• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1983-10-27_Vol48_No12_02

2 Western Carolinian/October 27, 1983 Perspectives T/iewpoint Monica Henson "A Tremendous Gesture Of Faith" First ol all, 1 want to thank the Student Senate Finance Committee and Conptroller Michael Robinson for what I consider to be a tremendous gesture of faith in the Western Carolinian. I'm sure that everyone who has seen a copy of the 1983-84 budget appropriations can agree that the newspaper received a very fair and reasonable portion of the allocations approved by the Senate. Comptroller Robinson. President Kahn, and 1 worked out what we felt was a reasonable and adequate budget request for the coming year. 1 must admit that 1 was extremely apprehensive about the request getting through the Finance Committee. The reason for my apprehension was that I was very aware that last year's SGA monies were abused and misspent; huge deficits were amassed that are only now being accounted for and covered. However, the support, financial and in general, that the Carolinian has received from SGA, especially President Kahn, Presidential Assistant Tony Glenn, Vice-President Terry Miller, and Comptroller Robinson, has quickly disspelled any fears or worries in my office. These men have been the first to offer compliments on the improved layout and article content ofthe Carolinian, as well as offer qualified advice on business matters. 1 want to encourage any student who has a problem he/she feels can be solved by one of these men, to drop by and see them. Finally, it boils down to this: the men in the SGA office have given the Carolinian invaluable support, support that many could justifiably say we didn't deserve, given last year's fiasco. However, these men realized that last year's staff and this year's staff are completely different groups, and they put out the helping hand when we needed it. For this 1 and my staff are very grateful, and I want to express our enthusiastic support of SGA'. Thanks, guys—we're doing great things for WCU together, and it's about time! Declaring Academic Bankruptcy There has been a lot of bankruptcy in the news lately. In the old days, bankruptcy was the end of the road, a shameful final desperate move for an individual or corporation that had exhausted all of its options. This has changed. Declaring bankruptcy is becoming a respectable gambit that allows a business to try again, even though it may have made commitments that it can not honor. When we take a close look, we see that the dog- eat-dog world of corporate capitalism may have become more forgiving and humane than the academic system on our college and university campuses. Perhaps academic administrators and faculty senates could learn a lesson in forgiveness from the business world. Perhaps students could benefit from some of the understanding that is now extended to corporations. In this column, well take a look at some of the more famous of the recent bankruptcies in the business world, and then well come back to campus and consider the common treatment administered to students who make mistakes. John DeLorean sweet talked the British government out of millions of dollars when he offered to establish a car factory in Northern Ireland. He lived high off the hog, enriching himself while the company failed. He could have gotten out of it just fine, still a wealthy man. except that his sense of honor apparently led him to try to rescue the company by a venture into the cocaine market. He got busted and then declared bankruptcy, instead of just This Learning World Richard Meisler declaring bankruptcy. He's still a rich man, but be's in big trouble because he wasn't just willing to accept bankruptcy. Not long ago, the Wilson food company, a major processor of pork, declared bankruptcy in order to free itself of obligations it had assumed while negotiating a contract with its unionized workers. Continental Airlines, which had $50 million in the bank, has just done the same thing. The Manville Corporation, a flourishing chemical company, declared bankruptcy for another reason. Manville used to make asbestos, which did horrible things to the workers in its factories. The company didn't take appropriate precautions, and there are 16,000 lawsuits for damages against Manville, brought by former workers whose lives have been wrecked by asbestos-related diseases and disabilities. Going into bankruptcy allows Manville to conduct business with considerable protection from the impact of these lawsuits. Bankruptcy proceedings allow companies to try to get back on their feet. Their cred itors must wait for payment of the debts that company has incurred. The workers will be unhappy because they will correctly believe that the company has backed out of a deal that was fairly negotiated. But neither the creditors nor the workers would gain much if the companies go out of business, so there is some sense in these arrangements. Now let's go back to the typical college campus, where students pay large sums of money to get educated. Students, like the executives of la rge corporations, can make unwise judgments or behave badly. They can be immature or lazy, just like other human beings. They can be distracted by personal problems of love or video games. They can, when they register for courses, become too ambitious, biting off more thatn they can chew. What happens to students who exhibit these common failings? At the end of the semester, many of these students find themselves hopelessly behind in their work. They simply can't do it all. They go to their professors and ask for extensions. The typical professor sees this a matter of high moral significance: "I am sorry. There is nothing I can do. You will be penalized one full grade for every day that your paper is late." The student sees his or her ambitions to go to graduate school or to get a good job jeopardized. The professor, the gentle humane educator, has turned the screws. Students go the dean's office to find out how one gets an "incomplete" in a course. They find that you must present notarized copies of a chest x-ray showing clear evidence of lung cancer. The death of a grandparent is only sometimes sufficient. It in ncomplete is granted, it nust be made up within a certain time period, with no further extensions possible. A timing device is activated in the registrar's office, and it will enter an "F" on the student's transcript thirty seconds after the deadline expires. In the business world, when a person or corporation gets into big trouble, the bankruptcy laws allow for a period in which pressure is reduced. The company or person is given some time to reorganize and get its act together again. When a student gets into trouble, no such decent treatment is forthcoming. The usual response is for the pressure to be increased rather than decreased. The world is full of people who dropped out and never came back to school because the academic world is so unforgiving. Many of them would have eventually been fine students and made productive use of the education that was not, unfortunately, available to them. The academic world needs bankruptcy provisions which students could invoke when they get into trouble. They should not be punitive. Students should be allowed to wipe the slate clean and start again. Both the student and the larger society would benefit. The important thing is that a particular student has learned something, not that he or she, at one time, for one reason or another, was unable to learn it. In this respect, we will have a better educational system when we learn a lesson about bankruptcy from business. Western Carolinian The Western Carolinian is published weekly in Franklin, N.C. by the Franklin Press. Yearly subscriptions to the Western Carolinian are $16. Letters may be mailed to the Western Carolinian at P.O. Box 66, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723. Editor-in-Chief Monica Henson Design Editor Tony Cole Photography Editor Mark Haskett Sports Editor Russ Randolph News/Feature Editor Greg Ryder Layout Kelly Casteel, Dan Mangold, Barbie Touart Photography Mark Haskett, Danny Batten Ad Design Debbie McElroy Cartoonist Tony Cole Production Sherry Bumgarner, Tammy Greene, Donna Mosely Ad Sales Scott Hinricks, Dan Mangold Circulation Manager Larry Woods Staff Writers Mark Newsome, Rebecca Lines, Alex Lesueur, Larry Hamrick, Steve Crawford, James Utt, Joe Fournier, Heather Frey, Cathy Stewart, Kevin Whiteside «d3 <=G^^ WfiWU CAfOI-iU'M!: Greg Ryder "Limited Visibility" Hello again, it's been a while. So why not get things off to a good start with a bit of serious bitching. 'Tis the season for that wonder of wonder, intra-mural football. Oh don't we love it. A chance to play competetive football against all those bums who beat you during the softball season. I really enjoy it, until something spoils the fun, like rain, or injuries. But too often it seems something else comes along to ruin a good contest...a bad official (you know, the guys and girls in the prison shirts, blowing on little noise makers and throwing little towels on the ground). Now granted the Intra-Mural Dept. does a lot of work scheduling games and such. But it seems a bit more time spent training officials and explaining rules would make for better competition. I'm sure that every IM official thinks this is a crock of —(fill in the blank). But when I spend five minutes waiting on five folks who can't remember how to run an overtime period (Theta Xi vs. ? Mon., Oct. 24, 7:00) I begin to wonder. Now let me be the first to say that 1 sure don't know all the rules, but then that's not my job. After the game 1 very politely told an official whose performance had really stood out, "1 don't think you called a good game." His reply, "1 don't care what you think." NO KIDDING! This may be the whole problem. The officials don't care enough to learn their job before they go out there and try to do it. And heaven forbid they think to bring a copy of the rules to the game. Hopefully someone will try and see that officials are competent and qualified to do theirjob. I know when I worked in the IM Dept. I was never made to attend any rules sessions. Sure they had them, but 1 never went...AND NOBODY CARED! Quickly here. I found a bit of information while researching an article on Traffic and Security that some people may find interesting. There are, according to the BD-119 in Hunter Library which lists teacher salaries here at WCU, 353.4 paid instructors at this institution and its affiliates (I always thought that one of my prof's was less than half-a-man and this proves it). Anyway...want to know the average pay for these fortunate folks? Sure you do, come on! Haven't you ever wondered what that bald headed ol' guy gets for boring you to death two or three times a week? Sure you have! Well, the teachers receive a total of $8,948,873 for an average of $25,322 each (as of Jan. 82). There, don't you just feel completely enlightened. Hope you've enjoyed this week's paper. If T& S doesn't bump me off before 1 finish that article I'll be back again next week, unless Mike Creason has me permanently penalized. WCUpdate Joe Fournier Staff Writer The purpose of this column is to serve as a guide to upcoming events for WCU students and other members of the university community. If you have an event which you would like included in the next edition of WCUpdate please contact me at 227-4218 or leave a message at the Western Carolinian office. All entries must received no later than noon Tuesday. Thursday 10-27 Women's Volleyball-WCU vs. Clemson. 7 pm, Cullowhee. Concert: Student Chamber Ensemble. 8 pm, Recital Hall, Music-English bldg. Theatre: "Wait until Dark" by Frederick Knott. 7:30 pm, Little Theatre. Adults $4, senior citizens and students $3, children $2. Reservations: 7365. Exhibit: Recent Box Construction by Joyce Blank. Chelsea Gallery through Nov. Exhibit: "Illustrator's Illustrations". Art Gallery- Belk through Nov. 9. Friday 10-28 Soccer — WCU vs. UTC (Southern Conference Game), 7 pm, Cullowhee. Film: "Young Doctors in Love." 8 pm Hoey. Saturday 10-29 Prospective Student Open House. 10:30-2:30 pm. Football - WCU vs. UTC (Southern Conference Game). E.J. Whitmire Stadium, 1 pm. Rifle Team - WCU at Wofford LMP Masquerade Ball. 8 pm Grandroom, Hinds UC. Nantahala River Stream Watch Program. Nantahala OUtdoor Center. 12:30 pm. QOODNITE PEACHES Mfflz!mm 10 \N-U-F-r,Ws WHOOPEE RAVIO7* O "83 NEW ft* TUBES SYTOCATE he. OH M-U-P-f! nAM'jmtsmttt Sunday 10-30 Theatre: "Wait Until Dark" 2 pm matinee. Soccer: WCU at UTC Nantahala River Clean-Up. 10:30 am. Nantahala Outdoor Center. Monday 10-31 Films: "Halloween," "Frigid Hare," and "Bewitched Bunny." 8 pm Hoey. University Forum: "Global Tourism: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" by Gerald Mitchell, president of G.E. Mitchell & Assoc. Travel Consultants of Englewood, Fla. Natural Science Auditorium, 7 pm. Free. Tuesday 11-1 Women's Volleyball: WCU vs. UNCA. 7 pm, Cullowhee. Concert: University Chorus. 8 pm, Recital Hall, Music-English Bldg. Free. Lecture on People's Republic of China by John A. Needer, professor of management at ASU. 7 pm, 101 McKee. Illustrated with slides. Tuesdays through Nov. 29. 7-9 pm: "Wellness, Holistic and Indian Medicine," taught by Dr. J.T. Garrett. To register call ext 7397. 104 Killian. $25.00. Wednesday 11-2 Women's Volleyball: WCU vs. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 7 pm, Cullowhee. Film: "Man From Snowy River" 8 pm, Hoey WCU students $1.50, adults $2.00. Every Wednesday: Time-Out, a student-led devotional. Wesley Foundation. Thursday 11-3 Women's Volleyball: WCU vs. UNC-Charlotte and Virginiai Polytechnic Institute. 7:30 pm Charlotte. LMP Concert: The Nighthawks." Hoey WCU students $3, others and at the door $5. by Paul Falzon* -WSEVBfc- ibOdtmWU: lke ttzmiti kwwmnmt m amur. rAT LEAST HE MUM was mxmz. rM tews an JOMlMElfffl 'JtfflUZ.

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: 1983-10-27
  • Date digitized: 2019-01-31
• Extent
  • Dimension: 15" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 16 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_1983-10-27_Vol48_No12
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library