• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1997-01-30_Vol62_No16_09

T otfje Western Carolinian Op-Ed Thursday, January 30 1997 9 'Worry-Free' Paranoia: 0' Bluntz Responds to Edlin loner Dear Editor, Last Thursday, while browsing through the Western Carolinian, as I always do, I noticed a write-up that struck a sour chord with me in the Op- Ed section. Brian Edlin claimed in a letter to the editor, that "Smoke Up Worry-Free/'an article in the November 21 issue of the Carolinian, was "counterproductive to Western's new image as a respectable university" and "inappropriate" for the News section of the paper. Mr. Edlin is entitled to his opinions. In fact, I agree with him that the News section was probably not the most proper place for "Smoke Up." However, I feel that Edlin is confused as to what the article was truly about. As author of "Smoke Up," I feel it is my duty to defend my work. Also, Edlin asked a personal question in his editorial to the author: "Do you really think your illegal habits are conducive?" His question implies information that is not necessarily true about Manny O'Bluntz, my pseudonym. I feel that I must also defend myself from his comments, which stem from a basic misunderstanding. First off, I feel very secure in saying that even Mr. Edlin would agree that a strong university must have strong student involvement. To be successful, a school must have active students, students who keep up with campus events by, say, reading the campus newspaper. Unfortunately, in the past, WCU students haven't always been first in line to pick up copies of the Carolinian. However, sometimes a story or article can be read by only a small number, and, due to its popularity or controversiality, soon brings more readers to the newsstand. I ask you, Mr. Edlin, could there not have been an ulterior motive behind my article? Regardless of whether you care to believe it or not, that is exactly what happened with "Smoke Up." Distribution of the paper was down, signifying that fewer students were aware of WCU's goings- on, and the Carolinian, being an active supporter of student involvement, decided to pull out all the stops to get more students involved with the paper and with campus events. Controversial articles do this very well. Also, when a student picks up a copy of the paper, they usually read more than one section. So, a person who was intrigued by my article, whether for or against, is more likely to read other articles as well, which leads to increased awareness (and, through knowledge, the greater chance of action may take place). Was "Smoke Up," which was featured in one of the more popular Carolinians this year, really "counterproductive," or was it just a clever way to help increase student awareness? Also, I feel that Edlin is confused as to the content of my article as well as to its purpose. As an English Education major, I have to learn about many themes and terms that present themselves in literature. Two of these terms are "irony" and "satire." In irony, something that is said or implied may actually mean the exact opposite of what it seemed to say. Satire is a form of writing that pokes fun at cultural or societal trends in a humorous fashion. "Smoke Up" was quite an example of both these terms. Its irony comes in that it reads much like a instruction manual on how to smoke pot. However, its true purpose is to expose, or satirize, those poor souls who live for nothing but a buzz. Edlin seems to have missed this point, even addressing "O'Bluntz and his 'Catamount hempers"' as if they actually exist, saying "[they] make a mockery out of... raising the bar." I urge Edlin to check Admissions; he will not find O'Bluntz, Greenleaf, or Mary Jane Bowles on the roster. They are simply fictional pseudonyms. Perhaps if thoughts were to have been put before words, Edlin could have just sat back, laughed, and said, "It's sad, but true." Finally, Edlin asked O'Bluntz a personal question in his editorial, "Do you think publicizing your illegal habits is conducive to curbing a statewide stigma?" The answer is, of course, "Hell no." Why would they be?? Having not caught on to the fictionalization of characters in "Smoke Up," Edlin has taken a stab, or made an accu sation, at my pseudonym. I admit O'Bluntz says he's smoked up for years, but, once again, he is a work of fiction. I do feel it necessary to say that, though I was not born perfect, I am drug- free and have been for quite some time now. My "illegal behaviors" simply do not exist, Mr. Edlin. Sorry, you just missed the point. It seems to me that an advocate of Western's "new academic excellence"would himself be bright enough to see through all the concerns that were expressed in the article. Once again, Mr. Edlin, we see irony rear its head in the most unlikely of places. In closing, I must say that I am aware that a large part of WCU understood that "Smoke Up" was nothing more than a humorous statement on a popular college happening. To them, I beg forgiveness for having to repeat myself. However, Mr. Edlin's implied assumptions on my personal behaviors and on the quality of the Western Carolinian,—which he suggests "clean up"—are hasty comments made through misinterpretations and misunderstandings. The true purpose of "Smoke Up Worry-Free" was to shake up things a little on campus in order to get the community talking about campus life and to satire a situation that I myself deem unfortunate. Obviously, some people just didn't get it. One last question before I leave though—Mr. Edlin, now that you know the truth, the article wasn't too shabby for someone who had problems being "sober enough" to "string together a couple of verbs and nouns," now was it?? James "Bucky" ("Manny O'Bluntz") Carter Contributing Writer The Western Carolinian Marijuana 'Witch Hunt' Turns Up Cigar, Lighter SETH SAMS STAFF WRITER The risk during a photo assignment for a campus newspaper is minimal. So, when I was assigned to getting a picture of a person rolling a joint for the November 22nd edition of the Western Carolinian, I thought nothing of it; and, in truth, the only problem was getting someone to trust me enough to take a picture of them committing a misdemeanor. I succeeded in getting the picture and was surprised at the amount of suspicion that surrounds a simple, green plant that grows wild in many parts of the world. The war on drugs, which has been going on since before many of us were even born, is no longer a war; it has now become one of the largest organized witch hunts in history. Instead of trying to help people who have been caught with illegal and dangerous drugs, we are now trying to catch, embarrass, and accuse innocent people of being druggies without any evidence. I was sitting in the smoking lounge outside the library on the morning of December 5,1996, reading my English assignment and smoking an Indian cigar. Had anyone said that my cigar was bothering them, 1 would have gladly put it out. Yet, instead of inquiring about the strange odor ot the cigar, or simply asking me to put it out, one lady let ignorance show its ugly head and yell its stenching words of stupidity. She left the smoking section and went to tell the campus police that the man in the smoking section was smoking marijuana. After she had left, two campus police officers came in to investigate what the lady had reported. They walked through the smoking section between the tables, turning their heads from side to side to find the culprit. Upon reaching my table, the two campus officers searched through the ashtray to my left, feeling that they had found the culprit. The male officer simply looked at me and then around the room with a smile, saying, "It smells like funny tobacco in here, don't it to you?" He then spotted the remnants of my cigar and picked it up looking at it with the most inquisitive look he could seem to muster. "That's an Indian cigar called a Strawberry Bidi," I ex plained. The female officer inquired about it further so I pulled the pack out of my coat pocket and showed it to them. The male officer made some kind of smart ass comment about being "high class" and then the female officer made a request that took the cake. She asked, even after showing them what the lady had thought was marijuana, to search my book bag. She proceeded to embarrass me in front of everyone in the room by emptying out my entire book bag, with no regard for my privacy. I was asked to take off my hat, coat and then to empty out my pockets so they could search through the contents to try and find the marijuana that I know did not exist anywhere in my possession, as I had told them. Still they insisted upon this search and even went so far as to take apart my imitation, truckstop product Zippo lighter to see if I had stuffed a joint down in under where the fluid goes. Oh, yeah, people; I'm going to put a joint in the bottom of a lighter sjo that when I light it up, whoof! Not only do I smoke the joint, but I smoke my lips and eyebrows in the process. They found no marijuana or paraphernalia, as they must have hoped, and asked for my name, phone number, social security number, and address. Nowadays, this kind of harassment and infringement upon a person's privacy is common. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 stated the federal government's prohibition of marijuana. Dr. William C. Woodward, of the American Medical Association, tried to keep the act from being passed due to its possible medical uses, but the act was passed anyway. Now, since 1965, there have been over ten million marijuana- related arrests in the United States and there is another one every 54 seconds. Dr. Woodward's wish may come true, though. In certain states, pharmacies have begun carrying various forms of THC, the most active chemical in marijuana, for patients whose doctors have prescribed the drug for certain illnesses. Marijuana has been proven to alleviate nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite brought on by chemotherapy treatment and AZT treatment for AIDS, which is a disease that brings these symptoms about without the help of AZT. The THC in marijuana can also help prevent epileptic seizures, slows, or sometimes halts the progress of glaucoma by relieving intraocular pressure, and can also help with all sorts of various minor aches and pains. Yet, under the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, there were over five million patients who could benefit from marijuana, but only eight of those people had special permisson from the federal government to use the drug. What about recreational usage of marijuana? For now, it is still illegal; but the logic behind millions of dollars being spent to keep users in jail and on probation eludes me. When I searched the Internet and library briefly for crimes caused or related to the use of marijuana and illicit drugs, I found quite a few articles on murders and the usage of cocaine, crack, and heroine. Yet, the largest articles I found were on alcohol related crime. In fact, according to the British Medical Association, the abuse of alcohol is related to 60-70 percent of homicides, 70 percent of stabbings, 70 percent of beatings, and 50 percent of fights and assaults in the home. "What about marijuana related crimes?" you ask; I couldn't find any statistics dealing with that subject, but simply turn your head and you'll find articles on alcoholics and the crimes they commit. Despite this fact, alcohol is still legal and easy to obtain, but marijuana, which used with nothing else has a very small list of criminal relations or injury to other people, is illegal. Someone explain that to me, please. The so called "logic" behind these divisions is not logic at all; it seems to me that it is the Super-Christian undertone of American politics. The new law passed dealing with the medical use of marijuana is a major step to freeing the fears of users, but the Clinton Administration has more or less said that they will revoke any physician's license who prescribes marijuana for medical use. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't call that "policing the law;" I call that tyranny and the closedmindedness similar to communist government. So should the drug marijuana be legalized or decriminalized or not? Maybe you, the people, should research it and decide for yourself, instead of letting the federal government do it for you. MONDAY Rent 2 New Releases & Get One FREE! WEDNESDAY 99c MOVIE RENTAL! SATURDAY Rent o ->* Saturday- Return oil Monday! Best Prices in the Valley! Mon-Thurs llam-1 Fri-Sat llam-llpm Sun 2pm-10pm 1c POSTERS _ed between die Bridge and the Bine Square on Oil Hwy 107 (Old Cullowhee Rd.) Phone: 293-3785 "vhlQ»*d~> tartM iaaaias feiea Featuring Wolff Beds With Facial Tanner (New Bulbs!) A 3* Single Session $4 * ***&".dte$* vV->v v>,>> >) 5 Visits $14 10 Visits $28 15 Visits $35 20 Visits $50 "Special" Unlimited Monthly $40 ^Located on Old Cullowhee Road Next to GJ's Pizza Call For Appointment 293-5010 *

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: 1997-01-30
  • Date digitized: 2020-01-13
• Extent
  • Dimension: 14" x 11.25"
  • 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_1997-01-30_Vol62_No16
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library