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Greensboro. N.C.
Money doesn't matter - Bring back my slapstick!
Kyle West
Staff Writer
Of all the evils in the
world, greed is the
worst. It has destroyed people,
torn families, but worst of all, it
has ended the NHL. Well, for
this year at least.
The National Hockey
League has been interested in
instituting a salary cap for the
teams in the league, some of
which are Canadian. The
union of teams has been
adamantly against such a
measure, and has "remained
united in its stance, even if it
means the loss of an entire
season or more," Trevor
Linden of the Vancouver
Canucks said last week after a
meeting with the league's
head honchos.
The season, which consists
of 688 regular season games
plus the All-Star Game has
been going on for over 100
days, without a single game
played. The many players not
being able to play here in the
States have decided to head
Two trees, one college: Which Guilford is reolP
Charlie McAlpin
Staff Writer
Picture a tree. Better yet, let's
picture the same tree. That
huge one on the edge of campus at
the corner of Friendly and College
comes to mind. Let's think about that
one.
Imagine you and I both standing in
front of that tree, beating our hands
warm. Let's say we are standing
there, peering through the fog of our
breath to describe that tree.
Suppose I say, "That tree is dark
and powerful. Its roots are firm and
its trunk is strong. The crags in the
bark run like powerful fissures up
into its sturdy limbs."
That sounds like a tree that means
business.
But let's say that you, you my pal
who stands in the cold to describe
trees with me; let's say you look at
that tree and say, "It is young and
vulnerable. The tree's delicate limbs
reach far out, grasping for love in the
world. That tree's life has only just
begun, and it still has a lot of rich
growing to do."
What a happy, hippy little tree.
to Europe, where they
received honorable welcomes
from countries like Russia and
Slovakia where hockey is
huge.
So far, the meetings
between the Union and the
League have merely been the
same rehash, with both sides
bickering over money. The
League wants a salary cap,
the teams don't. The League
offered half of its total $2 bil
lion revenue to return to the
teams, but they want more.
Despite the Union's staunch
defense of its stand on salary
caps, something must be
done.
It's hard to imagine the
harsh life one would lead
when paid an average of $1.3
million a year. Yet that is just
what the League is proposing
to pay its players, on average.
Hockey might be one the most
physically demanding sports,
but that doesn't justify a salary
of over $2 million.
The NFL has proven the
effectiveness of a salary cap,
yet the players aren't con-
And both perspectives are valid.
But suppose someone intercepted
and divided us on our way to the
tree, trying to convince us, separate
ly, of two different realities of the
tree.
That's not cool. But that is exactly
what Guilford is doing.
On Guilford's website you can click
on Future Students and then select
your category. Two are particularly
interesting: high school and adult.
For high school students we see
the usual spiel about "spiritual
growth," "free society," "commitment
to society," and so on. Yes, if you
come to Guilford your limbs will
reach out and cradle the world.
But the adult section is something
totally different. Bullet points! WHAM
- class size! POW - scholarships!
"Easy application ... free resources
... services specifically for adults."
Wow, this school has powerful fis
sures galore and we mean business.
The college's intentions are obvi
ous; they are advertising the points
that the two demographics are most
interested in. And, if you are an
open-minded, peace-loving sucker
like me, you might think there is
FORUM
vinced. And in a sport where
20 out of the 30 clubs lost
money in the last season,
something definitive needs to
be done. The solution increas
ingly seems to be farther and
farther away, as the weekly
talks end with nothing done.
With the end of the Jan. 27
talks in New York City, no
future talks are scheduled
according to NHL.com.
The only other option avail
able to those starving for hock
ey is either the Canadian
Hockey League, or college
hockey, yet neither has found
a spot on TV. With all these
problems in the League, there
seems to be no end in sight
and no professional future for
those college players across
the nation looking to become a
professional athlete in the
sport they love.
Hockey, as most people in
the Northeast see it, isn't
about the money, the rivalries,
or the ticket prices. Hockey is
about the teams, the love of
the game. It's about looking
forward to winter, to the frozen
nothing wrong with that - at first.
But then it will hit you, or I'll hit you
with it: Guilford is selling itself as two
different schools -two different trees -
entirely.
For traditional students we are an
institution of nurture and growth.
That sounds like just the place for
you and your tree, my frostbitten
friend. How fortunate.
For CCE students we are hard
ened and firm, a school that cares
only about the business of getting
that degree fast. My tree and I will do
quite well here.
Unfortunately you and I were mis
led. We are shocked to find that we
are actually attending the same
school.
But my description was so totally
different from yours.
When someone dichotomizes a
thing so completely we should
always be suspicious. When Guilford
tries to be one thing for one group
and something else for another, it
lies to both.
When prospective students come
to Guilford they are surprised with
the reality. Traditional and CCE stu
dents co-exist equally in the class-
WWW.CANTONSPORTSPLEX.NET
Empty National Hockey League rink
lakes and
ponds where
locals play for
fun, the rinks
across my
home state
gearing up for
high school
hockey.
I grew up
watching Paul
Kariya play for
University of
Maine Black
Bears, I've been
to the crazy
rivalry games
between
UMaine and
UNH, and I've
watched our
high school Red Riots main
tain a near fifteen year domi
nance only to lose it my senior
year to Greeley. It's sickening
to see that such a great sport
has been humbled by greed.
Yes, the players do need to
be compensated for their abili
ty, but there shouldn't be a
problem with salary caps. The
teams just need to get their
Feb. 4, 2005
www.guilfordian.com
heads out from the snow, real
ize they are losing money, and
get something going. The own
ers are at fault too, they need
to stop looking at it from
behind the dollar bill, and start
to see the love of the fans a lit
tle more. But from where I am,
it doesn't look like either will do
what it takes to save a most
likely unsalvageable season.
rooms. This leaves a bitter taste in
our mouths, as if we are expected to
make the best of things, given the
sad reality.
What's really sad is that the col
lege administration feels the need to
advertise a mythical segregation of
our community. Incoming students
should not be forced into the reality
of a fragmented student body.
Guilford is not a college of either
spiritual growth or two-nights-a-week
classes; it is both. And we should be
proud of that, because that is what
this school is and what it is trying to
be.
I want to see that advertised to
every person who looks at this col
lege.
Let's go back to our tree. Let's jog
in place a little to get the blood flow
ing and think about that tree. If you
call it vulnerable and I call it strong
then I say "great," because we can
both see the tree and appreciate
each other's interpretation.
But I ask you, my cherry-nosed
friend: what good is the tree to either
of us if the man comes along and
cuts it in half, one for each of us?
Not much.3€