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SGA
Beat: Your Vote 2002
Eller-Williams
take runoff election by mere 25 votes
Slim
margin ranks as closest race in last 23 years, says SGA advisor
Sarah Newell -
Staff Writer
Ryan Eller and Ezell
Williams defeated Steve Wussow and Dustin Bayard by a mere 25 votes to
become Student Government Association president-elect and vice president-elect
Thursday in the closest race in the last two decades.
“I tried not to make any predictions as to how close the runoff would
be, but given the [general] election, I didn’t think it would be
a landslide,” said Eller. “We had as good a campaign and good-hearted
people as I could have asked for. It was really reassuring to Ezell and
I that there was such a large group of people that wanted to leave our
school better than it was when we came,” he added.
His victorious running mate echoed his sentiments.
“I expected it to be close,” said Williams. “I knew both
tickets were going to push for voter turnout.”
The incoming president said he sees positive things in store for next
year’s incarnation of SGA.
“I think that next year is going to be an excellent year to speak
out as the voice of ASU students. We’re at a time when the school’s
giving money for diversity, the school’s in a physical transition
with all this construction on campus and we’re more selective about
the students we’re taking,” said Eller.
“We will make the changes that need to be made. Students will see
that the work we’re doing is not stepping on anybody’s toes
but fighting for what the majority of students want for our institution,”
he added.
The tight margin of victory reveals the student body may be divided on
what it feels are the most important issues that need to be addressed.
While time will reveal if that division exists, Eller said a unified student
body is vital.
“The most important thing is that the student body speaks with one
voice. It speaks with half the power when it’s not one voice,”
said Eller. “Not to have unity would be destructive, rather than
proactive.”
Eller said he and Williams plan on selecting a cabinet that is very accepting
of differing beliefs and ideals. He said he also hopes next year’s
senate will represent the views of the entire student body.
“I don’t think that there will be a rift in the senate next
year at all,” said Williams. “I think when senators make the
commitment to be in SGA, it’s because they like the administration
and want to better the university. I’m going into this very optimistic.”
The first goal Eller and Williams said they plan to tackle as the new
president and vice president is establishing a sound cabinet. “Ezell
and I will work on molding our cabinet members to stand up as one administration
to ensure all platform goals are completed,” said Eller.
“After that, I plan to build a strong relationship with the newly
elected student body presidents across the state. From there, I’ll
probably develop a strong working relationship with every member on the
Board of Trustees, as well as the chancellor, vice-chancellors and the
[newly-installed] associate vice-chancellor for diversity,” said
Eller.
Eller said he still plans to be very involved in the Association of Student
Governments next year. One of his plans is to lobby for more funding for
the travel portion of the budget, so all students can attend ASG meetings
if they so desire.
“I think it’s very important I stay involved in ASG next year,
particularly because ASG’s budget is going to swell to approximately
$170,000, which means that approximately $12,500 of ASU’s money will
be there and needs to be spent appropriately. ASG will also fund some
programs on ASU’s campus, such as voting empowerment,” said
Eller.
As for Eller-William’s defeated opponent, Wussow said he still intends
to work on the core goals of his campaign next year.
“I would like to continue working and supporting for these issues
next year, be it through SGA, ImpACT or another venue,” said the
former presidential hopeful. “It’s a little early right now
to know exactly how I’ll go about it.”
“I think that if I’d known at the beginning of the election
what I know now, I think Dustin and I could have had a greater impact,”
said Wussow. “It was definitely a learning experience for me.”
Multicultural
Beat
‘Day
of Silence’ protests discrimination against GLBT Community
David
Forbes - Staff Writer
With a scream that
echoed through the Amphitheater Wednesday afternoon, students who had
been participating in the “Day of Silence” protest ended their
vow, having not spoken for nearly the entire day.
The “Day of Silence,” an annual event held in over 1,600 colleges
and high schools across the country, is held to “protest the silence
faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies.”
Members of the campus chapters of Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians and Allies
Associated for Diversity (B-GLAAD), the National
Organization for Women (NOW) and some volunteers from the Women’s
Center held the protest at Appalachian State University.
“This [protest] ties in with a lot going on now,” said Chad
Wilson, a senior and member of B-GLAAD who organized the event this year.
“We want to make the [Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender] community
visible, to drum up awareness; I think this helped with that purpose.”
Vice Chancellor for Student Development Dr. Gregory Blimling recently
formed a task force to look into campus issues involving the GLBT community.
Participants in the protest remained silent from the time they awoke Wednesday
until the rally at 5 p.m. Wilson and some of the NOW members participating
wore duct tape over their mouths for part of the day.
The protestors had a table for the event set up in the Crossroads Coffee
Shop and passed out “speaking cards” throughout the day, which
read in part: “My deliberate silence echoes [the silence of GLBT
individuals], which is caused by harassment, prejudice and discrimination.
I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these
injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are
you going to do to end the silence?”
“I definitely think that from my own personal experience it raised
a lot of awareness,” said Wilson. “I got a lot of different
responses, ranging from commendations to confusion to blank stares.”
“By making the silence more visible, the reaction got more visible
as well,” continued Wilson.
Approximately 30 to 40 Appalachian students participated in the protest,
with around 20 showing up at the final rally. Several students at Watauga
High School also participated.
“I think next year we’ll try to have more publicity,” said
Wilson. “A lot of people, when handed [the speaking cards], said
they would have participated if they’d known about it.”
Police
Beat
Officer:
Divide must be closed
Becky DiVerniero
- Staff Writer
The gap between the
Appalachian State University community and the Boone Police needs to be
closed, said Appalachian Liaison Officer Lt. J.R. Reese.
“When I went to ASU, for a lot of students, it was like a bubble,”
said Reese. “ASU was a town and then you had the town of Boone, and
sometimes you’d have conflicts, or students would feel like officers
were against them. I’m trying to break that.”
Reese is a Boone native and has been with the Boone Police for almost
22 years.
“I stayed with Boone [Police] because my family is here and I like
the police department, so I made my career here,” said Reese.
However, Reese did not always plan on going into law enforcement or even
the criminal justice field.
“My late father was a local dentist, and he had an idea that maybe
I could be a lab tech and do dentures and stuff like that,” said
Reese.
Later, deciding that he would rather pursue another career, Reese enrolled
as an undergraduate at Appalachian.
“My sophomore year I took Intro to Criminal Justice, and ever since
then I was interested,” said Reese.
Reese entered the Boone Police as a patrol officer, later working up to
sergeant, which involved supervising a patrol division. He is currently
a lieutenant, and when Chief Bill Post signed onto the department roughly
two years ago, Reese was given the extra title and duty of liaison officer.
“The liaison [title] is extra projects put on lieutenants and sergeants,”
said Reese. “Some do traffic enforcement studies; my project is ASU.”
Reese works with the University Police, mainly the crime prevention department,
on several programs to help bridge the gap between students and the Boone
community.
“We do ride-alongs,” said Reese. “I also go with Sgt. Sears
[of the University Police] to on-campus sessions.”
“Before it was just an ASU officer going to the ASU campus. Now it’s
us working together,” said Reese.
Reese began working with WASU last week, issuing public service announcements
through the station.
“We’ve never done that because that was ASU’s radio station,”
said Reese. “Also, they drop [The Appalachian] off here now. I wanted
our officers to read what’s going on on-campus and get a feel that
they’re a part of it also.”
Although he can see that his efforts are paying off, Reese admits it is
not always easy to accomplish his goals.
“The hard part is that people come and go so much,” said Reese.
“We’ll establish a relationship with them and then they graduate.”
Reese also works within his own department, attempting to show other officers
that students are not the enemy.
“Not all students are bad,” said Reese. “There’s 12,500
of them, and it’s like any other environment; you’ve got the
bad and you’ve got good, but sometimes we’d see that some of
the officers would only see the bad.”
Over the next few years, Reese plans on continuing his efforts at the
Boone Police Department and may consider retirement.
“[I want to] continue improving the relationship between the townspeople,
the police department and ASU alike.”
Clubs
- Organizations Beat
AppSIFE
recognized as runner-up at Atlanta Career, Opportunity Fair
Crystal Thompson
- Staff Writer
The Appalachian State
University chapter of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), known locally
as AppSIFE, was recognized as runner-up in its division last week at the
2002 SIFE Regional Exposition and Career Opportunity Fair in Atlanta,
Ga.
AppSIFE designs and delivers community projects that target groups from
pre-school students to adults.
Over 35 colleges and universities participated in the event. Each school’s
chapter presented a review of their educational outreach projects.
“Our projects were learning experiences in creativity, planning and
project management. Preparing for the Atlanta Regional Expo really gave
me a valuable opportunity to improve my presentation skills,” said
junior Beth Gresham.
The expo also gave students the opportunity to interact with executives
from over 75 national and international companies who were looking for
SIFE students to hire.
“Some of our projects have included a skit teaching valuable life
skills at area elementary schools, facilitating a stock market simulation
project with high school students, and teaching computer skills to single
mothers,” said advisor William Parrish.
“Last year AppSIFE adopted the project theme of ‘Making A Difference,’”
said Parrish. “It is truly rewarding to see the difference these
students do make in the community on behalf of Appalachian State University.
Their projects touch people in ways that impact their daily lives.”
“SIFE awards more than $400,000 in prize money to college students
each year as well as leadership training, regional and national competitions
and career opportunity fairs for thousands of college students throughout
25 countries,” said Parrish.
SIFE has also presented popular resume-writing and interview workshops
to high school students.
SIFE is now in its 25th year. It is an international non-profit organization
that works with business and higher education to provide college students
the opportunity to develop leadership, organizational and communication
skills through learning, practicing and teaching free enterprise principles.
“Walker College of Business and Appalachian are proud of the recognition
SIFE has gained, but even more proud of their contributions,” said
Parrish.
Students from Appalachian participating in the SIFE Regional Exposition
and Career Opportunity Fair were Matt Boyd, Beth Gresham, Dennis Hobbie,
AppSIFE president Mary Johnston, Lisa Pointe, Kelly Trayes, Jackie Walsh,
Kristin Wiggins, Dwayne Williams and AppSIFE alumna and Walker College
of Business graduate Jana Wilson, who made the trip from Asheville.
Chancellor
- Student Development Beat
Plan
sets goals for minority enrollment
Part One:
Diversity Plan
calls for 4 percent jump by 2008
Shea
Kuczko - Staff Writer
Appalachian State
University’s new Diversity Plan has set specific goals for the
institution regarding minority enrollment after years of avoiding
the establishment of numerical objectives in order to escape the stigma
associated with quotas.
Appalachian State has been “reluctant to identify specific numerical
goals for diversity, for fear that these would be viewed as limits
or as ‘adequate,’” according to the Diversity Plan.
“After years passed and goals went unmet, it became clear that
revisions needed to be made [to the Diversity Plan],” explained
Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Leadership Tracey Wright.
Appalachian officials will aim to increase the number of students
of color to 10 percent by the year 2008. Currently, 6 percent of students
are of color (683 students out of a total 12,857), according to the
Diversity Plan.
Interim Research Associate Heather Langdon describes students of color
as any students who are not European American; this includes students
from foreign countries.
There were 10 problems highlighted by the plan as being the most important
to overcome in order to reach the ultimate goal of a diverse campus.
One problem spelled out in the plan is Appalachian currently does
not have a sufficient number of students, faculty and staff who are
of color to offer a sense of community for such students, according
to the plan.
The document goes on to say: “The image of Appalachian as a predominantly
white institute in the mountains associated with outdoor adventure
activities such as skiing, rock climbing and hiking is not an image
that usually attracts students of color.”
Another obstacle identified by the Diversity Plan is Western North
Carolina is rural, and the population predominantly white. The largest
populations of African Americans live in the Eastern portion of North
Carolina and in the state’s urban communities.
“I think that most all students want to stay within a certain
radius of their homes,” stated Wright, who helped craft the Diversity
Plan.
An additional hindrance to diversity at the institution listed in
the plan states: “As Appalachian has increased its average SAT
score, fewer students from selected underrepresented groups (African
American, Latino, low-income students) meet the minimum qualifications
for
admission.”
Social activities of interest to students of color listed in the document
that are currently absent in Boone yet do exist at universities with
which Appalachian competes.
Minority members at Appalachian also recognize other absences within
the community.
“There are so many little things that Boone doesn’t have
that just add up, like a black barber shop and a black clothing store,”
said African American student Remi Awolowo.
Competition also comes into play through the fact North Carolina is
home to the largest number of historically black colleges.
“Historically, black universities successfully compete for a
high percentage of African American students attending universities,”
reports the plan.
The writers of the Diversity Plan said the amount of scholarship money
Appalachian is forced to compete with is inadequate.
Wright pointed to the sources of funding in her attempts to explain
this hindrance.
“The scholarships that are lacking are a combination of both
public and private.”
Bush’s
high approval ratings misleading, says Texas prof.
Chris Bohle - Staff
Writer
George Edwards told audience
members Thursday evening not to put much stake in President George
W. Bush’s current approval ratings, for such high numbers have
a history of being misleading.
“Look at other presidents who served during wartime—Lincoln,
FDR, Woodrow Wilson,” said Edwards. “They all lost a number
of House seats within their term during the major wars.”
This point was one of many touched upon by Edwards, a professor of
political science at Texas A & M University, during “The
President, the Public, Media and Governing: Evaluating the George
W. Bush Presidency,” a 90-minute symposium that assessed the
current head of state.
The panel members included Edwards, three Appalachian State
University professors from varying departments and an Appalachian
student from the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice.
Edwards’ discussion also addressed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks,
which propelled Bush’s approval ratings through the roof.
“He did perform well [in the wake of Sept. 11],” said Edwards.
“He was reassuring and confident.”
That performance caused Bush’s approval ratings to go from 51
percent on Sept. 10 to over 80 percent within 24 hours, said Edwards.
An issue that hurt Bush prior to the terrorist attacks was the
contested nature of his election, said Edwards.
“The beginning election controversy had potential of turning
the administration into a circus,” said Edwards.
Because of his controversial election win, Bush had to move very cautiously
at first and not try to push any risky legislation until he had been
in office for a longer period of time, said Edwards.
Even when Bush did finally become comfortable in the White House,
he had difficulty changing public opinion, which Edwards said always
has been and always will be the president’s biggest problem.
“One of Bush’s first objectives was his tax cut plan, which
he did extensive lobbying on throughout the country,” said Edwards.
“But a poll taken after the lobbying showed that his support
had not gone up one percentage point.”
“This shows how difficult it is to change the public’s opinion,”
said Edwards. Despite the challenges presented by the nature of the
2000 election, however, Edwards said he feels the Bush administration
has done a good job of not overreaching with their legislative aspirations.
Edwards concluded by stating even though the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
helped to strengthen the Bush presidency, the administration may find
that its ultimate success or failure may be determined by factors
over which they have no control.
Following Edwards’ speech, other panel members voiced their respective
opinions of the state of the presidency, and one common theme seemed
to emerge.
“A serious gap exists today between campaigning and governing,”
said Steven Bennett, a research professor in the Department of Communication.
“In today’s politics, it seems that we are in a constant
state of campaigning.”
Dr. David Sutton, a professor in the Department of Political Science
and Criminal Justice, agreed, pointing to the fact former President
Bill Clinton gave 550 speeches during his tenure, a practice Bush
is almost certainly duplicating.
“[Clinton and Bush] are traveling around the country, trying
to sell their message when they should be governing the country.”
Business
Affairs Beat
Pollution
issues open door for new Wey Hall ventilation
Carrie Baker
- Staff Writer
Wey Hall will
see a $400,000 ventilation renovation this summer, said Vice Chancellor
for Business Affairs Jane Helm. The repairs have come in response
to the voiced concerns of faculty, staff and students who work in
Wey Hall.
Wey houses the Department of Art and part of the Department of Communication,
including the WASU radio station. The main concern is the type of
ventilation used on the first floor of the building.
“Students are being physically polluted on the first floor,”
said Ben Carter, a senior working in clays. There are five areas on
the first floor that work with serious ventilation matters, said Carter.
Printmaking, photography, clays, metal smithing and sculpture areas
are among those in need of new ventilation, he said.
The renovation plans were announced in what senior Meg Crowley described
as an “extremely intense” meeting held March 28 with Helm
and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Dr. Harvey Durham.
In this meeting, Helm announced $400,000 had been secured to repair
the ventilation on the first floor of Wey Hall. Helm said she feels
the renovation will “address the most critical issues” but
“doesn’t take care of all problems.”
“We are doing everything we can,” said Helm.
“We are robbing other funding to get [the money for the Wey Hall
repair project],” said Helm.
Repair and renovation budgets were frozen across the state early this
semester in response to the state’s economic crisis. Wey Hall
ventilation was one project on campus that saw its funds disappear
due to the frozen budget, said Helm.
Monies for the repair were taken from a project planned to stop erosion
on the banks of Boone Creek and “extra money” left from
other projects on campus, she said.
“It’s been hard to get us on the priority list,” said
Carter. “There is no money for art.” Both Carter and Crowley
feel students have been heavily voicing their concerns for the past
year.
“I think the [administration] knows we’re serious this time,”
said Carter.
While Carter and Crowley said they are “glad the administration
came up with the $400,000,” they fear the repair job will only
be a “patch job.”
“We don’t want to see an expenditure of mass amounts of
money and find no improvement,” said Carter.
Margaret Yaukey, a professor who teaches metal smithing in the Department
of Art is confident the administration will efficiently handle the
current ventilation problem. “Administration is doing the best
they can,” said Yaukey.
Yaukey said she likes seeing the students in the department “politically
active” concerning the ventilation issue but feels they must
be realistic concerning the state’s current budget crisis.
“The students understand there is no money and administration
is making difficult decisions,” said Yaukey.
Dr. Gayle Weitz, an associate professor in the department, said she
feels there are “health dangers for everyone in the building.”
Weitz cited the foundry on the first floor as the biggest problem,
saying the fumes from the foundry travel through the existing ventilation
to the second floor offices and classrooms.
“Administration has been trying to deal with this problem since
I’ve been here,” said Weitz. “I think it is time it
be fixed.”
While the faculty remains optimistic about this summer’s repair
plans, Carter and Crowley still have their doubts.
“Something has to change,” said Crowley. “The ventilation
does not work properly and everyone in this building is at risk.”
“The school offers these classes and should guarantee us clean
air,” said Carter.
It is “impossible to make guarantees” concerning the repair
and whether or not it will be fully successful, said Helm.
“It is hard to predict the future,” said Helm. “We
are in a down turn right now and doing the best we can.”
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