• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1996-10-31_Vol62_No11_09

®tj£ Uestern Carolinian Oll-Ed Thursday, October 3119% 9 Sylva, Western Should Forge Closer Relations TONY J. TAYLOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR Homecoming is not something that I enjoy. It's the weekend when Western's sleepy campus becomes a hotbed of activity with parents and former alums all coming here to relive glory days and renew past friendships... at least that's what the press releases say. For me, however, Homecoming is an excuse to sneak out of town and hide from the massive influx of strangers. Of course this Homecoming was no different except for the parade that occurred on Friday, October 25. That Homecoming parade was the first parade to be held in downtown Sylva in 40 years. Some people may think that the event was not significant, but I disagree. Sylva's willingness to host the parade suggests that the town is serious about improving their relationship with the stu dents of Western. For too many years, the town of Sylva and Western Carolina University have had a line separating them that is both geographical and psychological. Many students have often said to me that if Western was located in Sylva, rather than Cullowhee, it would be a more exciting university. The town of Sylva has a chance to further enhance their relationship with the University by annexing the strip of commercial property that contains El Gato's, GJ's and the Riverhouse restaurant. If Sylva approves the satellite annexation, it will allows business located in that sector to sell alcohol. I realize that selling alcohol in Cullowhee could create some problems; however, if you look at the matter closely, the benefits would outweigh the costs. For starters, it would help local businesses increase their profit margin and allow them to reinvest their profits into furthering the development of a "downtown Cullowhee," which would create more clubs and shops. The annexation would also decrease the number of drunk drivers on the roads because the proposed annexation site is within walking distance to campus, whereas Sylva is at least a ten-mile drive. Another benefit of annexing the property is that regulated alcohol sales might keep more students in Cullowhee over the weekend. That would help both the local merchants and the school. For years, I have heard students and faculty say that Western is a suitcase college. Many students say that they go home on weekends because there isn't anything to do in Cullowhee. If the town of Sylva approves the annexation, that will change. The time is right for such an event to happen. We have a new chancellor who is dedicated to improving student life in Cullowhee. The mayor of Sylva has shown interest in increasing the town's ties to the University. Sylva Partners in Renewal, a non-profit group that is dedicated to revitalizing Sylva, would also approve of such a move. More than one disgruntled student has said that Cullowhee has the potential of becoming another Athens or Chapel Hill. Now the students of Western have a chance to make it happen. E-mail Chancellor Bardo and let him know if this is important to you, or write the Mayor of Sylva and let her know your thoughts on the issue. And by all means, use the editorial page of the Carolinian to express your ideas on the issue. Are You Stupid? ARCH STANTON STAFF COLUMNIST Are you stupid? If you answered yes to this question, you probably are. Or at least that's what you've been led to believe. This close to election time, lots of people feel like fools. America is bombarded by negative ads on the TV. America has to read between the lines in newspapers (frightened that they will be branded as liberal or conservative if they report the facts, newspapers are forced to dig up equal amounts of dirt on everyone involved). America has to look at its paychecks before and after taxes. America has to look at the world around them... as it is filtered by the media. You may look around yourself and wonder: "How did I get so stupid? I was in college for seven years!" Don't feel alone. You're in the good company with the rest of America's dirty, ignorant, Huddle-Housed masses. You're part of the majority that gets its "facts" from ad campaigns, editorial cartoons and "Saturday Night Live." Any rational citizen who looked around and realized this would feel pretty bad. Luckily for Washington, most people aren't rational. The public's emotions are easily electrified by meaningless catch-phrases like "family values" and "war on drugs," just like cattle being prodded into the slaughterhouse. Perhaps the candidates are radically different, but their campaign strategists aren't. And the Wht Western (Uarolmtatt Tony J. Taylor EXECUTIVE EDITOR Executive Directors Anthony McLeod Ads Director Earle Wheeler Art Director Tracy Hart Copy Editor Jessica Laverty Editorial Asst. Production Staff Kevin Cassels Distributicm Gerald McNeely Technical Service Scott Francis Paste-Up & Copy Associate Editors James Gray News Ann Wright Features Bryan Sharpe Sports Heather D. Sheppard Campus Life Graphic Designers Jessica Devaney, Adam Riggsbee Environmental Terry K. Roberts Photography Faculty Advisor Danielle Siano Scott Francis Trey Miles John Moore The Western Carolinian is an official publication of Western Carolina University, produced entirely by the students of WCU. Deadline for submissions is Monday at 5 p.m. preceding the Thursday publication date. Student-written copy is preferred. All letters to the editor are subject to editing for space and content. The Western Carolinian reserves the right to print letters we feel are relevant, timely, and/or appropriate. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Items on the Op-Ed page are the respective opinions of their authors, and the Western Carolinian makes no claim to their validity. f Staff meetings for ' TTie Western Carolinian are held on Mondays at 5:30 on the top floor of the Old Student Union. Contact us by l phone at 227-7267. Office hours are 1-5 V Monday-Friday > Send letters to the editor, care of the editor: The Western Carolinian P.O. Box 66 Cullowhee, NC 28723 Vote the Rock campaign is all you've gotten to see for the past two months. You're not voting for the Democrats or the Republicans. You're voting for the commerical with the best soundtrack. You're not voting for Clinton or Dole. You're voting against tobacco or against gun control. In the end, both candidates are about as personable as a computer icon. And Perot is just a lame screen saver. The problem is, the computer is frozen up, and no one knows how to fix it. Maybe it's time to erase the whole damn hard drive and go back to BASIC. It's enough to keep you from going to the polls. It's almost like the poor are encouraged to abstain from elections, because they're so pitifully uniformed. Everyone knows that poor people are stupid and lazy. They get their knowledge from personal experience. Ridiculous! Best leave it to the middle class and the rich. They get more channels on their TVs. They know what's going on. JEFF MESSER STAFF COLUMNIST The way I see it, we as a nation of right-minded, left-brained, armchair philosophizing, channel surfing political laymen have all but lost sight of the primary focus of why we should elect officials to office: OUR FUTURE, DAMMIT! But, what are we looking for when we cast our vote, anyway? Granted, more often than not these days it seems like we're just choosing between the lesser of two (or more) evils. The common citizen of this country, when given the charge of voting, is faced with a decision almost as perplexing and agonizing as the ones faced by the victims in the movie "Seven": Gun to your head, ginsu in hand— where would you opt to start slicing to remove a pound of your own flesh? Tough call to make, huh? Billy Clinton? Bobby Dole? Ramblin' Ross? The Gingrich that stole Christmas? Heinous Helms? No matter where you insert the blade, the results are the same— it's going to hurt like hell. So what's to be done? How can we possibly pull ourselves out of this mire of quicksand which is located in a dense gator-infested ./swamp, sticky with humidity and thick with every kind of stinging bug known to man? And your hands are tied? And your nose is running, but you just can't wipe it? Well . . . the solution shouldn't be all that hard. Simple. Right? Just use your head. Add a dash of logic and stir in a hint of common sense. Don't kick and scream about it all. Doing that only causes you to sink deeper into the muck. Don't bitch and moan. After all— how likely are the guys with the safety line to toss it to you to save your ungracious butt and pull you out when all you do is criticize the way they tied the knot? I don't know about you, but I'd probably make it a slip knot and try to lasso the moron around the neck. Remember that carnival game? Get a ring around the bottle and you win a bear? Same thing, no bear. Stop looking for someone (or something) else to lay the blame on for your little plight. After all—the quicksand was there first, right? Minding its own little quicksand business before you strolled along, I might add. (Like the Native Americans in this country before Europe came to town.) And by all means— buy some bug repellent/slather that stuff on and ward off those pesky buggers and their innocuous buzzing. Or just develop a thicker skin. Now I know some people are content to sit far back from the political swamp, well-contained within their protective mosquito netting, sipping on some overpriced American-made import beer knock-off. They'll tell you to beware the swamp, while offering you a warm watery can of "The Beast" to parch your ravaged thirst. Now, the easiest thing to do would be to clutch onto that container of Milwaukee tap water. Sure, why not? You're thirsty. Anything will do. But if you knock back enough of those bad boys, you'll find yourself face down in the front yard philosophizing, "If a tree fell in the woods, where does a bear shit?" followed closely by, "Who cares. Those guys in Washington will save us." Well... I hate to tell you this, but those boys in DC. are the chainsaw salesmen in that little clear-cutting expedition. But don't worry— those trees they're cutting down? Why, they'll make toilet paper out of them and civilize that grizzly. A bit too metaphoric for you? Lost anyone yet? OK. Well, let me put it in subtitles: Those clowns on Capital Hill? They won't save us. They are basically lazy, pontificating fat cats too comfortable with their legalized con jobs. They don't want to save us. They want to do a minimum of actual work, bitch about having to do it, then cash that lobbyist check before the ink even has a chance to dry. Now, not all politicians are bad guys. Some actually do dream of making a difference with their political status. But, noble as they may be, they are far too outnumbered by sedimentary congressional Jabba the Huts like Jesse Helmes, Newt Gingrich and Ted Kennedy. Those that do want change for the better are fighting a losing battle before all the votes are even in. Change doesn't come easy in our perfect little democracy, here in Paradise Lost West 90210. The wheels of progress do turn slow. If you doubt that—just look at the Emancipation Proclamation. By the time blacks received the right to vote, it was 1965. Honest Abe had been swinging with the saints, pondering whether or not those season tickets to Yord Theatre were such a good idea or not for over a hundred years before his E.P became a certified hit. That's how long it took to achieve equal rights; rights that, if I may be so bold to say, not only allowed O.J. to have a needless movie career, but also allowed him to get away with murder in the name of good old American jurisprudence. But within this effectiveness gap may lie the answer. With such enormous turnaround time for success, what can be done? (Besides hope to hell that Warren G. Harding might have passed some great meaningful bill that should be kicking into effect any year now.) Is it too profoundly simple to say we should start electing officials who may actually have a tangible investment in the future?' What am I saying? Well, simply put: younger, more idealistic people. I say that age has much more to do with it than some might suggest. I don't think we should be so anxious to place the future—our future—in the hands of individuals who won't be living in it, there fore unlikely to live to see the results of the decisions they make. So who is more likely to be concerned about what this country (or even world) will be like twenty years hence? Clinton? Or Dole? I think that somewhere planted in Clinton's subconscious he knows that his run as our executive commander-in-chief will end long before he does. He'll have to live for years and years (barring assassination or a Big Mac heart attack) in this country after he's been deposed as ruler. And the choices he makes are choices that citizen Clinton will have to live under. A heavy load to bear when you think of it. Conversely, I suggest that, deep within, Mr. Dole (which translates in Iranian to be 'Penis'— imagine newspaper headlines over there) realizes that he can't be too long for this world, and is therefore less likely to be concerned with a future that he doesn't have a room in. His next house after the White one will probably be a nice subterranean packing crate marked 'EXPRESS' for Dante's P.O. Box. So you pick. Who seems more likely to work harder for a better future? I tell you that, when it comes down to it, Republican or Democrat doesn't really matter. Both are faced with a Congressional stalemate from their swearing-ins to their swearing-outs. One can accomplish about as much as the other in the long run. All that matters is that they get something done—anything done. Older, conservative politicians are killing us with the status quo. It doesn't take the boys at Mission Control to tell us that we're spinning on a flimsy axis of actual progress and getting nowhere fast. Younger, more liberal politicians tend to be more adventurous and willing to try new things. And we desperately need a new approach vector before -we burn up on reentry. And, hey—our country was founded on the idea of radical changes and revolution. Thomas Jefferson even thought that an occasional revolution was healthy to keep the government in check. If he were here today, I bet he would have led a revolt long ago against the stagnant political pomposity we're faced with. Unfortunately, old Tom's just rolling in his grave wondering where and why it all went wrong. Status quo won't do anymore. We can't ignore the truth in classic Alzheimer's-ridden Reagan glee. We've got to change before it's too late. Without risk, life loses its flourish. It becomes boring and predictable. And stale. Our forefathers started a fight (at great risk, I might add) over 220 years ago— a fight that has yet to be fully won, a fight we must take up and obligate ourselves to win. Win unanimously. Never surrender. Never say die! Okay, okay. So the least you can do is go vote. OK? Does Your Vote Count? Keep our campus^ and our planet clean Please recycle your Western Carolinian., It's that time of year again. The signs are everywhere extolling the virtues of every candidate from sheriff to president. We pass these signs every day, but do we really think about our duty to vote? In 1971, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, allowing 18-year- olds the right to vote. However, many of the 18- to 24-year-olds in America choose not to vote. Many don't even take the time to register. Registration has been made immensely easier with the passing of the Motor Voter bill. Registration now only requires a visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles, or one can still register with the Department of Elections. Many young people don't vote because they are away at college and can't get home to their local polling place. For those who cannot get home, an absentee ballot may be requested. The absentee ballot will allow you to vote and be a part of the democratic process anywhere in the world. Many people think, "Why vote? My vote doesn't count anyway." Some have the notion that voting is far too time-consuming. The few minutes invested in voting make an influence on government until the next election. Choosing a candidate is often our only means of influencing government without directly contacting the officeholder's headquarters. Choosing a candidate with values and beliefs similar to your own, or with similar views on platforms, makes your voice heard. Even if your candidate doesn't win, the opponent will realize that there are many people with your beliefs on platforms and will take that into consideration. In 1960, the election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon was one of the closest in history. Data show that if just a few people in each electoral district had voted for Nixon, the result would have been a victory for Nixon instead of Kennedy. Just two or three people in each district deciding to vote could have changed history. There could be an election that close again...and your vote could help make history. Heather L. Hudson International Business/ Economics/Finance Club

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: 1996-10-31
  • Date digitized: 2019-12-04
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.5" x 14"
  • Pages: 10 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1996-10-31_Vol62_No11
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library