• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1997-09-24_Vol63_No07_13

western ■• • arolmian opinion&editorial Western CaroUna University's Independent Student Voice 13 Staff Editorial. T> The current controversy surrounding the proposal to require the purchase of personal computers by students entering WCU in 1998-99 seems like a lot of sound and fury signifying very little. Ask yourself these "What If questions: 1. What if Western Carolina University grouped its computer purchases into a single large order and invited computer dealers to submit their best prices for that order? 2. What if Dell supplied WCU with 2,000 computers with pre-installed software at a cost of $900 each, or a total cost of $1,800,000? 3. What if WCU sold those 2,000 computers to current students, faculty, and students entering WCU in 1998-99 at an average price of $950 each, or total sales of $1,900,000? 4. What if the $100,000 net generated by computer sales covered all costs associated with operating the program? 5. What if that average price of $ 1,000 was divided into eight payments of $125, payable each semester, or four payments of $225, payable each year? 6. What if WCU set up and operated a campus computer store that sold new and used computers, computer software, and computer supplies at prices competitive with the big electronic stores in Asheville? 7. What if Western students could trade in their computers when upgrading to more advanced systems or sell them back to the campus computer store when leaving WCU? 8. What if WCU forgot all about requiring students to purchase their own computers and then increased each new student's tuition by $200 to cover the costs of building and maintaining enough computer labs for 1,000 students? Ask yourself, what's really at issue here? Is it really the cost of technology or is it the fear of changes new technology brings? Don't make up your minds until you get more information. Ask Chancellor Bardo, administrators, faculty, student leaders, and all concerned for the facts about what's being planned. Letters to the Editor... Tradition is Comfortable During the seventies Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and it is us." For two years, I have written letters and articles, trying to find someone to save our offspring; now I find it is you, yourselves. Twice I asked our president to lead us back to decency and civility. When my generation seeks profit and power instead of protect- •ng our progeny from a minefield of threats, our children must be their own heroes. Our "traditional" mores are little more than a game of social ostracism or acceptance. Like a shoes, tradition is comfortable, but no more appropriate for today's complex society than the ores of Abraham (which were appropriate for ^gendering a great nation). liv / brag °n WCU students. among whom ' sh ff many years- Also you should hear the ^emts deputies, who declare your only faults to fast Wh drinking and dri v'ng, and driving too IATTFN l realized noise can not hurt me unless wh' h T°IT'l tUned out a" but mW noises, ter rare'y hapPened-'miss you when I encoun- mean streak in society that you lacked. Slutsnever vandalized nor stole... Our little community was safe. alcohof eS'deS accidents> v>olence, crime, drugs, nessth ' 3nd StfeSS' y°U ^ besie8ed with lewd" Sex is pPerverts the meaning and purpose of sex. tWo D ^-g'ven, intended to attract and bond which mt° a lastil,g> secul"e relationship childrePr7'deS 3 haVe" °f Safety and suPP°rt for too few" ,Watched vou str"ggle to be adults with you the !j m°de,s for examples. I coveted for holding hA °f restrained emotion, the thrill of Port of l 1'the Warmth of a hu8' and the raP- W'thout l mS int° the eyeS of one you love- ity alcohol, romance becomes a serendip- stand aI°U ^ formulating values and taking a man jes °,U,°ftnemold"as that of another young with all VUS S ' Commandment—to love God toward aM ^ ^t0 express U in your behavior selves v Pe°ple~was radical. In asserting your- adult ihe "f h reVersed the roles—you are the •otteBill a oftheman "Asayouth inChar- Christiancl„haMm W3S denied membership in a c'ub. Now a prophet, his message sur passes that of former prophets. Who knows whether you, like Queen Esther, have come for such a time as ours? —Sue Benson Coughing Up Hairballs Hello, I am a student at Western, and I have a problem with the way people look around here. Everyone at my former school had great hair, and I was happy! Unfortunately, this is not the case at WCU, and I feel that I must speak out! My peers' hair is terrible—^just terrible. I mean, I don't think half of them even wash it but maybe once a week! Oh, if they only knew what it would do for their follicles to feel the warm rinsing action of a massaging shower head! All I see are dreadlocks and naps! Not one lock of their head's most beautiful gift is untangled or unsplit. And the women, you'd think they would have been better taught! Sadly, my professors can offer no hope for them... Really, Mister or Doctor whoever you are, do you think that white, fluffy cottonball look that surrounds that face of yours really makes you look dignified? Maybe it would if you combed it! And the lady professors, those who are supposedly educated about high feminine status, are no better! Where are the long, luxurious locks that once adorned our feminine frames? As a last resort, I thought I could find solace in the pages of the Western Carolinian. To my dismay, I turned to the Pigskin Picks and saw the hair of those who think themselves intelligent enough to call football games, but who don't seem smart enough to use styling spritz, much less a comb "Teflon Don" is right! The glasses may hide the face, but why can't you hide that Astroturf head of yours? Take a fashion tip from your Associate [Daniel], do us all a favor and wear a hat (yes, even indoors, if you must)! And "Know it All' Editor-in-chief? Obviously not, or you would know not to use mouse and hairspray at the same time! James "the Judge"? Who are you to judge anything with that roadkill poodle top of yours? How can you even walk with your head upright. knowing your face is framed with such a motley y' The madness must stop! People, for the sake of decency, do something with your damned hair! -MuffyF. Cool Points Editorial by Carey P. Nations The room I was in was a furnace. A radiator clicked. Someone was moving around. Not in the room I was in, but in the one just beyond it. I steeled my resolve, opened my eyes, and let out an immediate sigh of relief. At least I was in my own bed. Of course, someone else was in the living room. I pushed back the covers and sat up. Still dressed. I smelled like vodka, Camels, and sweat. Pain flashed behind my eyes. I sat there, my ears ringing and my vision lost in waves of white hot pain. I don't know how long I sat there, but whoever was in the living room had left by the time the room around me had resolved itself into a slightly wavier version of reality. It was time to get up. I put my feet on the floor and pushed myself out of bed. Then I blacked out. When I came to, I was hunched over the toilet bowl in my tiny bathroom. I don't know how I got there, but I was losing last night's dinner. Last night's dinner had been Aristocrat vodka. With a Mountain Dew chaser. My stomach was on fire and my head was pounding. It took roughly 30 minutes, and repeated bouts of dry heaves, to completely empty my stomach. I finished, leaned back, and rested my head against the cool tile of the bathroom walls. I inherited migraine headaches from my father. I almost inherited alchoholism from my grandfather. I say this to let you know that I know from where I speak. When I came to school here at Western, this school was #2 among the top ten party schools in the U.S., according to a poll released by Princeton. Having had little or no social life in high school, I dove into the WCU party scene with great gusto. I was unhappy enough with my living situation and the people I was living with, not to mention being angry with my parents for trying to help me, that I felt absolutely no qualms about holing up in someone else's dorm room for four or five days. I didn't go to class, and when I did I wasn't always quite right. But I was cool. I was fun to party with. I had friends. Of course I wasn't doing what I came here for, which was to get a degree. I was doing just about everything else. My first semester I got a 1.8. I had never gotten a D, let alone failed a class in my life. So I worked my ass off, and got my grades back up in the spring. This is not to say that I straightened out. I was just taking classes I liked. If anything, I was getting more bent, more often. And though I never saw it, it showed. This is not a testimonial or a sermon. I still have a drink every now and then, and if someone's having a party, and I can make it, I go. I believe in enjoying myself. I do not believe in killing myself. And alcohol, when not given consideration for what it is, will kill you. It can do it quickly, in a car or in your sleep, or it can do it slowly. Alcohol is a drug. It is a drug that has effects as heinous and far-reaching as heroin. It should be treated as such. This is not to say that the drinking age should be raised. I do not think that a drinking age is necessarily the way to control the problem, and the irresponsible use of alcohol is a worldwide problem. Alcohol has to lose its "cool points." It is unfortunate that in this country, rights of passage are associated with deliberately breaking the rules. No, I don't mean follow the herd and be like everyone else. (The fact is that if you're drinking and partying all the time, you are like a majority of the collegiate populace.) What I am saying is that it's cool to break the rules, and as long as alcohol is against the rules, it's gonna be cool. The powers that be need to open their eyes and realize that all the initiatives and add campaigns in the world are not going to make a difference unless two things happen. There needs to be a different way of deciding whether or not a person is fit to drink. It boggles the mind to think that some guy with two DUIs can just waltz into the liquor store, buy a fifth or a gallon, and go for a third DUI. Personal freedom is one thing; shooting yourself in the foot is another. western trouotroD Terrv K. Roberts. Editor Earle Wheeler, Production; Tracy Hart, Copy; Stacey Ruiz, Assoc. Copy; Seth R. Sams, Photography; Chad Leake, Advertising; Christy Wilcox, Office James Bucky Carter, News; Summer Rogers, Assoc. News; Phoebe Esmon, Features; Brian Postelle, Assoc. Features; Donald Costello. Sports; Daniel Hooker, Assoc. Sports John Moore, Advisor Contributing Writers: Ricky Lee, Jerylia Kodia, Alex "Movie Cuy" Esmon, Kari Adams, Jess McNiel, Greg Iredell, Michael Peoples, Carey R Nations, Erin Scanio, Michael Crisp, Susan Nash tHEOLdo^iidcnt union Phone, 227-7267; Fax, 227-7043; e-mail, carolinian@wcu.edu Open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. M&F; 2 p.m.-5 p.m. T&R; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday. Staff meetings held at 9 p.m. Wednesday evenings. The Carolinian welcomes letters from its readers. Letters printed contain the expressions and values of their authors. The Western Carolinian reserves the right to refuse publication of letters containing defamatory statements or obscenities. All entries must be signed and no longer than 250 words. Mail letters to PO Box 66, Cullowhee, NC, 28723, or e-mail vour comments to caroliniaiK^Hvcu.edu. All c- ,,il and letters should read ATTENTION: LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

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: 1997-09-24
  • Date digitized: 2020-01-13
• Extent
  • Dimension: 14" x 11.25"
  • Pages: 16 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_1997-09-24_Vol63_No07
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library