hti.\ trr^frjirrr( > t t ^’'r' Page 2 •Thursday, February 26, 2004 The Pendulum THE PENDULUM Elon University Elan, N.C. Established 1974 Jessica Patchett, Editor in Chief ■ Colin Donohue, Managing Editor ■ Ellis Harman, Managing Editor ■ Ashley Feibish, News Editor ■ Jay Dome, Asst. News Editor ■ Jessica Kemp, Opinions Editor ■ Kaitlyn North, A & E Editor ■ Candace Buckman, Features Editor ■ Andrew High, Sports Editor ■ Jeff Heyer, Plioto i::ditor ■ Matt Belanger, Graphic Design Editor ■ Steve Earley, Copy Editor ■ Lindsay Porter, Copy Editor ■ Elizabeth fencer, Copy Editor ■ Nurl Abdur-Rauf, Copy Editor ■ Kathryn Jones, Business Manager ■ Evelyn Massey, Business Manager ■ Jocelyn Manlngo, Ad Designer ■ John David Parsons, Online Editor ■ Megan Turner, Online Features Editor ■ Janna Anderson, Adviser Q0© Tiie I’enduiuin is published each Thursday of the academic year. The adver tising and c'ditoriai copy deadline is 5 p.m. the Motiday before publication. Letters to the editor and guest columns are welcome and should be typed, double spaced, signed and include a telephone numiaer for verification. Sulmiissions are also accepted as Word documents on disk or by e-mail and as [X)sts on our Wei) site. The Pendulum reserves the right to edit obscene or jwtcntially libelous material. Ungthy letters or columns may have to be trimm^ to fit. All submissions become the property of Tlie Pendulum and will not tie returned. To reach The Pendulum at 233 Moseley C:enter, call 278-7247 or fax 278-7426. Contact The Pendulum by e-mail at pen- dulumCn'eion.edu. Visit our Web site at www.elon.edu/pendulum. Each person is entitled to one free copy. Editorials The Pendulum seeks to inspire, entertain and inform the Elon community by providing a voice for students and faculty as well as a forum for the meaningful exchange of ideas. Telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth While checking facts regarding Elon community leaders for an edi torial regarding their concern for stu dents, The Pendulum encountered a troubling fact: students are frequent ly and unjustifiably denied basic information regarding their campus community. Forty-nine local high .school stu dents were arrested on drug related charges this month after parents uiped local school and police ofil- cials to crack down on drug asers. The leaders’ goals - to help students at risk and teach others civil respon sibility. Community guardians in Alamance County identified a social problem and took action to improve the situation. Such problems with dmg and alcohol u.se, hazing and abase occur at Elon - and in some cases are addres,sed appropriately on a case- by-case basis. But are Elon adminis trators, faculty and staff and com munity leaders doing enough to pro tect students, ensure their welfare and administer justice? Often stu dents are kept in the daik about , information they need to know. The Elon University Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy Statement outlines Elon’s approach to student use of drugs and alcohol as one of education and accountability. Many .students at Elon engage in illegal ase of alcohol and drugs but are residence advisors engaged enough with their residents to pre vent an accident or health problem by reporting intoxicated students? Are campus security officers involved in policing all potential law violations fully and equally? Some .students have expressed concern to The Pendulum regarding the cam pus safety and police director’s involvement as staff advisor to a stu dent fraternity. Examining this is.sue further, Tlie Pendulum approached the Office of Greek Life to obtain a li.st of faculty/staff advisors to Greek oiganizations Wednesday but was denied access to this basic informa tion by Melissa Komasz, as.sistant director of Greek life. Komasz insisted that the Office of Greek Life was concerned about releasing the names of faculty/staff advisors, as faculty/staff advisors may become upset if such informa tion were to be made public. In a previoas incident, the Office of Greek Life has denied The Pendulum infonnation regarding a violent fight involving students in Greek programs, acknowledging only that the office would ccsiduct an in-hoase investigation of the problem. The Pendulum has also encoun tered difficulties obtaining informa tion regarding hazing incidents within .sports programs. Last year when a student was said to have been abused by fellow team mem bers, the team’s coach reftised to release information confirming any investigation that might have been taken regarding the incident Team players told The Pendulum they were told not to speak on the issue. Honor code investigations and board proceedings are vital aspects of university life necessary for deter mining Elon’s climate for social accountability and justice. Pendulum reporters have exjxessed discontent with the infonnation available through the office for judi cial affairs in the past. The Pendulum contacted I. Scott Nelson, assistant ctean of students and Elon judicial officer, Wednesday regarding the nature of information available for student knowledge of judicial affairs. Nelson distinguished available information as that wWch does not violate student privacy laws as out lined by the government Nelson agreed to meet with Pendulum edi tors this week to determine what may be published in the future. The Pendulum is fighting for stu dents’ right to infonnation - a key to understanding the campus commu nity and then approaching change in an infomied manner. Hon faculty, staff, administratoR and community leaders do not have the right to with hold basic, public infamation from students by denying campus media access to information such as the names of advisors for stiKient oigan- izations. Student apathy and lack of commitment alarming Elon students, Witke up. We are in the fourth week of classes of spring .semester, yet students are acting as though we’re approaching the fimtom of summer. We’ve still got a long way to go. It’s surprising to see liow many .students have already begun to skip classes and foi^t about homework, clas,sic symptoms of spring fever. Maybe people are feeling sluggish becaase of the unseasonably nice weather. Maybe the prospect of a snow day is causing peqile to shirk their academic duties. Whatever the reason, it does not bode well for the test of the a'mester. Students need to remember tlieir time at Elon is a lot shorter than they might realize, and making the most of that time does not include lounging ;tround in the sun on the lawn outside of West res idence hall or skipping a class at noon because you jast can’t drag yourself out of bed. If you can’t make class or get your woric done now, in the last week of Februaiy, how are you going to concentrate in May, when the sun is shin ing and it’s a balmy 70 degrees outside eveiy day? Students’ apathy is spreading to other areas as well. Student oiganizations are struggling to retain members, and students seem less inclined to attend cultural events or honOT commitments. Perhaps it is lack of commitment that is so woni.some. Promising to do something then drqv- ping the ball creates a ripple effect of panic and irritation. Student CHganizatioas depend on student involvement, and when students stop being involved aitire oiganization are thrown off. What does this say about Elon students? Based on some students’ perfomiaiKes so far this semes ter, we do not seem too impressive. We seem, in a word, lazy. We seem as though we don’t care. And sadly, many of us don’t ff we did, there wouldn’t have been so many SGA candidates mnning unoRXJsed, nor would oiganizations be in dire need of reporters and new members. Save your apathy and laid-back demeanor for May. If you drai’t, you’ll end up worrying and woridng yourself to death by April. And where wouW the fim be in that? Index Inside the Pendulum Opinion 3 News 7 Features 13 Arts & Entertainment 17 Sports 21 Corrections Please send any corrections to pendulum@eIon.edu before Tuesday of the week the correction should run.

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