COMMENTARY

The entire campus should not have to smoke

Chris Bohle

One great thing about living up in the High Country is all of the fresh air. Whether it’s running out on some trails or walking the Greenway Trail, the air almost always seems clean and crisp. That is, until you get back to campus.

It’s a sight that I have come accustomed to seeing. I walk out of class, and I immediately observe multiple students groping desperately in their bags for their beloved pack of smokes.

They take one out, place it in their lips and hold their lighter in the ignite position, hand quivering, slowly inching the flame closer to the cancer stick as they approach the outside world, waiting for their chance to blacken their lungs and pollute the air.

It’s one of the few qualms I have about what is otherwise a beautiful and hospitable campus here at Appalachian.

I haven’t done any official surveys or polls or anything of the sort to determine exactly how bad the problem is, but judging from the enormous smoke-cloud that I encounter everyday outside of every building, it has to be an issue.

Frankly, I just don’t understand the whole habit. Our generation has had the benefits of several million-dollar campaigns warning us about the dangers of smoking, yet it seems like it does not come close to penetrating the minds of some individuals, bent on the idea of developing heart, lung or mouth cancer.

Our parents were not lucky enough to understand the disadvantages of the habit, as they grew up during a time when commercials still ran with catchy slogans such as “Luckies separate the men from the boys … but not from the girls.”

But just because some of our parents may have smoked does not mean that we have to pick up this habit.

Even surgeon generals have altered their statements over the years in order to convey a more serious tone. Originally it was not too convincing, sounding something like: The U.S. Surgeon General thinks that cigarettes are possibly not the best thing for your health, but you don’t have to believe him.

Now it sounds a little more serious, with warnings of serious disease if the habit becomes prolonged.

I think the warnings should not beat around the bush in the least, really letting people know where they stand: The U.S. Surgeon General has determined that smoking can cause one to lead a dismal, wretched existence, forever occupying the dark, dank designated smoking areas of your future job hacking violently while others receive promotions.

That would hopefully put a little more doubt in some people’s minds. Others, I fear, are lost causes with very little to look forward to in life besides those five to 10 times daily in which they calm their nerves with nicotine.

I just wish that smokers would realize there are other ways to deal with stress than lighting up all the time. I understand that it’s addictive, but there is another million-dollar industry to take care of that too.

I don’t care if you cover your body with those patches or chew five pieces of that gum at once—whatever it takes for us non-smokers to be able to walk around the outside of buildings without having to stay low to the ground in order to see properly.

COMMENTARY

Supplemental texts should actually be used

Becky - DiVerniero

Well, we’re back in school and the spring semester is in full swing.
Some students are happy to be back, relieved to be away from their parents after a month at home and glad to see their friends again.
Others are not so sure they’re ready to start another long semester of papers, tests and homework and are already counting the days until spring break.

No matter who you are or how your semester is going, though, I bet I can guess one thing we all have in common: We’re broke.

No, it’s not because we’re back to binge drinking on the weekends (although that doesn’t help the situation any); it’s because of books.
You know, those incredibly expensive things we barely ever open that are killing bank accounts all over Boone?

One of the major reasons I chose Appalachian over other schools was because of the rental book system. I can remember, back in the spring of 1999, taking the tour around campus and hearing about this wonderful system that was going to save us so much money. My parents practically fell over, and I thought it was too good to be true.

Fast forward to August of the same year. I enter my first college class ever very early on a Monday morning. We’re handed our syllabus, and I come to find that although tuition is supposed to cover rental books, oops, not all classes HAVE a rental book, so you might have to buy a few. As I went through the rest of my classes I found that even if the class did have a book you could rent, the instructor was going to need you to buy one or two more.

Now, I’m not trying to say it’s all bad. I really like Appalachian and the rental book system DOES save a ton of money. I can also understand if once in a while a teacher feels the rental book isn’t enough to properly teach the class. All I’m asking is if you are going to require the text and we spend an enormous amount of money on it, then please use it in the class!

Some students aren’t going to crack a book regardless; teachers have no control over that. On the other hand, I have had more than one class where a book was required and not one reading was assigned in it the entire semester!

The same goes with magazine and newspaper subscriptions. I don’t mind reading the Wall Street Journal once in awhile, but I do mind paying the $20 for it when it’s never mentioned in class or on tests!
To be fair, as far as books go, there is a chance to sell them back at the end of the semester. I have a question though: has anyone ever actually gotten even HALF of what they originally paid for their texts? I know I haven’t. I usually get told there’s a new version of the book out now, making mine obsolete. This tends to mean I’ll be getting a big fat zero return on my books.

So finally, instructors, when getting ready for the fall semester, please keep in mind that we’re just poor college students. We’re going here so we can get good jobs and make money to buy a house and support a family, not to pay off loans for the rest of our lives. Give us a break, I’m begging you!

Our Perspective ...

Academic alterations
Due to staggering economy, department
curriculums must reflect industry needs

The Department of Communication last week unveiled a long list of curriculum changes that will go into effect next fall.

A meeting between department staffers and communication alumni spawned the addendums, just approved by university officials recently.

The changes are designed to mirror industry needs and are based on the meetings with those graduates noted previously, said Dr. Norman Clark, a sixth-year associate professor in the department.

Under the revised course list, a new prerequisite system will make certain students will not enter higher-level courses without needed skills taught in lower-level classes.

The changes also feature a pair of new classes, Introduction to Media Publishing and Communication Training and Development.

“We need to make sure that our students get the background and training that they need to be competitive in the job market,” said Clark.

We extol the advising communication alumni, department faculty members who served on the various committees that worked on the project and Department of Communication Chairman Dr. Stuart Towns for taking this proactive step to better prepare students for entry-level positions upon graduation from Appalachian.

With the job market tightening every day due to an economy in recession, such changes will only aid Appalachian communication graduates in gaining a valuable advantage over other recent graduates.

Across the United States, nearly 1.4 million jobs have been lost since March, The Washington Post reports. This slump in employment began last spring and was intensified by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The nation’s payrolls plummeted by more than 800,000 workers in October and November combined, followed by a drop of 124,000 in December, according to Department of Labor statistics cited in The Washington Post report.

During these sluggish economic times, it is the academic departments who must seize the mantle of leadership in ensuring Appalachian students are armed with every possible advantage when their respective tenures in Boone are complete.

We view the recent curriculum addendums made by the Department of Communication as a step in this direction and call on all departments to begin efforts to review their respective slate of course requirements to ensure students are taking courses that reflect real-world needs.