Page 2
The Blue Banner
March 28, 7 996
The Blue
Banner
Editorial
The microcosm is here
Seems as though our student government is a microcosm of
the Federal government. People get intoxicated vv^ith power and
completely lose sight of why they were elected in the first place.
Of course, getting intoxicated on the power of SGA at this
university is like getting drunk on near-beer, but hey, who’s
noticing? The point is, there isn’t much power evidenced in our
student government, and what is there serves no logical or
sensible purpose.
We have to be slightly cynical when candidates claim to have
wonderful voting records, but in fact abstain on every vote taken
at the meetings.
If these candidates have so many great ideas about how to
change the school, how come we never see them in action;
where do they go?
Our current government seems to have spent more time
conniving ways to get more money, sooner than anything else.
True, they did vote for a pay cut last week, so maybe there is
hope, but we are now in the process of voting in new officers, so
the whole thing starts all over again.
Another thing that bothers us is the way SGA has apparently
taken it upon themselves to change their rules of operation in
order to achieve their agenda. They voted to change a rule
regarding when they could get paid, in order to get paid early.
Wouldn’t that be nice if everyone could do that.
Also in the category of “Wouldn’t tl5at be nice if..,” the
athletic department claims that by asking people to join the
track teams for limited amounts of time, they are just carrying
on a tradition that has existed for several years previous.
The excuse that it has happened before is no excuse at all. If
there aren’t enough “warm bodies” to compete at this level of
play, shouldn’t the question be whether or not it’s worth it, and
not whether or not it has happened before?
-We see in both the situations the willingness to go along with
the rules and the status quo, instead of questioning the rules in
the first place. Once one gets acclimated to a place, the sense of
belonging overshadows the sense of reality. That should not be.
People in positions of authority should be honorable enough to
stand on their convictions.
On another note, Tf?e Blue Banner received several letters from
SGA candidates, and, not having room to print them all, we
decided to print none. We think the best way to get an idea of
a candidate is to attend the mixers. Good luck to all. The results
will be available in next week’s paper. —The Editor
Editorial Board
Catherine Elniff
Andrea Lawson
William Davis
Anne Kuester
Jeannie Peek
Jeanette Webb
Editor-in-Chief
News Editor
Features Editor
Sports Editor
Copy Editor
Photo Editor
Staff
Kenneth Com, Shawn Culbertson, Marissa DeBlasio,
Nick Foster, Troy Martin,Wendy McKinney, Susan Sertain,
Denise Sizemore,Michael Taylor, Jennifer Thurston,
Christine Treadaway, Jack Walsh
Karen Brinson Advertising
Alice Hui Business Manager
Greg Burrus Circulation
Mark West, faculty advisor
The Blue Banner is the student newspaper of the University of
North Carohna at Asheville. We publish each Thursday except
during summer sessions, final exam weeks and holiday breaks. Our
offices are located in Carmichael Hall, Rm 208-A.
Our telephone number is (704) 251-6586. Our campus e-mail
address is UNCAVX::BANNER.
Nothing in our editorial or opinions sections necessarily reflects
the opinion of the entire Blue Banner editorial board, the faculty
advisor, or the university faculty, administration or staff.
Unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Blue
Banner editorial board. Letters, columns, cartoons and reviews
represent only the opinions of their respective authors.
The Blue Banner welcomes submissions of letters and articles for
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ered on the basis of interest, space, taste and timeliness.
Letters must be typed, double-spaced, and must not exceed 300
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ture, classification, major or other relationship with UNCA.
The deadline for letters and classifieds is noon on Tuesday. If
you have a submission, you can send it to:
The Blue Banner
208A Carmichael Hall
One University Heights
Asheville NC 28804
Asheville’s future meets present in^Blue Ridge Blues ’
John Edwards
Columnist
“This past week has scared
me to death,” said Bill
Branyon. He was referring to
nuclear- power China intimi
dating Taiwan, “with the U.S.
Seventh Fleet right there...”
In his recently published
novel, “Blue Ridge Blues,”
Branyon’s story is either in
directly or directly related to
the fear of nuclear holocaust.
Though the novel is involved
with only four main charac
ters, a pair of couples, it shifts
back and forth from the past
to the present to the future in
an unusual but interesting
and sometimes chilling way.
It’s fiction wrapped tightly in
fact with a science-fiction
twist. The tongue-in-cheek
humor is reminescent of Kurt
Vonnegut.
The setting is Western
North Carolina. Mount
Pisgah, to the southwest of
the UNCA campus, is a set
ting early in the book, and
significant symbolically “be
cause it’s named after the
mountain where Moses stood
when he saw the Promised
Land,” Branyon explained.
And this is where he gets the
name “The Promised Land
Pub,” where the book’s pro
tagonists sometimes meet .
A native of Alabama,
Branyon is a secretary in
UNCA’s Enrollment Services
office. He’s also an editor
with Mountain Express, a lo
cal news and entertainment
publication. “But I’ve worked
construction, assembly lines,
all kinds of jobs,” he said.
The main character Jake
works on an assembly line.
“He wants to popularize anti-
assembly-line beliefs,” said
Branyon.
The antagonists in
Branyon’s novel are either real
historical figures or invented
characters based on real people,
like Billy Graham, for in
stance. “He’s the most popu
lar preacher ever,” said
Branyon. “In 1956, he packed
Madison Square Garden — on
Saturday night, prime time,
he was taking on Perry Como
and Jackie Gleason...”
In “Blue Ridge Blues,”
Branyon demonstrates the ef-
of workers:
“‘I’ve met many people who are
bored to death working in
factories...However, I’ve met oth
ers who have accepted Christ and
are tacklingthe same kind of tasks,
and the day to day boredom has
turned into meaningful existence.
They now have the purpose ofglo-
rifying God... The plant that prays
together stays together...In
heaven...natural resources will
r t
BIMWIIty ' if.' J .
)IU.,BRANVON
a
Detail shows Ml Pisgah
Cover: view from downtown Asheville
John Edwards graphic
feet of this kind of charismatic
power. “His preaching was, in
effect, a hoping for World War
III,” said Branyon. With the
Cold War looming, the state
of the world was often referred
to as the beginning of the end.
“Graham would talk about
‘time collapsing,’ or ‘the im
pending judgement,’” said
Branyon, who received his B.A.
in history from Vanderbilt
University. “He used the Cold
War to convert people.” But
Graham also championed the
economy of the assembly line,
rejecting the idea of alienation
never be depleted, and there will
be no competition over their dis
tribution... ’”
There are allusions to real and
serious events and places. The
chapter “Chicken 'a la
Auschwitz” is derived in part
from a chicken plant fire in Ham
let, N.C. several years ago that
killed 25 workers. “The Cove” is
a part of the Billy Graham center
of the same name east of
Asheville.
But my favorite is “Sex, Drugs,
and Rock of Ages.” Some more
of Branyon’s humor occurs when
Jake is viewing a spectrom, a
kind of virtual reality holo
graph device: “‘Back in bed,
Jake andEmily shifted into high
gear. The realjake walked close
and peered at his and Emily’s
faces. It looked like they might
have a simultaneous orgasm!
Jake’s face varied between the
generosity of Jesus, the happi
ness of a baby, and the greedi
ness of a carpetbagger... ’”
But the main crux of
Branyon’s tale is nonviolence.
The true heros are Ghandi,
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Reinhold Niebuhr and A.J.
Muste.
“They were such tremen
dous miracles,” said Branyon.
“They and their followers.
The sincerity of these people
to be beat within an inch of
their lives, and never raise a
hand... against their tormen
tors. I’m awed...I’m just in
awe,” said Branyon.
Branyon worked on the
novel for three years. “It was
the result of a thesis,” he said.
David Hopes, a professor with
UNCA’s literature depart
ment was Branyon’s editor.
“He helped quite a bit. He
helped me create stronger
characters,” said Branyon.
Hopes is quoted on the back
cover: “‘Hilarious, delirious
and serious. A 20th century
history of American religion
and a raging comedy whose plot
encompasses the future of a
small Southern town and the
fate of the earth. You can go
home to Asheville again, this
time in A.D. 2010. ”
Branyon will be appearing
atMalaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe
Saturday at 7 p.m. for a read
ing and book signing. For
more information call 254-
6734. “Blue Ridge Blues” is
also available at the UNCA
book store.
Would Jesus be an environmentalist wacko?
Stephen Schoof
Guest Columnist
In the battle to preserve his
beloved Hetck-Hetchy Val
ley nearly ninety years ago,
John Muir, founder of the
Sierra Club, described those
who wanted to flood the area
for a water supply: these
temple destroyers, devotees
of ravaging commercialism,
seem to have a perfect con
tempt for nature, and, in
stead of lifting their eyes to
the God of the mountains,
lift them to the Almighty
Dollar.
Muir’s works never did save
the valley, but his character
ization mention of God seems
a little out of place now that
religion is frequently labeled
a negative factor in our cur
rent ecological crises. Indeed,
Sierra:,, the magazine of the
club Muir founded, recently
ran a poll entitled “Has Or
ganized Religion Benefited or
Harmed the Planet?” with
close to half the published
responses falling into the
“Harmed” category.
In linking my environmen
tal science major to my own
faith, I have often struggled
with the idea that Christians
in particular don’t care about
conservation.
Regrettably, the limited eco
logical awareness of many
mainstreamAmerican
churches makes the idea a valid
one, but I don’t think the
Christian doctrine itself is re
ally to blame. Arguments over
faith and ecology usually cen
ter around the true meaning of
Genesis 1:28, where God gives
instructions to “replenish the
earth and subdue it,” but the
debates seldom get into the
Bible’s other nature verses, and
rarely is Christ’s example of
humble self-sacrifice taken to
its logical conclusions.
I hesitate to quote more
Scripture since many non-
Christians find it either offen
sive or just plain annoying,
but please bear with me to
look at what else the Bible says
about the earth.
Many of the Psalms (like 104,
147, and 148) describe all of
God’s creation, not just hu
mans, giving praise to and be
ing cared for by Him. It fol
lows that we presumptuously
diminish that praise whenever
we hang fellow creatures’ heads
on our walls or cut another
interstate through their natural
habitats. Maybe that’s partly
why Isaiah 5:8 says, “Shame on
you! you who add house to
house and join field to field until
not an acre remains...” and later,
in 24:5, “Earth itselfis desecrated
by the feet of those who live in
u.
The book of Job is even more
humbling, as the somewhat over
confident main character winds
up “repenting in dust and ashes”
when God extols the splendor
and complexity of a universe that
Job can’t even begin to under
stand, let alone control (chap
ters 38-41).
The passages reinforce what
Saint Paul states several hun
dred years later: God reveals His
wisdom and His power through
all that He has made (Romans
1:20). Although this is an idea
organized religion has politely
accepted for many years, (if the
number of nature trails around
Christian conference centers can
be taken as a guide), efforts to
protect the earth have been gen
erally absent from church life.
The real thrust is ministry to
other people.
But doesn’t our treatment of
the environment affect other
people in an alarmingly direct
way? Consider that 98% of hu
man bodily atoms are replaced
annually, which means that in
1997 every living person will
consist primarily of atoms he
or she breathes, eats, and oth
erwise absorbs in the next year.
When the environment de
clines, so do human health and
quality of life. We don’t all
suffer equally, either — toxic
waste, water and air pollution,
urban sprawl, and other nasties
usually affect minorities and
the poor more that the white
middle class, simply because
they have traditionally lacked
the money and political clout
to keep pollutants out of their
neighborhoods.
And the urban poor, who
possible have the most to es
cape from, are hardly in a posi
tion to head off into the wil
derness for spiritual renewal.
Theologian Sean McDonagh
was right on track when he
said, “The stance men and
women take towards the earth
is of a piece with their stance
towards their fellow human
beings.”
The New Testament is all
about our stance toward fellow
human beings. Christ’s com-
See JESUS, cont. p 3.