|
COMMENTARY
Automobile
designers have lost their minds
Chris
Boyce
Designing cars
these days seems more of an art than anything else. The weirder the
design, the better.
But all these new vehicles are starting to blur the lines between car
and truck as well as originality and practicality.
The powerful sports utility vehicle market continues to warp its definition
of what a true Sports Utility Vehicle should be.
The birth of the hybrid vehicle—part car, part truck and part spaceship—appears
to be the industry’s latest attempt to be creative.
For example, Chevrolet thought it would be a wise idea to make a truck
convert into a sports utility vehicle. These are vehicles, not Transformers.
The result is by far the weirdest looking four-wheel contraption known
to man.
The people from Dodge thought it’d be a good idea to make their
Ram’s already huge front grill even huger, resulting in by far
the scariest truck on the market.
The vehicle trend that I understand the least lies in the ever-changing
SUV market.
Jeep removed the always-popular veteran SUV Cherokee in favor of the
Liberty in an effort to propel Chrysler into the baby SUV market.
Unfortunately the designers of the Liberty must have become confused
as to exactly what they were building, and what they got was the ugly
child bred from a Jeep Wrangler and a giant insect.
A pure SUV is hard to find these days. SUVs have been morphed in a million
different directions—SUVs that ride like a Cadillac (and look like
one, too), or SUVs plush with leather and finished wood interiors that
seem to defeat the whole purpose of an SUV.
Even Buick (that’s right, your grandparents’ favorite) has
an SUV out, endorsed by Tiger Woods. Need I say more?
Lexus’ SUV boasts a smooth ride for a luxury-minded driver. But
aren’t SUVs supposed to be rugged outdoor-oriented vehicles not
afraid of a little mud on the bumper?
Nowadays the most outdoor action SUVs get is a ride to the grocery market
or a trip to pick up the kids.
Hardly the kind of rugged conditions these vehicles were originally
designed for.
And then there’s the baby SUVs—the SUVs that aren’t really
SUVs, just smaller and similar in design. The baby-SUV movement apparently
was forged to meet the demands of consumers who were concerned about
fuel efficiency but still wanted that tough, sports utility vehicle
design.
Frankly, some of these cars look like the Power Wheels I used to drive
in kindergarten.
But don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of true SUVs still out
there.
Jeep still offers some; there are the Toyota 4Runner, Land Rover and
the Nissan Xterra to name a few.
The automobile industry is one of constant changes and even cyclical
at times. Soon customers may reject their new, shiny four-wheel drive
limousines in favor of a more ruggedly appealing vehicle.
Or perhaps the whole SUV craze of the last five years will die as consumers
become more and more environment-friendly and economic.
But for now, let the craziness continue. And let original ideas of practicality
and purpose be thrown out the window.
COMMENTARY
Education
Job Fair response compliments ASU
James
Nix
Before the doors
opened at 9:30 Monday morning, students gathered with anticipation.
Inside, representatives from school districts from six states waited
to meet and possible sign contracts with Appalachian State University’s
graduating teachers.
Once the doors opened, and the students flowed in, the schools started
competing. Each with their own incentives to grab one of the coveted
Appalachian teachers.
Even I, as I walked around with my tape recorder, was invited to the
different displays to possible sign a contract.
That is what happens when schools compete.
The above scene was at the Broyhill Inn during the Education Job Fair.
Appalachian’s Career Development Center holds the fair once each
semester, and each time the Broyhill Inn is packed with school system
representatives.
To many, the fair is just another one of many where students have
a chance of launching a career. I however saw it as a compliment to
this university.
The representatives present at the fair were extremely competitive.
Each offering better deals than the rest.
It was a similar scene to the commercials we see on T.V. from Lendingtree.com
showing what it is like ‘when banks compete.’
Because of the high demand in teachers, that is exactly what the school
systems did at the fair.
North Carolina schools have extra competition from surrounding states
such as Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia, each having lotteries
that go toward education.
Because of this, I saw many North Carolina schools offering teachers
signing bonuses. Isn’t that something we normally see with businesses,
not teaching?
I recently interviewed Marjorie Ellis from the Career Development
Center. She told me in past years, schools have been so eager to attend
the fair, they offered to set up in the parking lot just for the chance
of signing Appalachian students.
A school system in Florida once sent the Career Development Center
a crate of oranges after it was announced there was no room left at
the fair.
Ellis also mentioned the creative incentives offered by school systems,
such as out of state systems offering to pay off teaching fellow contracts.
Similar stories will be told about this semester’s fair once
the dust settles, I’m sure.
Although I am not a education major, it was nice to see such high
demand for Appalachian graduating teachers.
Any student who attended Monday’s fair had a chance to walk away
with a job. Within the first thirty minutes of the fair, I heard some
schools had already signed three or four teachers.
I take this a tremendous compliment to Appalachian State University.
One representative I spoke to mentioned Appalachian as one f his school
system’s principle targets for recruitment.
Several students attending the fair considered it an advantage coming
from Appalachian in the job market.
I wish Appalachian’s Department of Communication had such a reputation.
As a member of the Appalachian community it is an honor to have a
part of our university so highly regarded by not only North Carolina,
but surrounding state as well.
OUR PERSPECTIVE
A
crucial decision
If this year has
proven anything about the Student Government Association, it’s the
importance of avoiding lifeless leadership.
With a national crisis looming over students in September and an Appalachian
State University-initiated plan to increase tuition $150 for the 2002-2003
academic year, demands and challenges placed on the top two SGA positions
increased dramatically from years past.
As elections for next year’s president and vice-president continue
through late Thursday afternoon, students must embrace their right to
vote and responsibly cast a ballot for the duo most suited for the job.
An informed voter should keep in mind several qualifications while determining
the most capable pair for the positions.
The president of the student body should be an articulate and persuasive
individual who will act as an efficient liaison between the students and
Appalachian State University’s administration and Board of Trustees,
as well as the University of North Carolina Board of Governors.
This was made painfully obvious this year as Harrington failed to garner
support from BOT members in his efforts to quash the aforementioned tuition
hike plan.
If another tuition increase situation were to unfold next year, the SGA
president should be able to swiftly mobilize the student body and other
SGA members to passionately defend student’s rights against governing
bodies that sometimes operate with student-unfriendly objectives.
Students must also carefully examine each ticket’s platform and determine
who has the most feasible and attainable goals.
Too often, candidates’ empty promises go unfilled once installed
in office.
Once elected, it is the responsibility of the voter to hold the officials
accountable for vows made during a campaign.
With last year’s elections generating a disappointing and unacceptable
number of students voting, a message of apathy was sent to the elected
officials.
If leaders feel a sense of indifference from their constituency, they
will not be motivated to serve the office to the best of their ability.
Who can fairly be at fault for the recent futile efforts of current SGA
president Xan Harrington to energize students to attend an anti-tuition
hike protest in Chapel Hill for the BOG’s March 6 meeting?
The tragedy of the low turnout was caused not only by Harrington’s
failure to amply prepare students to attend the protest, but also by a
general disinterest from the student body.
There is no excuse for student lethargy.
With five tickets contending for presidential and vice-presidential positions,
students have a broader and more diverse selection.
Extensive information is made available about candidates’ platforms,
including coverage in The Appalachian, pamphlets, posters, contact tables,
Web sites and tonight’s candidate debate at 6:30 p.m.
Appalachian State students deserve better than what we’ve had.
Casting an intelligent vote is one way to insure we will.
|
 |
 |
