• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1991-02-07_Vol56_No17_03

Volume 56 Number 17 Voices The Western Carolinian Page 3 Thursday, February 7, 1991 Letters to the Editor ► Four added to NRHH roster John Marshall Dennis Editor-in-Chief Catamount football offers thanks To: The Western Carolina University Family Our football program would like to say "Thank You" for assisting in this years recruiting class. You support and involvement in our recruiting efforts have given Western an outstanding group of student- athletes. It is the Western family which has made this possible. Fraternities, sororities, student groups, faculty, administration and many others have made a tremendous impact on this recruiting class. You have influenced these student-athletes to choose Western over many other institutions. Our staff appreciates being a part of such a fine group of people and our greatest resource in Cullowhee is you Again, thanks for your support. We are certainly indebted to you. Sincerely, Steve Hodgin and the WCU Football Staff I am writing on behalf of the National Residence Hall Honorary about the front page article of the January 31st Western Carolinian edition. Because of a communication problem, four of the new members were left out of this article. NRHH inducted twelve new members, instead of eight. The four new members who were excluded from the article are: Jennifer Burgess: An Interior Design major from Vale, N.C. She is the president of BACCHUS, is an RA in Scott Hall, and is a member of the ASID Club. Steve Hannah: An MET major from Manassas, Va. He is a member of Western Gold, is an RA in Leatherwood, and is active with the Heldcrwood RHC. Richard Smith: A Business Law major from Rockwell, N.C. He is a past Reynolds RA and Head Resident. He is currently the Head Resident in Madison Hall, Co-advisor of the Hill area RHC, Exam Care Package Student Coordinator, and a member of ROTC and in the National Guard. Donna Smith: A special undergraduate student majoring in Mathematics. She is the Head Resident in Helder Hall, Co-advisor of the Heldcrwood RHC.Community Service Project Coordinator for the Residence Halls, and was also selected as staff member of the month for December. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Crystal Bowman Desert "Cat" thanks Cullowhee friends Jan. 8,1991 I am a former WCU student who is currently serving over here in Saudi Arabia, in Operation DesertShield. As the U.N. deadline quickly approaches, I am often reminded of the great kindness and support that many of my friends at WCU have shown me. I would like to publicly thank the following people for everything: Andy Lambert (SGA President), Jason Ramsey, Richard Ferguson, Tony Parker, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, Delta Zeta sorority, Beth Mauney, Holly Hannah, Becca Smoot, Laurie Brannock, Paige McAdams, Laura Bock, Kevin Brueland, Nicol Deorisci, John Payne, Kevin Roberson, Shcrri Rogers, Chuck Lawing, Artie Fitzgerald, OTIS, Christy Hall (whom I love very much). If I've forgotten anyone else, I apologize. God Bless You All, Jeff Branham Saudi Arabia, 90-91 Intoxicating solutions offered to campus The Western Carolinian welcomes editorial input from students, faculty, and staff on : matters of public interest. Please address correspondence to: Voices P.O. Box 66 Cullowhee, NC 28723 All submissions will be considered, but The Western Carolinian reserves the right to refuse publication of offensive or otherwise unsuitable material. The Carolinian is not responsible for opinions expressed on the Editorial Page. Picture this... Friday night in Cullowhee after a week's worth of classes and tests. It's time to have fun, but the big question is what is there to do? Most of us drink, so alcohol is a major consideration in this decision. Some questions may arise: Will drinking be involved? By whom? Where? What about transportation there and back? Cullowhee does not have liquor by the drink, but they should so the public would have safer ways to drink responsibly. The issue of transportation is the most important because the Transly vania Times says "one out of two Americans will be involved in an alcohol accident in their lifetime." It also says "over the last ten years 250,000 Americans lost their lives in alcohol-related accidents." That equals one every twenty minutes! The Tar Heel Centcrline says the Highway Patrol made 50,776 arrests for drunk driving in 1989. In 1985, 35,517 drunk driving arrests were made. The numbers have obviously increased! In a pamphlet, the Washington Daily News says you are guilty of driving while impaired r ^ mht 'Western Carolinian Western Carolina University The Old Student Union P.O. Box 66 Cullowhee, NC 28723 John Marshall Dennis Editor-in-Chief Laura L. Adams Assistant to Editor-in-Chief Associate Editors Jennifer Mann - News Jeff Oakes- Copy Editor Tony Bolick- Sports Douglas R Pease - Design & Layout Photographer Jonathan Fondow Troy Connor Typesetters Kim Miller Mark Ellison Business Manager Charles Baldwin Advisor John Moore Design & Layout Stephanie Messer Mark Ellison Writers Robbie Robertson Thad Shcrin Scan McAndrcw Advertising Sales & Design & Layout Christa Humphrey V (DWI) if your alcohol concentration meets or exceeds 0.10 or if you are under the influence of or affected by alcohol/orothcrdrugs. This includes prescription medication. This is our problem because, according to the Surgeon General, drunk driving is the leading cause of death for the 15- 24 age group. One com mon place to party on a Friday night is a fraternity house. Transportation is a problem because the frat houses at WCU are not within reasonable walking distance of the residence halls. This initiates programs, such as the keymaster and the designated drivers. Both of these are not totally safe ways because they are infrequently used and are in some cases drunks dealing with drunks. Electric Warehouse, in Waynesville, is another place to go. Recently, Pi Lam Fraternity has taken an interest in the Warehouse and they host contests to draw a crowd. The Warehouse serves draft beer, so the fact that it is the next county over, meaning a twenty minute drive, presents a problem. Could you imagine the cab fare for a last resort ride from Waynesville to WCU? Some students will choose to party in their dorm room. I have seen rooms where one half of the space is devoted to a bar. This tends toinvadeotherpcople'sprivacy. The R.A.'s in the building also have a hard night because they constantly have to "police" their friends and keep minors from drinking. Who cards at dorm parties? The party is often too crowded and you may expect to busted any minute. Gene McAbee, Director of Public Safety, says ninty percent of the crimes on campus are alcohol related. These crimes include theft, fights and vandalism. The more dorm parties that are held next door, the better your chance of falling victim to those crimes. Brown bagging is always another suggestion. The Sheriff of Sylva and Gene McAbee both agree with me that this idea is not as controlled as liquor by the drink. A person could sit in a local restaurant that allows brown bagging and put away a fifth of vodka, no problem. With liquor by the drink, drinking is monitored because of the North Carolina Safe Roads Act Dram Shop law. This law permits civil liability to the seller of alcoholic beverages to an underage person who consumes the beverage and has a crash while impaired. The seller will have his alcoholic beverage control (ABC) permit suspended until the judgement is paid. The possibilities give sellers incentive to pay attention to the rules. Jackson County voted no the referendum, so it is presently a dry county. Sylva is an incorporated town, so they got ABC stores first, with off the premise consumption. They got beer sales next. The Ramsey Center Hospitality Room is the only place to serve alcohol on campus. It is under strict restrictions. The Townhouse Restaurant has received a brown bagging permit from the ALE. The Sheriff has to approve it first and he said he has done so on several occasions with no problems. Gene McAbee said there have been no alcohol related accidents on the WCU campus in the last two years. In the calendar year of 1989, there were sixty-one total arrests—forty- five of the sixty-one were DWI or liquor law violations. It is important to remember that the KA accident is not mentioned because "on campus" is a well defined area. The accident was not within these boundaries. McAbee predicts a lawsuit dealing with the Dram Shop Law, will slow down the WCU parties. Liquor by the drink would give people a more safe opportunity to drink on Friday night. For exam pie, a pub in downtown Cullowhee would be monitored by owners because of the Dram Shop provision. Food would be served there with the alcohol. There would be less driving involved because the pub would be within walking distance of the WCU residence halls. The pub would help keep a large amount of the social drinking out of the dorms. There would be fewer minors drinking be- Student On The Street "Do you think we should have liquor by the drink in Cullowhee?" Name - Chris Carrington Major - CIS Class - Junior Hometown - Mooresville, NC "Yes. Sowewouldn'thave to drive seven miles to get something to drink because it's more of a risk." Name - Mike Cashion Major - Industrial Distribution Class - Sophomore Hometown - Charlotte, NC "Yeah we should have it! We should give each individual the right to choose if they can drink. And it might attract more students." Name - Heather Mierisch Major - Accounting Class - Sophomore Hometown - Clemmons, NC "Yes. If you allow drinking in Cullowhee, you would reduce drinking and driving risks." Name - Joe Quigley Major - Marketing Class - Senior Hometown - Asheville, NC "Yes. It might help people stay here on the weekends, so it won't be a suitcase college." Name - Shane Ezell Major - Undecided Class - Freshman Hometown - Waynesville, NC "Yes. It would bring more business to the area plus it would produce more jobs and give a place for the college students to hang out." Name - Donnie Williams Major - Criminal Justice Class - Junior Hometown - Tryon, NC "Yes, because I think it's very inconvient to have to drive to Sylva every time you want alcohol." cause the owners would check ID, due to the Dram Shop provision. Cullowhee would need to be incorporated in order to have liquor by die drink. Contrary to popular belief, the "mayor" of Cullowhee is officially just a terrific barber. Students have tried to bring up the referendum again in the past, but most of us are not registered to vote here. We are all adults and should have the freedom to drink responsibly in public establishments. Isn't it strange a person has the power to put away four or five beers and sometimes hard core liquor in certain res taurants when brown bagging, but they won't serve one bloody Mary? If fewer students journeyed to Waynesville to party and walked to an Electric Warehouse type place next to Bob's Mini-mart, this should even make the highway patrol's job easier. There are some things to do so you will be heard, such as writing a senator and registering to vote here. Hopefully Cullowhee will be more than a spot on the map soon; possibly an incorporated town! Please, do not drink and drive in any situation!! Jennifer Mann Which came first? The student or the athlete? Douglas R Pease Columnist J I've got a new roommate this semester. She is t ".ght, funny, and very outspoken in her opinions. She enlightened me to a discussion (i.e. heated debate) in her English 101 class about attendance policies and valid excuses for missing class. Some view that there are no valid reasons for missing class. Others believe that because One Life to Live happens to be on TV, that they can blow off class at will. When these opinions clash pity the poor professor caught without a whip and chair. In one camp, some believe that there are no reasons to miss class, short of your own impending death. I can sympathize with this pointofview. Education is useless if you are snoozing through it. A teacher cannot be expected to review material over and over for those that are too inconsiderate not to attend each class. Granted, there are times when you absolutely, positively, cannot be in class. That's why the Genie of Attendance grants you three misses. After that, though, you will be punished. Period. "Foul!" cry those that are "Student-Athletes" and athletic supporters. "We are a vital part of this noble institution of higher learning," claims the 280 pound linebacker from Podunk, GA. "Without our agility and prowess on the Astroturf, this school would be just another backwoods teachers college! Therefore, we cannot possibly be expected to attend classes when our duty is to punish other academies on the gridiron!" "Yea!" cries someone in the back with a Pop Tart in his mouth and apple juice on his desk. "Let the student decide if he wants to come to class. After all,we payfor it!" So you can see the dilemma. Are"Studcnt-Athletes" more athlete than student? Are their athletic contributions to the image of this university worth a few missed classes? Or should they take on the challenge of the turf only after they have shown that they can conquer trigonometry? Let me know what you think! I'm sure that there is some viable solution that I have not heard yet. In the meantime, I'll keep up with English 101 and Days of Our Lives.

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: 1991-02-07
  • Date digitized: 2019-10-01
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 14.25"
  • 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_1991-02-07_Vol56_No17
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library