• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1986-02-27_Vol51_No03_04

Page 4 WESTERN CAROLINIAN February 27, 1986 PERSPECTIVES Alvin C. Frost: My Kind of Guy... Ellen Goodman Alvin C. Frost is my kind of guy. Computer- literate, 38-years-old, feisty..and conveniently absentminded. Frost was working in the middle-level microchips of District of Columbia finances when he got into something of a snit not long ago. He wrote a letter of protest to the mayor and somebody broke into his queue and printed out copies of it. Frost then took it into his head to change the password that allowed anyone access into the computer progra m that oversees the city's financial life. This action alone was enough to chill the soul of a supervisor. But it got worse. Frost let the password drift back out of his head. Frost "forgot." When the boss and then the media came around asking him for the good word, he said, 'I can't remember." Indeed, all he could recall was that the password had seven letters and was inspired by the Declaration of Independence. (Could the word have been "Tyranny" perhaps or "Perfidy"?) His superiors then did what rulers do. They escalated. They called him names: "a nerd and an imbecile." They issued him a reprimand. They locked him out of his office. And finally, they got somebody else to breqk the code. But none of that could change the pristine beauty of the moment. All by himself, Alvin C. Frost froze a chunk of the government of the capital of the free world. He did it with seven little letters inspired by Thomas Jefferson. ("Warfare" perhaps, or "Redress"?) I can't prove that Frost was subversive instead of happily forgetful, but either way he pulled off a great computer coup. For that, I'm inclined to sign my Joh n Hancock on his declaration of independence. I find a perverse pleasure in identifying with any guy who throws a monkey wrench into the machinery, especially when the machinery is on microchips. (Maybe the rights word is "justice"?) Like my friend Frost, you see, I work with computers-although I'm not really a worker anymore. I am a user. It says that in the instruction manual. For that matter, Frost and I and all of us are barely even citizens amymore. We are entries. In an average week, without a single hostile encounter, I am now required to remember and to give up no less than two secret words just to perform my basic functions. At the office, where the computer knows me as USER GOODMA, I need one passsword to log on to what is called The System, a sinister hi-tech political term if I ever heard one. At the computer wall where I go for money (I refuse to call it a bank), I need another. The wall will only give me cash if I give it my word. We make a deal. It's all very hush-hush. At night I cannot even get in my door unless I give the house the password. If I forget, an alarm goes off and a computer sics the police on me as if I were an ordinary felon. That is nothing compared to the number of numbers I am required to stand and deliver to other computers on demand. The Social Security Administration has given me one number, the telephone company another, Blue Cross a third, American Express a fourth, and that doesn include my Frequent Flyers. ("Savages"? "Tyrants"?) The fact is that I don't know anymore who isn't a system-user and/or system-used these days. King Georqe III was a pussycat compared to the tireless electronic rule which in Mr. Jefferson's declaration now "evinces a design to reduce (us) under absolute despotism." ("Evinces" is a seven-letter word) So it is no wonder that Alvin Frost has become something of a Modern Times hero. Basking in the celebrity of his selective amnesia, Frost boasts that he programmed yet more glitches into the city's computer. Furthermore, the man now says that he is considering running for mayor. Well. I say hang on to your floppy disk. We may have the first candidate who ever hacked his way into history. Allow me one cheer or at least a chortle for Alvin Frost, the Populist for the Eighties, a "nerd" and an "imbecile" who has found the software underbelly of America. ("America"?) The Story of Rep. Richard Gephart George Will On Election Day, 1984, Missouri's Third Congressional District was in a melting mood, giving its heart in several directions. Reagan massacred Mondale there, 65 percent to 35 percent. But Reagan ran 35 percent behind the Democratic congressman, who was unopposed. That man, Rep. Richard Gephardt, is one of the Democrats's fair-haired boys, literally and metaphorically. Folk wisdonrvis that red hair such as his indicates a volatile nature. Wrong. Gephardt militantly avoids militancy. His emotional equilibrium resembles that of Dickens' Lady Dedlock, who was so well-bred she could have ascended into Heaven without displaying-indeed, without feeling-any rapture. He was not born with a silver spoon in his house, let alone' his mouth. In the Depression his parents, neither of whom had a high-school diploma, moved from a farm to St. Louis where his father drove a milk truck. Today the father's son is considered (not least by his House colleagues) part of the cream that has risen to the top of the House. He may soon try to rise much higher. If Gary Hart and Mario Cuomo are the front rank of Democratic presidential candidates, Gephardt is in the front of the second rank, a promising place. That is remarkable, considering that he is in the House. The Washington assumption is that God or (what is much the same) the founding Fathers created the House to bore mankind. There are so many congressmen it is hard for any to become conspicuous. Conspicuousness is purchased in the coin of identification with splashy issues. Gephardt first attracted attention-and precious little of tt-by his attention to hospital cost-control. That issue is as recondite as it is important. Public attention to an issue is apt to be inversely proportional to its complexity and importance. The House is not known as the Mother of Presidents. Only James Garfield went directly from the House to the White House. However, in 1976, Rep. Mo Udall (D-Ariz.) lost four primaries (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Michigan) to Jimmy Carter by fewer votes than Oklahoma's Sen. Fred Harris (quit pretending; you don't remember him) siphoned off from Udall's liberal base. Had Udall won even two of those primaries, he would have been nominated. Qualities important in House leadership are different than qualities required of President. A House leader is a splendid spider, weaving a web that ensnares 218 members-a majority. Gephardt becomes, for him, animated when describing the "thrill" of "getting 218." But getting there requires a legislative leader to rub the edges off issues, the better to build coalitions. Presidents must often lead by arousing passion to put edges on issues. Legislators' lives are swallowed by meetings. Consider the Democratic Caucus, of which Gephardt is chairman (the fourth-ranking House leadership post). House leader held 160 meetings just to cobble together support for Gamm-Rud man. Gephardt loves the House but has seen the limits of life within what is, essentially, a 435-person committee. But his presidential prospects are threatened by the fact that he is guilty of, well, premature reasonableness. In 1978, he opposed creation of a National Consumer Protection Agency. Today the idea seems as dated as William Jennings Bryan's free coinage of silver. Gephardt opposed federal regulation of used-car sales. He said: "I think it is insanity to think that the government can protect you from buying a bad used car." To many Democrats, this probably stigmatizes Gephardt as a heartless cad. But the governmental mentality he opposed-patronizing and paternalistic government-gave rise to the Reagan reaction. Gephardt favored tuition tax credits when the budget permitted, and favors taxing some health care fringe benefits. He opposes abortion, busing and additional gun controls. He has voted against an increase in the minumum wage, and against extension of the Equal Rights Amendment ratification deadline. As a presidential candidate, such votes might make him hard for some Democrats to swallow, but he would be hard for Republicans to handle. As a leading advocate of tax reform, Gephardt symbolized the transformation of American politics. Fifteen years ago, the Democratic intelligensia was flirting with arguments for a "no-growth society." Today, Gephardt insists that encouragement of growth is the standard by which policies should be judged. He suits an era in which grasping reactionaries (Republicans) say the top tax rate should be 35 percent and seething egalitarians (Democrats) say it should be 38 percent. Gephardt has just turned 45. He has three children, ages 15,12, and 8. When the 15-year-old was two, the child had cancer. The three-year treatment, although successful, still has aftereffects. When asked how one runs for President without sacrificing one's family, Gephardt gives the only honest answer: "I don't know." The nation will be enriched if he discovers how. andy atkin ATTENTION CAROLINIAN STAFFERS!! Western Carolinian Staff Meeting to be held Thursday Evening at 7:30 PM. Important business to be covered! All others who are interested please attend. Western Carolinian (704) 227-7267 Western Carolina University F 0 Box 66 Cullowhee. North Carolina 2872) The WESTERN CAROLINIAN Is published weekly by the Publication Board of Western Carolina University. It is an independent student publication that receives its funding through student activities fees and advertising. Subscriptions are available at $16.00 a year ($20.00 Canada). The WESTERN CAROLINIAN is printed at the Waynesville Mountaineer in Waynesville, N.C. Editor In Chief Randy Rosenthal New« Editor Sherra Robinson Photo Editor Ken Lauber Design Editors Jeffrey Richards and Andy Atkin Production/Circulation Manager Danell Arnold Business Manager Cheryl Davis Sports Editor Billy Graham Proofreader Tonya Lamm Design/Production Kevin Kirkpatrick Lainie Covington Tonya Lamm Typesetters Randy Craig Jack Tackett Shannon McCool Kara Wykle The Modified Blueprint Tonya Lamm Claudia Rotter J by Henry Graham Erlacher 3rd 7:00 am - He stands in line for powdered eggs served with an icecream scooper. The students don't recogriize him.... they complain freely. He's the chancellor. 8:00 - He calls the cable company (that had the lowest bid) to put cable television in every dorm, available now to residents at a modest additional fee. 8:15 - Harrill and Reynolds dormitories are to become "co-educational" as of next fall semester 1986, males and females actually living on the same halls. If dioecious dormitories discourage damage, other dorms will follow. Gender isolation will be provided for the children of reluctan parents. 8:58 - A new traffic signal is installed between Dodson cafeteria and the UC grounds just in time to save a pedestrian's life. Nowboth cars AND students can wait their turn without peril. 10:00 - A decree is passed stating that all future constructions will have slanted roofs, eliminating the expense and stink of retarring flat roofs. Thanks from WWCU To: The Students, Faculty, and Staff of Western Carolina University and the Residents and Businesses of Cullowhee and Sytva. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who helped make Leukemia Raiothon 1986 such a success. This year, we helped the Leukemia Society raise approximtely $4,000.00. We are the only 1:00 - The school colors are officially changed from Polyester Purple and Yellow to Maroon and Gold. Other proposed colors were Gridiron Green and Lavender; dark Pinstripe and Cerebellum; Pistachio and Paisley. 2:00 - A miraculous numerical grading system (based on 100) replaces the antiquated letter grade system. Other universities are likely to follow. 3:23 - The sale of beer is officially legalized within the boundary of Cullowhee. The prospect of nightclubs in the immediate future is promising, and live music, the transition from a "suit-case" college to a college town, and increased enrollment. 4:37 - The Dead Kennedies (who?) arrive in Cullowhee to play the Regional Activities Center, which was completed after hiring a few workmen to build it. The interior was repainted to hide the purple. Prospective students from WNC, students from colleges in Tennessee and North Carolina, and Rolling Stone magazine attend the performance. 11:00 - He puts out the cat. college radio station to participate in this event (in the state of North Carolina), which is something we are very proud of. We attribute our sucess with this event to our listening audience. Weappreciate your support throughout the year, and we especially appreciate your help with the Leukemia Radiothon. Thank you for showing that you care. Sincerely, Lynnette R. James General Manager of WWCU united campus ministry Submitted by Winston Hardman WEEKLY COLUMN OF UNITED CAMPUS MINISTRIES Thank you, WCU students, faculty, staff, locals, and even friendly Mr. Cruzan and his flashing bubble gum machine for making this new campus minister feel right at home — Since moving here with myfamily last August, I have a deep appreciation for the quality of life tucked away in the Western part of our beautiful state. Trout fishing, canoeing the Tuckaseegee, hiking, Mountain Heritage Day, talks with Dr. Coulter, and many other experiences have made me a better person. For the past eight years, I was the only full time campus minister at Pembroke State University. Having other full time campus ministers around isa welcomed way of life. The WCU campus ministers get together every Thursday for a meal in Brown Cafeteria to plan student activities and events. Some happenings are unique to our respective student centers and others are jointly sponsored. Two events coming up soon are the Spring Break Migrant Work Project in Orlando, sponsored by the Baptist Student Union and the Gary Rand Concert, March 17, preceeded bya po luck supper sponsored jointly by United Campus Ministries. U of F, citrus, U.S. Army, PiKA, Arkansas, Texas. American Youth Hostels, bicycling and WCU have all contributed to my life. But you know who really makes the difference in past experiences has been people - individuals and groups^ Because of each ofyou,WCUhasto be thebes place I have ever lived! My prayer and concern for all of us is that we get involved in the many organizations and activities that make up campus life at Western. As an example, my new International friends and Ms. Starlet* Craig have caught my attention and I am excited about being a partof mis group on campus. .., Come by for a visit or give me a call ana ei is chat. This goes for all the other campus ministers too or wave as I pass by in my chevy with theGo-fc>oio license tag - must change that to CATS...

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: 1986-02-27
  • Date digitized: 2019-03-21
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 15"
  • Pages: 14 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_1986-02-27_Vol51_No03
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library