Newspapers / Gardner-Webb University Student Newspaper / Sept. 26, 2007, edition 1 / Page 3
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The Pilot Wednesday, September 26, 2007 Page A3 Opinions Americans must stop gazing inward, look at world events By Rebecca Clark Pilot editor Six years ago I came to the United States from Alberta, Can ada. The 3,000 miles I traveled from my home brought me to the South, a place radically different from what I had grown up with. I was unaccustomed to the red earth, the drawn-out syllables and the mild winters of North Caro lina. Now, six years later, as a dual citizen of the two countries, I find myself putting down roots, build ing a niche and feeling very dis tanced from our neighbor to the north. So distanced in fact, that Canadian news is far removed from me. If you are to scan the news headlines, the word “Canada” rarely appears. How many people know that Canada has provinces, not states, and that we have a prime minister, not a president? Perhaps, due to its low impact in world events, there is no need for Americans to know about their next-door neighbor. Perhaps, like the fabled Atlantis, it could sink into the ocean and we would not know of it until far into the fii- ture. And it’s not just Canada that could disappear off the map unno ticed. What is going on with the protests in Myanmar? What prog ress is being made in Afghanistan? What is happening to the people of Darfiir? China? Greece? Can we, as Americans, even point them out on a map? Or like Ms. Teen South Carolina will we be unable to even answer why we know so little about world events? Sometimes, it seems that ce lebrity news takes precedence over genocides, war and natural disasters in other countries. Sensational news is the lat est scoop. We want to know what trouble Paris Hilton has gotten herself into (or out of) and the re sults of Britney’s drug test or lat est rehab attempt. As Americans, and especially as colleges students, we need to be aware of the larger world around us. Ethnocentrism gives a narrow view of the world that limits the individual, the community and the country. Often, the media seems to feed us a diet of sugar; there is not much meat to the news, and we too willingly consume it. We need to be informed and open to events that are taking place outside of the boundaries of the United States and we need to start reading “real” news. Collegian editorial sparks a national uproar with four-letter word By Aaron Hedge Rocky Mountain Collegian (Colorado State University) (UWIRE) - After a Fri day editorial on page four in the Collegian that said “Taser this ... F— BUSH” sparked national uproar and controversy regarding free speech. Editor in Chief J. David McSwane will go before CSU’s Board of Stu dent Communications today to defend his job. The exple tive was spelled out about twice the size of a normal headline. The board has author ity sanctioned by the Board of Governors of the CSU System to fire the editor in chief. McSwane and the Col legian Editorial Board are standing by the decision. “The Editorial Board felt very strongly that its time college students, especially CSU students, start talk ing about issues,” he said. “We’re zealots for freedom of speech and we felt that after Andrew Meyers on the University of Florida cam pus was pulled from his mic and abused... that we started getting people to talk.” But he added that the board didn’t realize the full consequences of the deci sion. “There"were some unin tended consequences,” he said. “I think we’ve caused a lot of grief to the advisors and we’ve certainly affected our own advertising.” An undisclosed amount of Collegian advertising money has been lost since the editorial was printed. McSwane said that the editorial wasn’t about the president, but about free dom of speech. “I think it’s been blown a little bit out of proportion, it’s been turned into more of a political issue,” he said. “Historically our ‘Our Views’ are not in favor of President Bush. Very often we slam him on that same section, so the issue wasn’t what we said, it was how we said it. To us, it was a free speech issue.” The Collegian will not be suspended by the univer sity. CSU President Larry Penley issued a statement regarding the editorial that said while the university doesn’t have the authority to halt printing of the pub lication, it expects deeper The Pilot Jared Graf Nancy-Pat Dire Faculty Advisor Kory McNair Christopher Shaver Staff Writers Rebecca Clark Editor and Chief Sarajane Burroughs Kate Gazaway Stephanie Kay Designer Jessica Jones Tyler Kucifer Rachel Tucker Ashley Carter and Haley Black Photo Editors Staff Photographers Jacob Conley Sports Editor Phone Number: 704-406-3844 P.O. Box 5192 pilot@gardner-webb.edu 1^* jwmb ^ a Jk ^ I Jk tmmrn S MANAGER •IL T THE Pilot at (704) 4DS OWN YOUR OWN DORM!! The former Cliffside Baptist Church Building is being auctioned off on Friday October 19th at 12:00 Noon Just a few miles down the road from Gardner- Webb University. 25,000 Sq. Ft. Brick. Too many rooms to count. 1.5+/- Acres. No Zoning! Thompson’s Auction Company wwwthompsonsauction.com Pam Thompson Auctioneer #7145 .’704-394-6433 journalistic integrity from its student journalists and does not support the edito rial. “While student journal ists enjoy all the privileges and protections of the First Amendment, they must also accept ftjll responsi bility for the choices they make,” Penley said in the statement. One CSU teacher ex pressed his support for the Collegian’s choice with a word of caution. “I would support the pa per no matter what it said,” said local attorney and jour nalism instructor Lee Chris tian. “But I fear that it is going to lose some integrity among the community.” Christian applauded the Collegian editorial board for taking the initiative to start such controversy in an industry that he said has become less bold than it should be. “It shows that he (Mc Swane) has got guts,” he said. “I don’t know that the mainstream media is doing what’s necessary to promote freedom of speech.” He said some other pub lications refuse to spell the “f’ word out because they fear social ramifications. “This shows what power that word has when newspa pers are afraid to print it.” One CSU student called into question the sincerity of the Collegian’s editorial de cisions, mentioning a mis take in a news story several weeks ago. “The first article, when they used ‘s—’ got more at tention than it should have and to print something like this makes me wonder if they are really sorry for the first article,” said Jessica Petrisak, a biological sci ence freshman. But McSwane says that is a completely different is sue as a hard news story. But others students sup port the editorial board’s ac tions. “My opinion is that they should say whatever ... they want to say,” said Matthew Johnson, an open option freshman. CSU College Republi cans issued a written request Saturday for McSwane to resign his position. The group will held a petition signing in the Plaza asking for McSwane’s res ignation Monday. news@collegian. com Hollywood lacks true originality By Christopher Shaver Pilot staff writer Hollywood has given the people quality entertainment for years, but it seems as if everyone is remaking good movies. Films such as “Halloween,” “3:10 to Yuma” and “The 300 Spartans” have all been recreated. This leaves me wondering if producers have succumbed to creative plagiarism. Now, before I get any hate mail, I un derstand there have been good remakes of movies. “Ocean’s 11” was a wonderful remake, but I still believe that the creative juices have quit flowing with many writers and producers. It’s interesting to see people flock to see the latest teen flick, when they can rent the same story at Blockbuster for half the price. Although there have been a few original works, “Porky’s” and “Animal House” are still being rehashed into films such as “Su- perbad. The worst scenarios don’t all necessar ily come from remakes, but from bad se quels and prequels. Take the last “Die Hard” movie, for example. Over the summer, I watched a 52-year-old-manjump from a jet onto a blown-up highway without breaking a bone. After a grunt and a bloody knee, he continued to do the stunts we have seen in other action films. We got the point with the first two “Die Hard” movies. Producers jimip to prequels after the sto ries can no longer advance, the actor dies or he/she decides the last movie was good enough. George Lucas has shown the world you can still have a story when there really isn’t a good one to tell. The last three “Star Wars” films showed only how technology has changed over the 20 years since the first one came out. Also, viewers learned that Yoda was once like Gandhi on steroids, and that there are actually worse actors than Keanu Reeves. Movies like these make me wonder if my future children will see these run-of-the- mill movies as great pieces of art because of the poor stuff they’ll be fed in 20 years. Hopefully by then, producers will find that a good story carries the movie and it’s not about recreating the moments we found in the original versions. Wisdom on Wheels Let’s prove Appalachian State wrong By Jacob Conley Pilot staff writer There is one thing that I never thought I would write about in this column, but it seems that the football fans on campus need an attitude adjustment. They have no faith in our football team. This is sad, especially considering that this is a Baptist campus, the one place you would think faith would abound. I am talking specifically about the upcoming game with Appalachian State. When I tell people that I have faith that we can win, they laugh. Why? Because the Mountaineers beat Michi gan. That win is becoming less and less impressive because Michigan is a bad team. The mood on GWU’s campus is vastly different than the App State’s before it played Michigan. People waited in line for 24 hours to buy tickets. Conley Why? Because App State students had faith in their team. W e G W U students don’t. All I hear from students on campus is, “ Beat App? You’re crazy.” We have written off our team as losers before it steps on the field. The play ers don’t sweat and work in practice every day to go and lose on the field. They go through it to win and they believe that it will happen - and we should, too. In the words of George Michael, “You gotta have faith.” If you still have doubts, here’s an illustration of what faith can do. In the 1800s a small Western town was in the middle of a se vere drought, so the town’s people decided to meet and pray for rain. Only one kid brought an umbrella, and he is the only one who did not get wet. That is the kind of faith we should have. It may take a miracle to beat App State, but we should expect noth ing less. Along with faith, we should feel disrespected and a little angry at App State. The GWU game is played on its homecoming week end. App State thinks it is a guaranteed win because GWU is the worst team on the schedule. Lenoir Rhyne is also on the Mountaineers sched ule. That means App State thinks that a Division II school will give them a tougher game than we will and, to me, that is the ulti mate slap in face. Let’s use this disrespect to our advantage. Tickets to the game are on sale now. We need to show up in force and show App State that our team and our fans can’t be pushed around. Don’t forget your um brella.
Gardner-Webb University Student Newspaper
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