Western Carolina University WCU University of North Carolina Asheville UNCA

Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (21) View all
University of North Carolina Asheville (6) View all
WCU - Western Carolina University Publications

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

items 7 of 16 items
  • wcu_publications-16960.jpg
Copyright Download
Item 1 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16954.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_01
Item 2 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16955.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_02
Item 3 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16956.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_03
Item 4 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16957.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_04
Item 5 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16958.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_05
Item 6 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16959.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_06
wcu_publications-16960.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_07
Item 8 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16961.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_08
Item 9 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16962.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_09
Item 10 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16963.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_10
Item 11 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16964.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_11
Item 12 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16965.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_12
Item 13 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16966.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_13
Item 14 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16967.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_14
Item 15 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16968.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_15
Item 16 - Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20
wcu_publications-16969.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 62 (63) Number 20

HL_WesternCarolinian_1998-02-04_Vol62_No20_16
Item
?

Item’s are ‘child’ level descriptions to ‘parent’ objects, (e.g. one page of a whole book).

  • ^Carolinian THE STRAIGHT EDGE: No Montel Required: THE CLEANER LIFESTYLE by Jerylia Kodia Have you ever heard about Straight Edgers? The Straight Edge movement developed as an offshoot of the punk rock/hardcore scenes of the early 1980s. The term "straight edge" derived from a 1983 song by the Washington band Minor Threat. It is a tune that speaks in somewhat raw language about the evils of drinking, drugs and premarital sex. So as you may have guessed the basic rules of the group members are: no liquor, no drugs, no sex. Most Straight Edgers are white, male and under 25. Once primarily a musical genre, Straight Edge has become a political and lifestyle movement that has pulled in thousands of young people, most of them high school students, all around the country. While the original definition of Straight Edge only included the rejection of mind- altering substances and promiscuous sex, modern interpretations include a vegetarian diet and an increasing involvement and awareness of environmental and political issues, especially animal rights. The defining characteristics of Straight Edgers seem paradoxical at first glance. Adherents listen to hard-core music. Their own bodies are often liberally pierced and/or tattooed; yet they hold sacred the bodies of animals and do not believe in hurting or consuming them. They speak of peace and freedom but frown on casual sex. Straight Edgers can be identified by the big black Xs they wear on their hands, parodies of the ones plastered by bouncers on the paws of under-age clubgoers to keep them from trying to buy drinks. Straight Edge music no longer needs a hard, heavy metal sound; it can take on any style as long as it offers stern messages delivered by the sober. We have two representatives of the STR8-EDGE here on campus? Zachariah Le Squire and Eddie Bauer are roommates and are both from Wilmington; they have been friends since tenth grade. Eddie has been Straight Edge since January 8,1995. Zach went Straight Edge in the summer of 1994. When asked why he chose this lifestyle, Eddie said, "It's just a matter of staying pure and healthier. Take life for what it is and not try to escape reality with drugs or alcohol. Drugs are a waste of time." Eddie, a freshman, is vegan, which means he doesn't eat meat, cheese and eggs. However, what he can't get through the soy milk and vegetables he finds it in Solgar vegetarian vitamins. "You need to be well-informed about the nutritional contents of what you eat," he says. He doesn't drink Coca Cola. Why? "Because it contains caffeine and it's addictive." Is Straight Edge incompatible with religion? "Not really. It's just a way of life, not a religion. It is a lifetime commitment." Why doesn't he eat meat? "Because we don't need to survive on animals' misery. We Straight Edgers want a world free from suffering. I know I cannot do that by myself, but if we are healthy we will help others become healthier." He is involved in the Society for Animal Welfare, on campus. Last word, Eddie? " I am very proud of being Straight Edge. This is a positive way of life." Zach said, "I'm proud of my choice. I want to be someone that people can look up to. Like in high school, lots of my friends became Straight Edge because of talking to me. I don't know if they'll remain Straight Edge. I hope so, but just them going Straight Edge makes me feel good. It's like I had a part in leading them to a more positive, healthy lifestyle." a commentary by Phoebe Esmon It's 11:00 a.m. on any given weekday, and across America people are huddled around their TV sets in breathless anticipation of what new forms of perversion and/or subversion Jerry Springer is serving up today. Mr. Springer doesn't disappoint. Today's topic? "I've Been Keeping A Secret..." What follows is an hour-long conflagration between would-be lovers, flouted in their efforts by their partners' inability to tell them the truth. There's the man who's supposed to be moving in with his girlfriend next week, but came on the show to tell her that he's been cheating with her best friend—who is a man. He's also been cheating on the guy he's been cheating with. There's the transsexual who has been dating a man for three months, and has finally seen fit to tell him that she was born a he. And there's the girl who has been cheating on her boyfriend of four years (who, incidentally, came on the show to ask her to marry him), with her female roommate, who is his roommate's girlfriend. Seen enough yet? No? Well, not to worry, interspersed throughout the commercial breaks are adds for the next episode- "Stripper Wars", in which surgically enhanced exotic dancers duke it out over what a woman really is. It may seem hard to believe, but there's more. You can now purchase "Jerry Springer - Too Hot for TV" - all the parts the censors saw fit to leave on the cutting room floor- for only $19.95- not available in stores. The question is, why do we care? Perhaps an even more pertinent question might be, why do these people feel like they need to do this in front of millions of viewers? Does it strike no one as odd, that someone actually wants to go on Montel and tell the world that they enjoy gerbiling? Is our day-to-day life as a culture so insipid and uninteresting that we have to get our jollies through the vicarious enjoyment of other people's personal problems? Have talk shows and tabloid journalism taken the place of the circuses and sideshows of the past? Television, particularly during the morning and afternoon hours, is a veritable buffet of talk shows. With some skillful surfing, one could conceivably spend a 9 to 5 workday watching nothing but these shows. There's Leeza, Maury , Montel, Oprah, Sally , Jerry , Geraldo, Jenny , Gordon , Ricki , and Judge Judy, to name but a few. They deal with topics like, "I'm Married but I Live with My Lover", "Men Who Demand a Male Heir", "I'll Destroy Your Relationship", "When the Marriage Works, But the Sex Doesn't," and the list goes on. At night, there's a whole different breed of muckraking for your viewing pleasure. Like the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, these prime time shows are really nothing more than supermarket tabloids dressed up, with flashy graphics and anchormen and women in expensive suits, to look like news shows. Tonight on "American Journal": The woman who traded her child to her landlord in exchange for rent. And later, on "Hard Copy": A man who was married to 12 women in nine states, simultaneously. It is a proven fact Americans watch a lot of television. It is also demonstrated by the proliferation of this type of programming that Americans enjoy this sort of thing. Perhaps these "journalists" truly are modern-day P.T. Barnums, bringing the mermaids, Siamese twins, and Tom Thumbs of late 20th century culture to the public. But if this is in fact the explanation, why are they so offensive, so often? Certainly P.T. Barnum was sensational and groundbreaking. He was even accused of fraud and questionable taste, although by today's standards the oddities he displayed seem tame. The thing is, Barnum (and Ripley) were displaying human and animal oddities in a sideshow setting. It was understood that what they were doing was entertainment. Talk shows and tabloid television journalism take themselves so seriously that they all but force the viewing public to follow suit. This is not to say that they never deal with legitimate issues. However, the way they deal with those issues oft times diminishes their impact. Another problem created by the rash of "real life" TV is the fact that young children are being introduced to concepts and moral quandaries that have many adults stumped. Because this is America, and at the first sign of censorship flags go up and people start quoting the Bill of Rights, we are forcing our children to grow up much faster than is good for them. Does a six-year-old really need to know about "Teenage Call Girls"? Childhood should be a time of growth and self-discovery. Does self-discovery absolutely have to include "Drag Queens and the men who love them"? Is our morbid curiosity about other people's quirks see Commentary, Continued on page 8
Object
?

Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).

Related items

Part of Collection

Western Carolina University Publications

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 Carolin...

View collection Read introduction
panzoom image
wcu_publications-16960.jpg