Friday, February 28,1997
Editorials
Page 3
“ ‘Me Time’ is very important...”
Rhonda L. Parker
Editor-in-chief
Living off-campus and coping with
work and school have taught me a lot
about my priorities in life—and a lot
about me as a person.
For the past two years, I’ve been
dealing with depression. With all my
added responsibilities this year, things
just got worse. But I’ve learned a little
trick to help myself deal with reality
and all its ups and downs.
Mostly, things went haywire this
year. I didn’t have any time for myself,
and I really still don’t, but I’ve learned
to make time. Even if it’s just standing
outside smoking a cigarette with friends
or hstening to music while you’re
reading or working on something, it’s
“Me Time”. “Me Time” is very
important, even if it’s only fifteen
minutes. It gives you a chance to
breathe, to collect your thoughts, and
relax. It’s a little touch of time that
makes you say “Buh-bye” to your
troubles for a while.
Usually for me, “Me Time”
consists of a little Metallica or Alanis
Morisette, and drive and smoke for
about thirty minutes. It doesn’t matter
what time of night it is—I still go. I’ve
learned that I need at least five hours of
sleep a night, so this works out well for
me.
Believe me, even something as
simple as sitting down for a while can
work wonders. Of course, getting
plenty of rest would help too, but as a
college student it’s hard to find that
unknown entity.
“Do I make myself some coffee, or do I take a shower...
Rick Call
Asst. Editor
There I am, in all my glory, holding
a towel in one hand and a toothbrush in
the other. “Now What?”, I ask myself.
I am miming late for class, I have not
put the dog out, I have not been able to
wake up due to the test I was up late
studying for all night, and most
importantly, I have not had a cup of
coffee in hours.
I have to make decisions here! Do
I make myself some coffee, or do I take
a shower? Knowing diat I have not
showered since Carter was president, I
decide to take a shower. During this
ritual, I keep thinking of how good a
nice hot cup of coffee would be as I sit
outside, overlooking the lake.
I don’t always have the want for
coffee, but it does help to jump-start my
body in the morning, and it would be
nice to know that if the want is there,
coffee would be made. Unfortunately,
most of my mornings lack the time to
make coffee.
I live off campus and as I found out
real quick, there is no place on campus
for a commuter to sit down with a cup
of campus brewed coffee without paying
for a full meal. I was floored when I
asked for a cup of coffee at the cafeteria
and was told I would have to pay full
price for breakfast in order to enjoy a
hot cup of coffee with the hostess.
Maybe I am missing something
here, but it seems that the college could
have a place for students to go and have
coffee ready to drink without paying
$3.00 or so. I noticed that after 9-10:00
p.m. there is coffee to be had on
campus, but I am usually not in the
mood for coffee at that hour, neither am
I on campus at that hour.
As I watch a faculty member spill a
spot of coffee on the floor when taking
a sip, I can only wish that they choke on
what is the one thing this campus does
not seem to want students to have.
This is an out-cry for support. We
need to unite in the quest for low cost
campus coffee. There are many under
fueled hours of study going on without
the intake of caffeine. We need our
caffeine. I need more shower time.
Guest Commentary
Kristin Cherry
Guest Commentary
When we try to imagine what our
world will be like in the future, we
I tend to have beautiful dreams and
hopes. We wonder how society will
change, what daily life will be like.
Yet as we see from the fast pace of life
today, society is already undergoing a
dizzying transformation.
We will be greeting the 21st
century in just a few years. We know
that the dawn of a new century does not
Mean that the world will greatly change,
W still we carmot help hoping the
niture will be brighter.
When we look around us today,
however, we see a world plagued by
estruction of the natural environment,
®cid rain, an increase in atmospheric
carbon dioxide, and other gases creating
the greenhouse effect, a worsening
population explosion, and the depletion
of our fossil fuel resources. The bright
future that we envision is dimmed by
these conditions that spell danger not
only for the human race but also for our
planet itself. We are forced to
contemplate a bleaker future.
Scientific progress has improved
our quality of life, making it more
pleasant and convenient. Yet, the
desires of comfort and laziness are
about to permanently damage the global
enviroimient, on which our very
survival depends.
When we trace environmental
problems to their source, we always
come to the way in which people live.
There is good and bad in everythmg,
and as civilization’s benefits are great,
so are its evils, such as the destruction
of our environment. With the growth of
material prosperity, these problems will
become more severe, and no solution is
in sight.
...To live in harmony with nature
should be this generation’s ultimate
goal...
On January 16, a Sierra Club
meeting was held at the Davidson River
Presbyterian Church. This meeting was
filled with people ranging in all ages.
From the college smdents, teachers,
and citizens of the community, there
was a sense of hope and energy that
filled the room. Kevin Marks from die
Southern Appalachian Biodiversity
Project shared information about the
Red Wolf Recovery Program. This
program is introducing the Red Wolf
back into the natural environment and
has virtually saved this timid creature
from extinction. Many environmental
issues were talked about at this meeting,
and the more people who are willing to
get involved with the Sierra Club
program the more our generation will
be able to accomplish.
That meeting was my first meeting,
and I am sure there will be many more
to follow. This was an enlightening
experience that made me walk away
with a little more knowledge than I had
before, what every student should be
striving for, the improvement of oxu-
intellectual world. Come see what I’m
talking about for yourself. The
meetings are held on the third Thursday
of each month. I’d like to thank Dr.
Ragsdale for a better understanding of
the problems facing the earth and
telling me about this meeting.