Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Oct. 1, 1987, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Qpiiiion THE BLUE BANNER/Octobcr 01, 1987/3 Requirements are valuable Editor, the Blue Banner I was disappointed by the tone and the disjointed reasoning of last week’s editorial, 'Politics Hurt Edu cation." Though it seemed to me that you never demonstrated any harm to education, I will address myself to two other points. 1) The assertion that "the General Education requirements are a poli tical pie to be divided among the politically astute in the university," combined with the assumption that the interests of the faculty (always grasping) are at odds with the in terests of the students, is discourag ing. So young, and yet so cynical. Actually the faculty members who made the recommendations for re vised general education requirements did so in the honest belief that these would be educationally val uable for UNCA students. There are educational objectives beyond ease of scheduling and single-minded de votion to a major, and it is the re sponsibility of the faculty to con sider these, too. 2) Worse is your argument that, because some majors require large numbers of courses, somehow the general education requirements are to blame for students’ not having electives. The imiversity has its own mission, apart from the vocational agendas of individual majors; this is a liberal arts institution, and breadth and depth of liberal educa tion are a university-wide concern. Why not ask why the management department requires 64 hours of its major? Or why the management de partment has not adjusted its dis tribution requirements to harmonize with the general education require ments, as the Communications major did? The faculty senate has a policy, now honored in the breach as much as in the observance limiting the number of hours which may be re - quired in any major. Why doesn’t the Barmer look into which majors exceed the limit, and ask why? And then place the responsibility for tight scheduling and few electives where it belongs. Merritt Moseley Associate Professor of Literature SGA Speaks Begiiming this week, the Blue Banner is graciously allotting a co lumn to the Student Government. The purpose of the weekly column (called SGA Speaks) is to inform the student body about issues and pro blems facing the university. To eli minate imfair representation, each senator will write an article. Initially, I would like to thank the Blue Banner staff for giving space to Student Government. They are providing a tremendous service to the student body. Student Government, like every organization, faces many challenges and obstacles. One major concern of ours is visibility or the lack thereof. The majority of students have little inclination of what the SGA is about. In these columns, we hope to rectify that problem. SGA is comprised of a legislative branch consisting of 16 senators and the vice-president; an executive branch with the president, vice-pre sident, treasurer, executive assistant and election commissioner; and a judicial branch consisting of an attorney general, a public defender’s office, and a seven member court with a clerk. The group derives its power for a detailed Constitution and judicial code. Its sole purpose is to serve the students, acting as a liaison between the students and the administration. Unfortxmately, this mission has often gotten off track in the past. It is my intent and the intent of the entire SGA to refocus ourselves. We have begun to channel many of the student body’s ideas and pro blems to the administration. Obviously, the process is slow, but they are responding. As a result of these new doors being opened, the student govern ment is asking for more student input. I am confident that the apa thetic attitude in the past is chang ing. Because the SGA represents all students, it’s your responsibility to voice your concerns. We hold open meetings every Monday at 4:30 p.m. in room 37 of the Highsmith Center. The topics are unlimited, and we urge your participation. Again, many thanks to the Blue Banner. BiU Pfeiffer SGA Vice President Corner o m m e n t s How has the AIDS crisis affected your sexual activity and/or outlook? l»am concerned over it. I am concerned about the people who are not necessarily sexually active but thos^ who contract it through transfusions and hospitals. I would hope that those who are sexually activc would practice safe sex." JoAnn Grunwell Senior Literature "It has affected my outlook in that I am more aware of the risks you take — and the people you associate ■ with." Lynn Harlan Senior History "It hasn’t affected my sexual activity. It’s a homosexual isease, and I hold homosexuals responsible." Brett Crosley V Freshman Biology "It has made me stick to BibiUcal principles more, belief in manogamy and not sleeping around." John Bakan Junior Music Photos and interyiews by Crystal Smith
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 1, 1987, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75