Pag® 2
November 9,1987
Fish Rule Still Stinks
3SSSS3338SS3SSSSS3SSSS8SS33SS3SSSSSS8SS3SSSSSSSJ
by Pete Eisenhauer
I always wanted a fish
tank in my room. I seemed
to remember a rule in the
handbook, though: NO
PETS, I wondered if fish
were pets, I knew they
couldn't be considered pets,
because students have had
fish in their rooms for years
at our school. Just in case,
though, 1 asked a couple of
the local Residential Advisors
last year, including Marty
Wagner of Second New
Dorm West. No objections
were found. He simply said
"No pets except fish."
That was fine with me; all
I had in mind was a small
,ank, maybe two gallons
tops. My birthday was com
ing up in July and I asked
for a tank. I got one, a
nice hexagonal job: 1.5 gal
lons, very small.
In the second week of
my senior year, though, a
problem arose. It seems fish
had been against the rules
since the beginning of this
year. My R.A., Mike Gunzen-
hauser of Second New
Dorm East, didn’t tell me
that the first day I got
here. He knew then that I
had It, because there were
only two students on the
hall when I moved in.
Here are, the things I was
Privileges Granted?
by Danielle E. Bernard
Beginning October 1,
seniors were finally able to
receive privileges-- as long as
they met all the requirements.
With stage one privi
leges, a student can place
off-campus calls after mid
night, Hey, this is great in
case you need to make an
emergency call to Mom. but
who else In their right
mind v/ould be up after
twelve except an NCSSM
student? But that’s no mat
ter, because stage one priv
ileges also allov/ seniors to
be outside their room after
mldnlghl---as long as they
are in their dorm.
Second level privileges
allow you to stay off cam
pus until ten thirty on week-
nights. As senior Myrlam
Khoury said, "Being off cam
pus until ten thirty Is nice
every now and again!" This
stage also allows for two
hour curfew extensions. This
policy came just In time for
some REM fans.
An added privilege is
the ability to go on mall
runs on Tuesday nights---
that is if one can find ten
people who want to go to
a mall on a Tuesday.
Finally, let me not for
get the all time great Blan
ket Overnight. Now, you no
longer have to call home
two days in advance to get
permission to go home.
The final stage of priv
ileges Is Stage Three: van
runs to movies on Thursday
evenings. However, as
senior Amanda McAdams
pointed out, "If you wanted
to go to the movies all that
bad, all you have to do is
get a van on Tuesday [to a
mall with movie theaters]
with Stage Two privileges."
I might add that I can see
her point.
Don’t get me v/rong. 1
like having privileges. I
guess it’s fair to say that,
as far as privTleges go, it's
the thought that counts.
{Editors’ Note; Seniors with
privileges must notify the
RA's on duty of their
whereabouts after midnight
if they will be leaving their
rooms. Students without priv
ileges must seek permission
from the RA's on duty to
be out of their rooms after
midnight.}
told. Mike said he had con
sidered the situation; and,
since the tank was so small
and I kept it so clean, he
had talked to two other (un
named) R.A.s in the build
ing and they had decided
that it would be okay.
However the rule was voted
on by the R.A.s in the
second week, and I was
asked to take them home
by first extended. He ac
cepted full responsibility for
not having told me sooner,
but he couldn’t find a valid
reason for the rule.
"You were told fish
weren’t allowed at the first
dorm assistant handbook meet-
remember hearing that said.
The only reason he could
find for the rule was the
smell fish could have. I can
think of plenty of things on
my hall that smelled worse
than m.y fish did.
Tamara Caspary, Dawn
Marsh, and I arranged for a
meeting with the Dean of
Students, Peggy Smith, to
discuss this new ruling.
They had fish, too. The
reasons I was given for the
rule against fish: bad smell,
breakage of the tank, the
need for feeding and care
over extended weekends,
and something about water
damage and leakage.
During the meeling with
the Dean, she slowly con
ceded that each one of
these points was invalid.
WHICH ONE OF THESE 15 NOT
LIKE THE OTHS^S ?
There are already room in
spections for bad smells;
there are plenty of other big
ger things you could have
in your room and break;
most fish can be overfed
before extended and survive
perfectly (especially my
goldfish); and more water
damage comes from birthday
water wars than anything
else possible. XherS were no
reasons left.
Dean Smith had another
reason, though. The Residen
tial Life Staff didn’t want
to change the rule after the
beginning of the year be
cause then It wouldn’t be
consistent with the rule NO
PETS, She seemed sym
pathetic to the situation, as
did several other R.A.s; but
in two different Residential
Life Staff meetings (you
know, the ones on Monday
afternoons) the fish issue
was voted against unani
mously. It was a rule
without a reason; or, more
accurately, it was a rule
merely because it was a
rule, a rule against pets
with no exceptions.
I bought Into their logic
and took nry fish home.
After all, I really did want
to see things be consistent
this year. One rule without
a reason wouldn’t matter
that much, and the R.A.s
Ing," stated Mike Walters,
R.A. for Third New Dorm
East. If that was true. I
wonder why none of the
other people at the meeting
"Students, Show Responsibility!
ff
The Stentorian 1987-88 Staff
Edltors-ln-Chlef; Anne George, Svatl Shodhan
Managing Editor: Jennifer Tripp
Newt Editors: Josh Clark, Jayashri Ghate
Feature Editors: Jonathon Carson, Danene Groenke
Editorial Editors: Phillip Middleton. David Stelnmlller
Sports Editors: Caroline Dobson, Sean Fahey
Copy Editors: Colin Baldwin, Lee Cooper, Elizabeth Cross,
Rachel Ragsdale
Distribution Managers: Moreland Smith, Jane Wang
Photography Editor: Trip Jones
Photographers; Jeff Hoffman, Trip Jones. Michelle McSwaln
News Writers: Pete Eisenhauer, Hui Sun Kim, Bo Wallace,
Eugen Yen
Feature Writers: Brendan Good, MeShelle Hart. Scott
Rhodes, Frank Wrenn
Editorial Writers; Danielle Bernard. Cynthia Johnson. Dean
Nestvogel, Kim Williams
Sports Writers: David Cherry, Beth Krodel, Shane Hutson,
Chris Shelia
Letters to the Editor will be accepted for the-next Issue. Editors
reserve the right to review all submissions.
by Dean Nestvogel
Most students claim that
the absentee policy is too
harsh and should be
changed. Teachers, however,
believe that if the policy
were lightened, students
would lake advantage of the
policy by missing more clas
ses. Thus, they would hurt
themselves academically.
The absentee policy, as
s:ated In the Student Hand
book. allows for five discre
tionary absences per year.
Unexcused absences call for
student notification on first
offense, parent notification
on second offense and week
end suspension on third of
fense. This applies to the
total number of absences In
all classes. Although this is
rather strict It is necessary
for academic success and
responsibility.
Students need to reflect
on this thought for a mo
ment. Of course, the absen
tee policy is far from per
fect. Problems will arise
when a student receives mul
tiple absences for one error
(such as sleeping through
must also
accept a certain amount of
responsibility. It is the respon*
slblHty of the student to at-
ten3~class conscientiously.
The students also have the
responsibility to clear up
any misun derstandings with
the principal's office concern
ing unjustified unexcused ab
sences (for example, when a
student receives an unex
cused absence for a pre
viously cleared discretionary
absence),
Changing the absentee
policy so that students may
receive more unexcused absen
ces will only cause many stu
dents to take advantage of
it. Imagine if students could
receive five or six unex
cused absences before having
to go home. The students
would then take advantage
of leftover unexcused absen
ces to skip classes at the
end of the year.
We students should ac
cept the absentee policy and
the responsibility that comes
with it, though the policy is
rather tough. Next time you
receive an unexcused ab
sence, think about if you
deserve it before griping
about how bad the absentee
policy is. You might find
that it does you good to ac
cept some responsibility once
in a while.
Opinion Poll - Absentee Policy
The Absentee Policy is fair
and should not be changed.
Student
Teacher Poll j
rtgrec
40%
Disagree
Neutral
40%