Vs--'
i
I
'4
editorial letters
Macing avoidable
By new I guess we have all heard about the
fight and the use of Mace by UNCA security guards
to control the situation at Saturday's UNCA-Mars
Hill basketball game. Actually we have probably
heard so much about this incident that sane of us
are sick of hearing about it.
But the evolution of this incident needs to
be discussed so that, in the future, we can learn
from our mistakes.
First, the UNCA administration should have
realized that the UNCA-Mars Hill clash is not
just like any other game. The two teams hate one
another. The media and the coaches have done
their best to fire that rivalry — there is no
thing wrong with that — as long as you take the
facts into consideration when you are planning
the security for the contest.
There were three security guards hired for
the game (most games have one or two). That is
just not enough. IWo of the three guards were
stationed in the tight corner near the bleachers
next to the Mars Hill bench, the other was
patrolling upstairs. Why? Placed in that sit
uation who can say that they wouldn not have
resorted to the use of Mace, a readily available
over-the-counter eye irritant, to control the
situation.
Why doesn’t the Asheville Police Department
or the Buncombe County Sheriff's Dept, provide
sane sort of free security for UNCA’s basketball
games, especially the contests with such a strong
rivalry? With the history of violence in the the
UNCA-Mars Hill games, the case can certainly be
made that, potentially, the public is in danger
and has a right to be protected.
Lastly, we were lucky. The altercation
between the two teams could have becone a full-
scale riot between the UNCA fans and the Mars
Hill contingent, who had attended the game in
large numbers. Such a turn of events would
probably have resulted in injury to many of the
innocent spectators, which included scores of
children fron the Asheville Recreation Departnent
Youth Basketball program.
Vfe hope that UNCA students attending the
next game at Mars Hill, Feb. 9, remember the
potential is there for a more violent clash
involving larger numbers.
Kaleidoscope
Kari Howard
Entertainment Editor
Susan Benfield
Advertising Manager
Dale McElrath
Sports Editor
Tim Riddle
Editor
Anna Paulette Witt
News Editor
Pam Whlker
Photo Editor
Gary Skidmore
Features Editor
Writers: Colin White, Ramona Huggins, Anna
Wilson, Ann Snuffer, David Proffitt, Penny
Kramp, Leslie McCullough
Photographers: David Plunkett, Janet Watts,
Leslie McCullough, Caroline Brown
Unless otherwise indicated, the opinions ex
pressed in the editorials, editoral cartoons,
columns and news stories in the Kaleidoscc^
do not necessarily reflect'the viewpoint of
the staff advisor, uNCA's Student Government
association, administration or faculty.
C^inions may or may not agree with those of
the Kaleidoscope.
Editor,
Did you ever notice
that the editor of the
Kaleidoscope is not a
resident in one of our
residence halls? Did
you ever notice that he
doesn't bother to dis
cuss any of the "so-
-called" problems with
in these facilities
with any of the Resi
dence Life Staff? Did
you ever notice that
all his remarks toward
the Residence Life Pro
gram are negative?
Granted, good report
ing covers both sides
of an issue, but all I
have seen is one side.
What a deceptive way of
presenting a situation.
While our facilities
and programs are not
without their problems,
we have a good, solid
program, diversity a-
mong our residents, a
growing Residence Hall
Association and a dedi
cated staff. As an ed
itor, Mr. Riddle seems
dedicated to seeing
that we don't.
The Residence Life
Program endeavors to
provide residents with
more than just a place
to sleep. We feel that
the residence halls
should be conducive to
studying, and should
teach residents how to
get along with each
other. Because most
resident students spend
about 80 percent of
their time in the resi
dence halls, we feel it
is necessary to reach
out to them. And so we
do.
On an average, there
is one Resident Assist
ant for every 25 resi
dents. These RA's are
much more than hall
monitors. Each RA plans
and holds one social
program and one educa
tional program per sem
ester. Each RA is re-
guired to take a class
on hew to deal with
student needs. Each RA
takes turns on being
"on call" in case of
emergency. Each RA is
reguired to attend
staff training sessions
and weekly staff meet
ings. Each RA is re
guired to be accessible
to his/her residents.
In short, each RA is a
resource person for
his/her residents.
(Incidentally, each RA
is also a student!)
We demand a lot fron
our staff and we get
it. They are an out
standing group of young
adults who have proven
that they are leaders.
More important, how
ever, is the fact that
they really care about
the residents in our
buildings.
The Kaleidoscc^
could do much to aid
our staff in reaching
its goals. I wish the
editor would make an
effort to do just that.
Sincerely,
Ton Steele
Head Resident
P.S. Did you ever
notice hew sane people
like to cause problems,
while others are work
ing to solve them?
The first step in
finding solutiais is
pointing out the
problems. We gave one
side of the story in an
editorial, not a news
article. You have just
given the other side.
Now the door is open
for possible solutions.
- Editor
To the Editor:
I write this letter
because I felt that it
is time to bring some
positive points concer
ning the food service
to light. Believe it or
not, the food service
is moving forward, and
has gotten much better
over the past few
years. Sure, we make
mistakes, but do you
remember the old cafe
teria? Not only the at
mosphere has changed,
but the food has iitpro-
ved, too.
Traditionally, stu
dents will catplain
about cafeteria food. I
feel they should consi
der this — where can
you get three (3) meals
a day (all you can eat)
for $4.67 per day? It
is a good deal! I am
aware of the fact that
students get tired of
eating three meals a
day, seven days a week
in the same place — I
would get tired too. Wte
schedule special din
ners to help break the
monotony. We are con
stantly bring new e-
quipment into service
— e.g. ice cream ma
chine, stereo, hot
chocolate machine,
microwave, etc. In
fact, we are in the
process of getting
information on instal
ling an indoor charcoal
grill. With this, we
could prepare steak,
chicken and ribs right
next to the serving
line for dinner. Vfe
could also serve ham
burgers and hot dogs
for lunch everyday as
well as the other two
entrees.
Most of the informa
tion I get about stu
dent ccitiplaints is fron
the Food Conmittee, but
very few people show up
to voice their opin
ions. I have gotten to
know a good number of
resident students in ny
one and a half years
here. Several of them
have passed along to me
their ideas on what
they like and dislike.
I also find out about
many misconceptions the
dtudents have through
my wife who is a stu
dent here. She has
overheard various con
versations between
students concerning
their cotiplaints of
powdered eggs, powdered
milk, etc. These ideas
are false! I would like
to say that I am always
available to individ
uals to talk about why
we do or don't do cer
tain things. I am al
ways eager to hear sug
gestions on ways to
make the cafeteria a
better place to eat.
I close by saying
that I truly care about
the cafeteria and about
the students' opinions
of the food service, I
hopr that more people
will express these op
inions to me. I also
hope that the students
will begin to acknow
ledge the positive
aspects of the food
service instead of
always the negative.
Sincerly,
Bill Flynn
Dining Service Director