Paul Sherar - Chief Photographer

Pre-doctoral psychology interns Christopher Hogan (left) and Debra Ehlert listen to Dr. Joseph White, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Irvine, Thursday in Plemmons Student Union.

White: Society distorts view of African-American males

Chris Bohle - Multicultual Beat

Dr. Joseph White, frequently referred to as the “Father of African American Psychology,” said depictions of the ordinary African-American male are invisible in today’s society during a speech at Appalachian State University Thursday.

“The pictures that you see on television about the black male always connote the same false stereotypes,” said White. “What these pictures are leaving out is the other side of the story — the ordinary black male.”

White, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Irvine, brought his 40 years of teaching and clinical experience to the discussion.
In a 90-minute speech in Plemmons Student Union, White described these stereotypes as well as challenges the African-American male is faced with everyday.

White said the four major challenges African-American males face are finding their identity, obtaining intimacy — not just romantic intimacy, White pointed out, but closeness with others as well, coping with racism and finding a source of strength.

The racism issue was one that was touched upon several times during the speech.

“Nowadays, instead of blatant racism, we have covert racism,” said White. “In covert racism, everything on the outside appears to be cool, but deep down inside, there are still feelings of resentment. Blacks and whites see the world in different ways, and we have to learn to cope with that.”

It was made clear by White that before African-American males can have a full range of opportunity, the issue of racism must be tackled.

In order to achieve the goal of a non-racist community, there are four levels of race relations White said a society must work through.

These levels are conflict and hostility, peaceful coexistence, common ground and mutual enrichment.

“When tackling the problem of racism, we must take it level by level,” said White. “The first level is one that we finally solved about 30 years ago.

“Right now, we as a society are somewhere between peaceful coexistence, where the ‘you leave me alone, I leave you alone’ attitude is prevalent, and common ground, where we join together to solve our problems for the good of the whole.”

White insisted that society can solve these problems, but people are often just afraid of change.

“All major learning must come with a certain level of discomfort,” said White. “We just have to decide if the final result is worth that discomfort, which in this case I believe it is.”

White said he knows all too well about discomfort and change, facing both when he first became interested in psychology.

“When I was 18 years old, I took my first psychology class in college and absolutely loved it,” said White. “I said this is what I want to be.”
There were no African-American psychologists in California in 1951, where White was living, he said. Only a few practiced in the entire nation.

White said this fact caused him great emotional stress, and often times even made him feel ashamed of what he wanted to do.

“There were plenty of people who laughed and told me to be realistic when I told them what I wanted to be,” said White.

He is now no longer teaching and said he spends his time traveling the country, speaking to others and spreading the message to African-American males everywhere they can overcome the odds.

“When you see African-American males in high decision-making positions, that’s when you know we have arrived,” said White.

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Mayor, council seats up for grabs

Sean Oakley - Town of Boone Beat

Voters head to the polls today to decide on the race for mayor as well as four seats for Boone Town Council.

In the mayoral race there are two candidates.

Velma Burnley, incumbent mayor, is running for her seventh consecutive term. Her opposition, Butch Cooke, ran last year and lost.

Five candidates, incumbents Dempsey Wilcox and Loretta Clawson and newcomers Lynne Mason, Jerry Kirksey and Saul Chase are vying for three seats on council. Chase has previously served two four-year terms.
Of these candidates, the top two finishers will serve a four-year term, and the third finisher will serve a two-year term.

A fourth seat, the un-expired two-year term of late councilman Jimmy Smith, will also be decided on today’s ballot between Councilman Graydon Eggers and the late Robert Flora.

Flora suffered a heart attack in Fayetteville on Sept. 28 and passed away in the early morning hours of Sept. 29.

His name will still appear on the ballot.

According to the Watauga County Board of Elections, if Flora wins today’s election, the new town council will appoint a resident to the seat.

Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. and will close at 7:30 p.m. According to the Board of Elections, there are almost 11,000 voters registered in the county: 6,002 women and 4,959 men.

Poll locations are as follows: Boone 1 precinct at Watauga County Courthouse, Boone 2 precinct at First Baptist Church and Boone 3 precinct at the Agricultural Conference Center.

The New River 3 precinct poll, usually held at the National Guard Armory, will be moved to the Wellness Center across from Boone Heights Shopping Center.

In a candidate forum held in the Linville Falls Room of Plemmons Student Union a few weeks ago, the seven council candidates voiced their stands on several student-related issues.

All of the candidates stated they want to improve relations between the town and Appalachian State University.

Chase indicated an important issue involved “recognizing that ASU students really are a part of Boone,” and said “changing peoples’ attitudes is a hard thing.”

Chase also tackled the renter’s rights issue. “The town should take responsibility to make renter’s rights information more readily available,” he said.

Lynne Mason voiced the need for “new solutions for housing in this area.” She also stated that she was “committed to supporting the downtown area.” “It is important for all of us to learn to become good neighbors,” said Mason.

“An elected official is a public servant,” said Jerry Kirksey, pledging he wanted a chance to serve Boone. Kirksey stated traffic concerns and the need for a “reasonable and affordable noise ordinance” were top priorities.

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Changes considered for transfer policy

Kristin Davis - Academic Affairs Beat

The Student Government Association (SGA) is working with enrollment services to implement strategies to ease the registration process for transfer students, said Joe Watts, associate vice chancellor for enrollment.

Goals include allowing transfer students to pre-register for classes as well as establishing a distinct Phase II Orientation program. “The biggest problem is getting into needed classes,” said Watts.

Transfers currently register last, which makes it difficult to enroll in courses within their major, Watts said. “There is a general consensus that freshmen have more class options,” he said.

Watts said the goal of the university is to allow transfer students to pre-register according to their respective academic classification by next fall.
However, early registration becomes difficult since many transfers apply late, said Watts.

“If all students registered by May, it would give us two months to know where we are short and to be able to add course sections or expand class sizes,” he said.

New students in January will have an associate dean from the college that offers their respective major available during the registration phase. “They will be called advocates. They will contact the department if people can’t get into a necessary course,” said Watts.

Watts said he also hopes for a more extended orientation for transfer students. “It is often taken for granted that they don’t need it, but this is a new environment for transfers as well,” he said.

Dr. Jim Street, director of Phase II Orientation, is open to the idea of a more involved program. Presently, transfer students are invited to a session that will give them the opportunity to meet each other, said Street.

He gives them schedules of some of the freshmen events. “Only about 10 percent come to that orientation,” said Street.

Chung Wei Sun, an SGA senator, has begun work on legislation for some of the recommended changes. It will appear before the senate in the upcoming weeks. “Many of the students feel left out of the Appalachian community,” said Wei Sun.

“There were enough complaints to propose this legislation,” said Rachel Bowling, SGA director of Academic Affairs.

She asks that transfer students come by the SGA office, located on the second floor of Plemmons Student Union, to take a survey.

The results will be used to recommend changes to the administration.

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OASIS targets domestic violence; provides counseling

Robyn Dailey - Business Affairs Beat

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) and OASIS, Inc., decided to target minority audiences with their campaign, said assistant director of OASIS Suzette Patterson.

OASIS (Opposing Abuse with Service, Information and Shelter) is a non-profit, private volunteer organization that provides counseling, shelter, information and crisis lines for victims of family violence and sexual assault.

“This year what we’re trying to do is target our underserved population,” said Patterson.

This includes men, Hispanics and the gay and lesbian community, she said. OASIS sees very small numbers of these groups coming in for help for various reasons.

OASIS is working with groups focused in each area, which include Appalachian State University students.

Patterson said a man will come in for information or counseling once every few months.

Although there is such low response, men are still being abused, she said. OASIS hopes its campaign will make men more aware of their available services.

Abuse directed toward men is usually emotional and can include things such as insults, threats to take away children, divorce or physical harm.
“I think we kind of downplay emotional abuse,” said Patterson.
She said men do not typically come in needing shelter. “They’re just needing support and some educational information,” said Patterson.

She said the Hispanic community is also especially hard to reach because of language and culture barriers.

In many Hispanic cultures, there is no such thing as shelters. Family is relied on for all support, said Patterson.

She said this could lead many Hispanics to never utilize services OASIS provides.

“They may not have heard of the concept of domestic violence,” said Patterson. “We’ve had a few [Hispanic] women that have come into our shelter.”

OASIS is working with the High Country Amigos, a group that works with remote Hispanic populations in Watauga County to make services accessible to them.

“The gay and lesbian community is the group we’ve heard from the least,” said Patterson.

She said they experience the same violence as heterosexuals, but they do not feel the services are available to them.

Its campaign would focus on informing the community they are welcomed and wanted at OASIS, she said.

They are working with gay and lesbian organizations on campus for that campaign.

The DVAM campaign will involve things such as posters and brochures, as well as a radio commercial that will air on WASU, said Patterson.

“Domestic violence knows no boundaries,” said Tamara Douglas, executive director of African American Women United Against Domestic Violence.

“It exists in all neighborhoods, in all cities and in all countries. It has no racial barriers, no economic barriers and no social barriers.”

Anyone interested in contacting OASIS, Inc., can do so by either visiting its Web site at www.oasisinc.org or calling its Local Crisis Line at 262-5035 or Toll-Free Crisis Line at 1-800-268-1488.

Student pressure leads police to suspend safety program

Anthony DeBetta - Faculty Senate Beat

Due to pressure by the campus chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Appalachian State University Police Department has suspended its Smartees and Dum Dums Program until further notice.

Appalachian State police sponsored the program in an attempt to remind campus residents to keep their doors locked.

Police officers patrolling residence halls would test doors to see if they were locked.

After knocking several times, police would attempt to open the door if unanswered. If unlocked, police would enter and deposit Dum Dums candies on a surface or taped to the back of the door.

If locked, the police would tape Smartees to the outside of the door.

Ian Mance, co-president of the Appalachian State ACLU chapter, said he sees the program as intrusive and a violation of student’s civil liberties. “Basically police [officers] have given themselves the right to access residence halls,” said Mance. “The door being unlocked is not probable cause.”

Officer Jason Church, who participated in the program, disagrees with Mance’s sentiments. “It has been a really good program with raising awareness of locking doors.”

University police implemented the program in August.

The idea behind the program was to avoid the types of theft that occurred in Hoey Residence Hall last year, said Church.

The program was part of the community-policing program implemented by University Police two years ago in an effort to “get out of the cars and into the buildings” in an attempt to foster better relationships with students, said Church.

Parents visiting during Family Weekend were relieved and “tickled” to have police patrolling the residence hall, said Church.

However, the residence halls are most students’ first homes away from their parents’ homes and having police patrolling the hallways would make for stressful experiences, said ACLU member Dustin Bayard.

The police department will continue its routine patrols in the residence halls, said Church. “We are gonna be in the halls. No, ifs, ands or buts about it,” he said.

Police officers were not being intrusive with the awareness program but simply trying to make their presence known to would-be thieves and troublemakers, said Church.

Church seemed eager to hear alternative suggestions to the Smartees and Dum Dums Program and said he would explore any other options students could suggest.

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Enrollment to climb to 13,300 by 2010
BOG boosts number despite chancellor’s proposal, concerns

Kristina Egger - Chancellor/Student Development Beat

The enrollment at Appalachian State University will swell to an unprecedented 13,300 students by the year 2010, said Dr. Bobby Sharp, director of Institutional Research and Planning. Currently 12,560 students are enrolled at Appalachian State.

At one point, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors (BOG) asked Appalachian State to increase its student population to 16,000, said Sharp.

Chancellor Francis T. Borkowski has asked for years that the population be capped at 12,500, but the BOG rejected this request.

Sharp said the chancellor has been pressuring the BOG to drop the recent mandate that requires Appalachian State to increase its enrollment figures.
The chancellor does not believe the town of Boone is prepared to handle such an increase.

Sharp said Appalachian State University officials do not wish to increase population anymore than students. However, the BOG requires that Appalachian respond to the state’s need for higher education.

At press time, members of the North Carolina Board of Governors had not returned telephone messages.
“We hope to diminish many of the myths which surround the universities reason for population increase,” said Sharp. “I have been in a room where the chancellor argued very strongly against growth, but the state leaves him no choice.”

“We know that the university is currently facing a congestion problem,” said Sharp. “We also know that we are short of off campus housing and classroom space, which is why there is so much construction going on.”

Other UNC system institutions have also been targeted by the BOG for enrollment increases. Western Carolina University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and East Carolina University have all been placed on the fast track toward growth.

Sharp said even the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University have increased its student populations from 2000. Those research institutions excepted somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 more freshmen this year than in past years.

Many schools were affected by the increases in Chapel Hill and in Raleigh, with less freshmen enrolling at other schools in the system.

Appalachian admitted 2,300 students this fall, a number down from the 2,550 students admitted in 2000. “Last year’s numbers were a response to the mandate by the Board of Governors,” said Sharp.

“It was a very unpleasant circumstance to operate under, and people need to understand that negotiating with the board does not mean that we do what we want to do,” he said.

Appalachian State University received 9,000 applications last year. The university expects student interest in Appalachian will increase after the Sept. 10 TIME magazine article honoring the institution as one of its Colleges of the Year.

Students seem to be concerned that the increase in enrollment means an increase in individual class size for the university, a long-time strength of an Appalachian education.

Sharp said the average class size will not surpass 33 students.

“The reason why I came here is because of the small population,” senior Adrian Pironio. “Classes are smaller therefore I get more personal attention.”
Sophomore Allison Rawls agrees with Pironio, “It is still a small enough community for it to be personal.”

To help maintain the sense of community that Appalachian prides itself on, junior Brian Merritt, a member of the Campus Student Resident Association (CRSA), gives credit to freshmen programs. “Freshmen programs are responsible for our article in TIME magazine,” said Merritt. “As the population increases, we will simply do more to keep the community together.”

Other students are concerned with what the increase means to the environment in and around Appalachian State.

Sara Levine, a senior and recreation management major thinks the campus construction is deplorable. “Boone doesn’t need to grow,” said Levine. “The BOG needs to mandate an increase at a university that doesn’t have to chop into the side of a mountain to expand.”

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Manager says BET issue a miscommunication

Sarah Newell - SGA Beat

James French, co-president of the Black Student Association (BSA), said Charter Communications will not include Black Entertainment Television (BET) to customers in Boone because the cable provider believes the channel is not in demand, a statement refuted by the manager of Charter Communications Boone office.

“Charter feels that BET is not wanted here, and they don’t want to go to the trouble of adding another station if it’s not wanted,” said French. “When we [BSA] called Charter about it, they told us that they’d put it in the suggestion box and hung up the phone.”

Currently BET is not offered in any packages that Charter offers in Boone, including digital cable.

Tony Barlage, manager of Charter Communications in Boone, discounted that statement, saying Charter does not charge customers on a channel-by-channel basis.

Barlage said Charter does not have any available space to add any new networks to its current Boone service, but the company is currently in the process of a rebuild that will allow it to add additional programming upon completion of the project.

“If we had the ability to put [BET] on, we would absolutely consider it,” Barlage said.

He added BET is among those networks Charter is considering including on its upgraded Boone package once the rebuild is complete.

“If we did add BET, it would be based on a number of factors, not just one,” Barlage said.

He said he feels the recent debate around BET is simply a miscommunication.

On-campus Appalachian State University students, however, are able to get the station. “ASU pays 50 cents per subscriber to get BET on campus,” said Ezell Williams, Student Government Association director of Campus Diversity.

“Everyone’s looking to diversify ASU, and this is a great way,” said Williams.

However, even though Appalachian subscribes to BET, the school does not always get the signal.

BET does not always come in on the same station, and many times there are lines going through the picture, said French.

BSA and SGA have created a letter for students to sign and include their name, phone number and address.

The letter states that BET is an entertainment channel that is also educational. BSA has collected
approximately 500 letters so far, said French. Students interested can pick up letters to fill out either from the SGA or BSA office, both on the second floor of Plemmons Student Union.

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Fire briefly closes union Thursday

Jeff Faucett - Police Beat

Plemmons Student Union was evacuated on Thursday shortly after 11 a.m. due to a fire in the building.

The fire originated in the mechanical room where the water pump on the building chiller system burned up.

The fire was mechanical, which produced smoke and an odor but no flames.

The situation looked much worse because the trap door was left open on the air-handling unit, and the smoke was circulated through the old part of the building, according to Dave Robertson, director of Student Programs.

As soon as the fire alarms went off in the old building, the automatic fire doors closed, sealing off the two buildings from one another.

Robertson said technically only the building on fire had to be evacuated since fire protection doors closed off the other side. However, the whole student union was evacuated as a precaution.

The union was evacuated for over an hour while the Boone Fire Department entered the building and alleviated the problem.

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Local News

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Nate Grubs - The Appalachian

Paul Sherar - Chief Photographer

Once the home of Mike & Willy’s (top), the building on the corner of King and Water streets now houses Boonedocks (bottom). Among the amenities that Boonedocks offers are a mechanical bull, themes for each night of the week and tightened security.

Something for everyone at Boonedocks

Janelle Silverman - Entertainment Beat

Appalachian State University students traditionally gripe about the lack of variety in student-oriented clubs and bars. One new establishment hopes to put the complaint to rest.

Boonedocks, located at the corner of King and Water streets, is managed by Kenny and Mike Marlow and partnered with Betty Austin.

The motif is similar to that of former tenant Mike & Willy’s, which Boonedocks recently replaced.

Boone resident Kenneth Wilcox, who owns the building, said he is not really sure why Mike & Willy’s closed after spring semester last year. “In my opinion, they just had management problems,” said Wilcox.

The owners of Boonedocks quickly leased the then-empty building from The Wilcox Emporium, which Wilcox also owns.
The new tenant offers a variety of food, dancing and entertainment.

Its menu features a variety of sports-oriented food, and breakfast hours start at 10 p.m. and end at closing times, which vary from midnight to 3 a.m.

Boonedocks features the largest game room in Watauga County, according to its advertisement on the door, with a back room full of air-hockey tables, arcade games and pool tables.

The establishment, which has 20 big-screen television and 47 smaller televisions, allows students to watch games while enjoying food and company.

The larger televisions are placed in the front room, hanging along the top of the wall near the ceiling.

The smaller screens are hung in the back room, located around the top wall behind the arcade games and pool tables.

Unlike Mike & Willy’s, the new tenant offers a wider variety of entertainment.

Special themes are given to each night of the week, whereas the former tenant’s entertainment mostly centered on disk jockeys.
Monday is Sports Night, Wednesday is Retro Night (music from the ‘70s and ‘80s), Thursday is Ladies’ Night (women do not pay a cover fee), Friday is Mechanical Bull Night, Saturday is Dance Night (DJs or bands) and Sunday is Jamakin’ Me Crazy Night (shrimp, oysters and beer specials), said co-owner Mike Marlow.

Boonedocks offers plenty of seating for customers, with tables in the front and side rooms, and an eating area that opens on the balcony during warmer days.

Security measures have also been improved, due to a history of scuffles in and around Mike & Willy’s.

“We try to make our business safer for patrons,” said co-owner Kenny Marlow. “We heard it could get a little rough at Mike & Willy’s.”

Some Appalachian State students agree tighter security is prevalent at Boonedocks.

“There seems to be more security [than when the building was leased by Mike & Willy’s], but they are just not as visible,” said Ryan Satterfield, a junior at Appalachian.

“They are harder on underage drinking at Boonedocks, and they use a wristband instead of drawing an X on your hand that people can just wash off,” he said.

The mechanical bull is also a good idea and good for a business in Boone, said Satterfield. “I like country music, so I think it’s good to have the bull,” he said.

A large, red inflatable mat fills the dance floor area and the metal bull is placed in the middle on Friday nights.

Students can ride the bull on any speed for $5.

An emcee sits on the upper level of the building and makes
comments about each rider as he or she is thrown from the bull.

The television screens around the room show scenes from old rodeos and music plays in the background.

About 100 people ride the bull each Friday night, said Kenny Marlow.

Heather Robertson, a junior at Appalachian, agrees that Boonedocks is an improvement from former tenants Mike & Willy’s. “The atmosphere is more laid back and is more of a hang-out-and-be-with-friends type of place rather than a dance club,” said Robertson.

“There were no long lines [unlike Mike & Willy’s] and my friends and I went right in,” she said.

“We did not have to wait long at the bar to be served, either.”
Boonedocks also has a relatively inexpensive cover on most nights, ranging in between $2 and $3.

For students of drinking age, a larger variety of beer is served.
There is an Around the World Beer Club to join, which features 100 different beers from more than 21 different countries.

The establishment also features live music and entertainment on Saturday nights.

Astrosonic, a combination of several different DJ acts, will perform Saturday starting at 10 p.m. and will feature DJ’s such as Danny McMillan, Johnny Grubb, Dru Luck, Draf and Spirit Child.