me. There was a huge, busy two-lane highway running right smack dab across my driveway! I was astonished to say the least. Well, you know how my Opel doesn't have much pick-up, so I had to back up to get a running start, close my eyes, step on the gas, and hope like hell I'd make it across the highway. It was the only way to get to campi.s. Anyway, evidently I made it across because the next thing I knew I was on campus witnessing something even more traumatic. I was down on the western side of campus, down where the women's high-rise dorms are, and there was that same two-lane highway running right beside the dorms! But that's not the worst part. Even worse is that there was a new post office with a new zip code and it was located on the other side of the highway! It was total chaos because everyone was having to run across the highway to get to the post office to check their mail. People were getting wiped out by cars left and right. I made it across the first lane to the median, and that's when I saw one of my roommates splattered on the southbound lane. I could tell he had made it to the post office and was on his way back when he got hit because in his bloody hand he held a crumpled letter. Strangely enough, the return address on the envelope read "Progress Inc." This is when the miracle happened. A bright search light shone down from the Jackson County airport onto the highway and all the corpses on the highway rose up and walked up the beam of light into the fog and disappeared. The next thing I knew I was running. I was running to Joyner building to type up what 1 had just seen for the campus newspaper. But when I got to where old Joyner was supposed to be, it wasn't there. Instead there was a massive clover leaf highway interchange, and there were vendors running around stopping carloads of tourists and shouting "Going out of business sale! Get your beer from me cheap!" That's when I woke up (fortunately). All I got to say is that I'm glad I didn't tell this dream before breakfast. Much love, Chip Editorial questioned Dear Editor, After reading your issue of November 2, I am somewhat dismayed at the general conclusions so artfully expressed by Mr. Lagano. He was obviously dissatisfied with the 78-79 SGA budget appropriations not because of what they were but because of how they were arrived at. Sure, there were some organizations that got slighted, but one has to remember the factual circumstances. One decisive fact was that budget requests of about $195,000 had to be cut to $108,494. This is as a result of the prior decision to charge each student the administrative set recreational and cultural fee, which dictated the amount of the total budget. Had it been higher, the overall budget would have been able to make higher allocations. Of course, hindsight is rarely helpful. The point is, the efficient distribution of money was up to the Finance Committee, given the limited amount of resources. I think that they did a good job, and it is unfair to put the blame for a bad job on the sentors. You stated "maybe WCU organizations are happy with the senators' actions" and then later stated "ask any club and they will tell you they are not happy." It is impossible to please everyone, especially when you have a total of only half as much as is wanted. Lagano seemed to be satisfied with the product of the Finance Committee, but the qualification of praise is not needed "as good a job as could have been done considering the help they had." My simple conclusion is that their work of more than 600 man-hours could not be improved upon by those who were judging their "product." In closing, I would offer a note of praise for Lagano's suggestions on "what can be done." Ideas such as a media fund and an educational fund are long overdue. My input would be to better define the role of the University Center Board, to benefit more of the student body. They seem to have been lost in the shuffle. Otherwise, the Lagano-proposed budget should receive close analysis by SGA, for it has numerous good points. Sincerely, John H. Lane III Lagano's 'Dollar Day9 editorial draws fire Dear Editor, When I read last Thursday's edition of the Western Carolinian, I felt I had my choice of several courses of action before me. My first alternative was to disguise myself, keep a low profile, and wear a hat and black trench coat when on campus. Afraid of being mistakenly labeled "a flasher," I decided against this. The second choice was to quit college and search for a deserted island on which to spend the rest of my years. Not wishing to live on a diet of coconut milk for the rest of my life (not to mention the serious shortage of deserted islands), I also ruled this out. The final choice and the one taken was to write a letter to the Western Carolinian explaining my position on several written pieces published last Thursday. You see, I am a member of the now infamous Finance Committee of the Student Senate Now I'd like to be serious and respond to several statements published last Thursday. Doug Beam stated several times that he believed SAGLA was the victim of "petty politics." Of all the statements I've read, this infuriated me the most. Mr. Beam, I invite you, no, challenge you to back up that statement with facts of any kind. I got the feeling that this statement was directed towards the Executive Staff. Mr. Beam, the Executive Staff has nothing to do with the work and results of the Finance Committee. I strongly resent this, although perhaps indirect, attack against my integrity and the integrity of the members of the Finance Committee! If you or anyone else can find some benefits that I could get out of being on a committee that cut your organization's budget request, I urge you to publish them. I'd love to find out what I've been missing. Instead of being a victim of "petty politics" as you stated. I think that perhaps your group (as was every other club and organization that received appropriations) was the victim of the combination of an inadequate amount of funds and an extremely large request for the use of these funds. Mr. Beam, it is my opinion you are the President of a fine organizaion, which will continue to be a success on this campus. I sincerely hope you meant your statement saying your organization would show the students just how much it could do with the funds appropriated to it. However, I urge you not to make statements of this nature, unless you can support them. In Al Lagano's "Dollar Day" editorial he suggested that the students ask the various clubs and organizations if they were "happy" with their budget. Let's be realistic. I know of no club, business or any other entity that is "happy" when their budget request is cut. Admittedly, we could have given about three-fifths of the clubs all they asked for, making them "happy" and cut the other two-fifths out completely, making them somewhat less than "happy." Obviously it would be foolish to have appropriated the 1978 budget with the primary intent of making clubs "happy." By the way, he neglected to ask if the SGA was "happy" with their budget of $14,569. reduced from a request of $19,014. He also suggested money should have been set aside for WWCU to expand to 100 watts within the next couple of years. This, in fact, was done. WWCU received an increase of $2,805 over last year's budget to help meet their future changeover. Also Dave McElvein. WWCU station manager, stated at the last senate meeting that the SGA could not be expected to absorb all the changeover costs and that they were in the process of searching for other fund sources. Al Lagano also emphasized the fact that there were 12 new clubs and organizations funded this year. Actually, according to Comptroller Roger McKinney, there were a total of only five new clubs and organizations. In the budget change suggested by Mr. Lagano. I would like to point out that several of these "changes" are a little illusionary. For example: The suggestion to include the use of the Xerox machine in the clubs and organization's budgets, which he said would take $2,800 out of this year's budget. In reality, this would not take anything out of the budget at all. It would merely take the $2,800 Xerox budget and divide it among the clubs and organizations. This would only be a transfer of account titles, with the $2,800 still being spent. This would only add to the already tremendous workload of the comptroller. He would have to approve the use of the Xerox machine and write up receipts and record them each time a single copy was made. It should also be noted that there is a flat rate charged by Xerox, regardless of the amount of copies made. Therefore, does this mean that when the bill becomes due at the end of each month, Comptroller Roger McKinney is to take a certain amount out of each club's budget to pay the bill? Regardless of whether they used it or not? The suggestion to cut the motor pool fund in half and possibly letting clubs that really need it pay for it out of their travel account. Here too, the money is still being spent, its merely being taken from another (travel in this case) account. If the motor pool fund was to be cut in half, I would hate to be the one to tell the clubs and organizations they could only use it to go to 50% of their conferences, seminars, and other activities. If the clubs and organizations were required to pay motor pool expenses out of thier own budget, most of them would not have as much money to spend on other items as they do now. Granted, some trips taken now may be "Turn to Page 18, Please r EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David Jackson BUSINESS MANAGER David Curtis MANAGING EDITOR Mark Wilkins NEWS EDITOR Al Lagano DESIGN EDITOR Eddie Yandle CLASSIFIED ADS joyce Cooper tern Carolinian is published every Thursday ti.' ' year and summer sessions by the sr university .■d although name^, will be withheld by lasvf c-ds ai ) first come first n on*., ,n columns letters and signed mly those of tne editor. .'phone: (70-ii 293 171,1 in Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action employer PHOTOGRAPHERS Jeanette Beaudry E.S. McDaniel John Daughtry Mark Stewart ADDESIGN/COMP Eddie Nunn FACULTY ADVISOR Gerry Schwartz CIRCULATION MANAGER Keith Tidwell PHOTO EDITOR Lewis Greene STAFF WRITERS Cathy Bailey Celeste Carson Chip Hammond Lane Gardner Kathy Malone J.M. Trinks Eh Walker Laura West Rick Whitman ACCOUNTANT Rob Gathings AD SALESMAN Leon Britt SECRETARY Kim Youm?ns PRODUCTION Karen Bailey LeGrande Lister Molly Thompson THE WESTERN CAROLINIAN p 0 Sox 66 Cullowhee, NX. 28723 U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit » i Cullo*he». NC

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: 1978-11-09
  • Date digitized: 2018-08-27
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22" x 16"
  • Pages: 20 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_1978-11-09_Vol44_No12
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library