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COMMENTARY
Look
past Greek letters, see true individual
As I was walking
through the offices in Walker Hall, I passed a professor’s door
and saw an autographed picture of Byron Cherry, Coy Duke from “The
Dukes of Hazzard,” titled “Just Buffin’ the General.”
When I saw the picture I was reminded of a funny story about that picture
and the signature upon it.
Earlier in my college career I was walking that same path and I saw
the same picture. I noticed something strange about the signature, though.
Even though it was a picture of Coy Duke, the signature was that of
my friend Byron, Cherry’s son. Naturally, I had to ask “B”
what was going on.
Upon my asking why his signature was on a picture of his dad, Byron
began his story:
“I missed a quiz in that professor’s class that I wouldn’t
be able to make up unless I could prove that I was out of town,”
said Byron. “I found a picture lying around, signed it, and gave
it to my professor. I told him that I was at a car show visiting my
dad and then I gave him the picture as proof so I could make up the
quiz.”
Byron got to make up that quiz, and to this day his signature is hanging
on a professor’s door, passing for his father’s.
This is just one of many of the memories that fills my head about Byron
Cherry and his friendship.
Unfortunately, Byron left us this past May in a car accident that occurred
on the drive back up to Boone from Durham. To those who knew Byron and
were graced with his friendship, you know that he was someone special.
He had fun in life, and he was good at it.
Byron Wight Cherry was a best friend to so many because he knew that
friendship is the greatest gift you can give a person. He didn’t
judge people for their looks or hate someone because they were different.
You were his friend until he was given a reason to be your enemy, and
even then it was hard to be on his bad side for any extended amount
of time.
Noah Webster defines a friend as one who supports, sympathizes with
or patronizes a group, cause or movement. But a friend is so much more
than that.
A friend is someone that will be there for you, to listen, to laugh,
to console, to support, to respect, to understand. A friend is what
everyone in this world wants—someone to be there when you need
that shoulder to cry on.
When I arrived here at Appalachian I joined a fraternity, as many other
young men do upon arrival into a college atmosphere. Countless times
since, I have been asked, “Why do you pay for your friends?”
That to me is just an ignorant question. I did not join a fraternity
because I am not social enough to find my own friends. I joined for
the experience, and because many of my friends were already in the same
fraternity.
If you think that joining a fraternity is about paying for your friends
and for immature males, then maybe you should take a look in the mirror.
Dues are dues, monetary or not.
I personally do not introduce myself as a member of Delta Chi. It is
just not my thing. I don’t want someone to judge me from the moment
I meet him or her because of preconceived ideas they may have of my
fraternity.
And don’t act like it doesn’t happen.
In a world where everyone is supposed to be equal, ignorance is still
blinding many people. I am reminded of the old cliche “Don’t
judge a book by its cover.” In a world of technology and so much
diversity, we need to be able to look past physical attributes and what
is on top.
We need to see someone for what they truly are, for what is in their
heart.
Byron had that ability; he saw you for you, not for the character you
try to play.
With Greek week in full swing, all you non-Greeks are going to see a
lot of lettered shirts walking around.
If you are an independent, please do not judge anyone you see walking
around with Greek letters. I challenge you to be like Byron and look
past the letters. Look past the mask.
Byron shone during Greek week; it was one of his many happy times.
I personally have fond memories that fill my mind of times with Byron,
but when I remember him on stage in the Lip Sync last year all I can
think of is him at my side while we danced. He won’t be there this
year in person.
But Byron, you will be dancing with me, and you are in the hearts of
so many.
COMMENTARY
Grunge
promised a refreshing break from Pop
April 8 will
mark eight years since Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain took his own life.
While the death of the person is tragic, so is the death of what Nirvana
represented.
In 1992, when mainstream music was dominated by spandex-clad hair
metal bands and flash-in-the-pan pop acts, Nirvana was a beacon of
hope to disaffected youth who found it impossible to identify with
acts like Poison or New Kids on the Block. More importantly, the emergence
of grunge and its popularity harkened the demise of mindless pop music,
which had outstayed its welcome.
Nirvana burst onto the scene with an unheard-of brand of punk, drawing
influences from bands like Black Flag, The Pixies and Black Sabbath.
Bands like this thrived in the underground, practicing, promoting
and playing live shows relentlessly with no budget to speak of. The
entire scene captured the spirit of youth: a do-it-yourself mentality
and constantly turning a deaf ear towards what was popular.
This ethos was embedded in every aspect of the genre, most notably
in the accompanying style of dance.
Moshing, as it came to be known, was originally thought to be a way
to relieve pent-up aggression for kids who had nowhere else to focus
that rage. A circle containing upwards of 30 people running, swinging
wildly and slamming into one another may seem a bit uncalled-for,
but even today people will insist there is an element of family at
shows like this. If someone falls, people near them will rush to pick
them up and causing intentional harm to one person is unheard of.
All hope for a breath of fresh air in the stagnating music industry
was snuffed out as quickly as it came. After intense overexposure
to grunge commenced, it was not uncommon to see the die-hard fans
of Def Leppard sporting flannel shirts and blaring “Smells Like
Teen Spirit” out of their cars.
The final blow to grunge was the death of Kurt Cobain. Almost instantly,
a scene had gone as quickly as it had arrived. In the year following
the death of Cobain, the music industry still tried to produce new
acts such as Cracker and Candle Box, but to no avail.
Even as many were proclaiming grunge was dead, a ray of light still
shone through. Would up-and-coming bands take heed from Nirvana and
carry on the torch of underground music? Eyes turned to Cobain’s
wife, Courtney Love. At the time of Cobain’s death, her band
Hole was gearing up for the release of their latest album, “Live
Through This.” The surviving members of Nirvana also had projects
on the
horizon, such as drummer Dave Grohl’s band Foo Fighters.
Eight years later, what does music have to show? Hole is enjoying
radio airplay next to bands like N’Sync. The Foo Fighters just
performed their MTV-friendly brand of pop at the Winter Olympics.
MTV is flooded with macho-rock staples like Linkin Park, whose concerts
have turned the idea of a mosh pit into nothing more than a wrestling
match filled with drunken fights and gang mentalities.
Granted, many hard rock mainstays have cited Nirvana as an influence
on their music, but what message does their music convey? We can look
to a band like Limp Bizkit with their awe-inspiring anthem “Break
Stuff,” or any number of clone acts who present nothing more
than played-out themes of teenage angst and womanizing. How did the
music of such an insightful, sensitive person get twisted into what
is now considered the predecessors of that era?
The state of music today is the exact same as it was eight years ago,
except that this time around, Poison has been replaced by Disturbed,
and the Backstreet Boys are the newest kids on the block.
So when will a new voice come break down the doors of corporate music
and start the fight against pop?
OUR PERSPECTIVE
Dueling
surveys
Campus
effort better blueprint than Easley administration-spawned survey
A recent
survey conducted by The Committee for Integrity at Appalachian (CIA) showed
458 rape incidents have occurred in the last four years at Appalachian.
The survey, showing Appalachian is on par with the national average, was
compiled from phone and personal testimonies from 540 women who have attended
Appalachian less than eight semesters.
The rape survey was modeled after a similar study done in 2000, which
was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Although revealing numbers
that are shockingly high from previous surveys and police reports, this
survey seems to give an accurate representation of the total student body
average.
Another survey, completed as part of the CAMPUS grant received from the
Governor’s Institute for Alcohol and Substance Abuse, was conducted
through random e-mails to 1,600 Appalachian students.
It reported that 88 percent of students have never tried any drug other
than alcohol and 25 percent never drink.
Only 631 students responded, which was a much lower response rate than
surveys completed by Wellness Center graduate students in previous years.
The survey was designed to help spark awareness of underage drinking and
further educate students of alcohol awareness on campuses across the Tar
Heel State.
However, the random e-mail method used in conducting the Easley administration-spawned
survey is not an effective means of garnering a true picture of drug or
alcohol use on a university campus.
While we acknowledge all surveys have inherent flaws—as indicated
by each survey’s respective margin of error—we challenge university
officials and others within the university community to use the framework
of the rape survey as a blueprint for future survey endeavors due to its
personal approach in obtaining more accurate results.
If university officials wish to spend resources gathering such data, we
feel the time, labor and funds should be devoted to efforts that truly
depict daily realities on Appalachian’s campus.
The Rape Survey meets this criteria due to the manner in which the data
was collected. The flawed nature of the Easley-spawned Health Survey all-but
guarantees results that distort those realities.
If those initiating surveys tout as their primary goal changing the culture
of a university campus, such a task requires university officials and
student leaders to tackle reality, however damaging to the school’s
image such a study may be.
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