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1 f) OPINION/EDITORIAL
* ^ March 29,2000 • the Seahawk
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"'Excellence Through Truth and Dedication”...S'lnct 1948
Thomas M. Ruvi.k - Editor-In-Chief
Lvndskv M. Bi.and - Managing Editor
Mar i IN ,1. Smilf.v - Advertising Director
Hkidi Binc - News Editor
Mkcan O’Brikn -A&E Editor
Hugh Fishkr - Sports Editor
James Fi.mT - Photo Editor
Mai Hamkic'k - Copy Editor
Hank McCai/i.ey - Webmaster
Kevin Knicht - Adviser Bii.i. DiNome - Student Media Coordinator
News Staff Writers: Allison Biggar. Somer Stahl, Rachel Healy, Anna C. Broome A&E Staff
Writers: Jeff Grisselt, Tori Boone, Kristi Singer-The Scene, Rachel Cruz Sports Staff Writers:
Kevin Farmer, Wes Melville, Amanda Breedlove, Rosa Tysor, Gareth Evans, LaKesha Hatcher,
Laura Southerland Photographers: Kathryn Schley, Corey Accardo, Natalie French, Laura
Lett iMyout/Production: Lisa Williams, Lindsay LaClair Advertising Staff: Kim Byrd, Adam
Wright, Jigna Patel Disribution: Jeff Durham- Mgr, Angela Bjork, Lex Fennell
The Seahawk is published by the students of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, as a source of
news for the Univei^ and surrounding conimunity. As a foaim for free expression, The Seahawk and its staff
operate with editorial freedom; the views contained within The Seahavk are those of its staff and do not
represent those of the University. Material In the paper is produced, selected, and edited by the editorial staff
and writers of The Seahawk Unsigned editorials represent the opinions of the editorial board. Signed edito
rials are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Sea/iaw* staff. Advertising
content does not constitute an endorsement of the service by members of The Seahawk staff. The Seahawk
is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. Some individual staff members are affiliated with the Society
of Professional Joumalists and the National Federation of Press Women. The Seahawk utilizes the Assod-
ated Press Newsflnder Service and Tribune Media Services for portions of content.
Editorial Viewpoint.
Activism? On this campus?
For a brief, shining moment last Thurs
day, it looked as if UNCW was ever so
slightly beginning to shake its well-known
reputation for student apathy. A small group
of students, taking umbrage at some of the
Walt Disney Company’s labor practices
abroad, did more than just sit around and
complain to each other about it.
They spoke out - publicly.
Holy Smokes!
Even though there were only five protest
ors, the very idea of students acting in such
an activist manner certainly shocked some
school officials. A couple of personnel from
the Career Service office, which hosted the
Walt Disney internship presentation where
the demonstration occurred, had to get a
quick refresher course on students' rights to
voicing their opinion.
Not only is that covered in the UNCW
Code of Student Life, but in the Constitution
Editorial yiewpoint...
Where are we learning our language?
Since the invention of the telephone, so
ciety has shifted from the written focus of
past centuries to more oral communica
tion. Anyone could pick up the phone and
have a quick conversation with a friend
across the country whenever they wanted
instead of writing a six-page epic detail
ing the last three months of his life that
may take weeks to get to the recipient.
This shift in emphasis from the written
to oral also changed the way educators
taught writing. Punctuation and grammar,
while still important, were not emphasized
as much because they were not needed in
every day life. Content was more impor
tant than form.
Though the telephone made social writ
ing obsolete for most of the twentieth cen
tury, the proliferation of e-mail has made
letter format nearly as important for the
modern world as it was for the Victorians.
The problem with e-mail is that proper
English vanishes as soon as someone logs
on to their account. It’s as if, because e-
mail is almost always instantly discarded,
it doesn’t matter whether the sender capi
talizes “I” or uses ellipses where a comma
would be more appropriate.
Now that many e-mail providers come
equipped with spell checking programs,
the danger of looking like a complete idiot
is somewhat lessened. But spell check
only catches words that aren’t real, “liks”
instead of “likes”; it will skip over “licks,”
although that is just as wrong in a sentence
that is supposed to read “Bob likes Jane."
Put the other words in place of “like,” and
spell check will only tell you that “liks"is
wrong. As far as the computer is con
cerned, “licks” is okay, though the recipi
ent may have another opinion.
The same problems seen in casual e-
mails are also apparent when a student
relies on spelling and grammar checking
programs to catch all the mistakes in a
paper, proposal or lab.
Upper-level professors expect that stu
dents to be able to write clearly on essay
tests, proposals and lab write ups. Stu
dents who never learned the rules find
themselves losing points on papers sim
ply because they never learned the rules.
What can be done about students who
graduate from college and cannot write a
clear and intelligent sentence? Do we
blame the English department for not
teaching something students are expected
to know before they come to college? Do
we blame the students themselves for sim
ply not knowing the basic rules of the En
glish language? That hardly seems fair,
since the technical aspects of our language
are contradictory and confusing to people
who have never been taught the rules.
of the United States; the Constitution carries
an obscure passage known simply as the First
Amendment, part of which reads, “Congress
shall make no law respecting...the right of
the people peaceably to assemble...”
All in all, though, both sides handled the
simation reasonably well. There were no con
frontations or raised tempers, no shouting,
no disruptions of the planned flow of events,
and no need for police presence (although
one officer did appear for a few minutes just
to make sure all was well).
The best part about it was that it showed
that there are students at UNCW who do have
the guts to stand up, speak out, and be
counted. There are students who don't ac
cept the status quo or the ‘party line’ about
issues important to them, as so many others
here do.
Keep it up, folks! Let’s lose this pathetic
reputation for apathy.
Letters To The Editor
X t?
Tfe-
E'MAIl OrJ pUAJp PA(5(AJi-
I/*
Dear Editor,
We were looking through the paper and
noticed that there are no articles concerning
outdoor track and field. Our season has been
in progress for quite some time now and we
still have no publication. Our mens team has
been CAA championships for three years in
a row and are striving for their fourth.
This is an extremely big accomplishment
and deserves to be followed. The women’s
team has also been progressing immensely
towards their first-ever CAA championship.
We are the largest team on campus, although
we still don't receive any recognition.
We would greatly appreciate it if you
would take some time and follow the UNCW
track and field team. Thank you for your
time.
Track and Field Athletes
(Editor's Note: For more on the issue of sports
coverage, please see ‘Sport Notes’on page 19.)
Dear Editor,
On behalf of the Azalea Dog Training
Club, I would sincerely like to thank all the
people who helped me increase awareness
about this not-for-profit organization. In par
ticular, I would like to extend my gratitude
to those who donated their precious time and
efforts in order to make this worthwhile
project successful. They are Susie Bartlett,
Michael Batuyios, Jennifer Bostic, David
Brown, Andrea Casiano, Pia Collier,
Rhiannon Dillard, Ashley Fagundus, Angela
Goss, Susan Hughes, Ashley Kooman, James
Mendillo, Joseph Morcos, Dianne Matthews,
Vincent Nelson, Julie Owen, Kimberly Rob
les, Jennifer Schaar, Jessica Slusser and
Mandy Stanfield.
Professor Hana Noor Al-Deen
Department of Communications Studies
I^ETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
the Seahawk encourages alt retiders to submit letters to the editor forpossO^le publicaim. Pleas’
The Setthms-knmy edit letters fi>rsp,ce.TUSeduw1cmserves
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eredfor AU letters must be signed by the auUmr. letters to the editor are the im&’idml
opinions cfthe Se^ihmvk staff or the Umm-
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