Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / March 30, 2000, edition 1 / Page 3
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March 302000 The Banner Page 3 - Perspectives C3llege's luxuries: it could be a lot worse Jaimie Park columnist 1 waj walking home last Wedniday from school, thinkinj about the dead ercls my lifeleeps running int^ 1 was walpwing in my mi^h- needed misery as sweacVas taking flight on-the sp/ing- eddy winds. / I had just been rejects by a scholarship committee. 1 had just been rejected by a silly boy. I had just lost twenty pages of research notes for my senior thesis. I had just re ceived a notice saying I owed UNCA $100 — tty telling that to my tired hands nestled in empty pockets. I had just been in formed that I had a bacterial infection of horrendous pro portions, and the pains in my abdo men were proving such. And to top it all off, the reason why I was walking in the first place was not out of choice, or out of appreciation of the beginning of spring or as a protest of the deleterious ef fects that cars have on the environment. I was walking because I have been without a car for three weeks due to its unexpected and ill-fated slum ber incurred by a defective timing belt. So why all the intimate de tails? Trust me, I have a point. Devoid of nifty quotes or lofty ideas found in inconspicuous tomes, I must use an anect- dotal con veyance of experience to illus trate and relay a message. It’s a message that has been told to us many times and in many ways. But, 1 fear, be cause of its inherent simplicity and the inherent ease with which we can utilize and actu- find that its Living in a coun try obsessed with progress, devei- opment, expan sion and the con stant comparison of having and not having, it is not a surprise to find that its peopie have a hard time reaiizing how good they have it. message, it becomes moot, in- signifi- cant, and, I daresay, irrelevant. Living in a country obsessed with pro gress, de- v e 1 o p - ment, ex- pa n s i o n and the constant compari son of hav ing and not hav ing, it is . not a sur prise to people have a hard time realizing how good they have got it. Case in point: me, walking down W.T. Weaver Boule vard, losing myself to the phantoms of fatalism visiting me on my tribulating journey home. Fact is, I had shoes on my feet — pretty good shoes, I daresay. I had clothes on my back and food in my small intestine. I had electrons from water giving me energy and fueling synaptic im pulses. I had antibiotics and pain killers to alleviate and eradicate the vile foreigner gallavanting around in my vessels, or what Vonnegut lovingly refers to as “my meat.” Fact is, I had a home to walk to, it only takes fifteen min utes to walk there and I was walking from an institution of higher learning. Fact is, I am alive and expe riencing realities every day. Fact is, I’ve got it good. And I let the trivialities of the Ameri can reality blind me to that most simple of truths, of mes sages — we’ve got it good. Please don’t make the same mistake. If I haven’t convinced you of the falsity of your own unhappiness, the illusion that you have nothing or nothing’s go i ng yo u r way, perhaps these words from Jesus in 'Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ, Super Star” will. “Surely you’re not saying we have the resources to save the poor from their lot? There will be poor always, patheti cally struggling. Look at the good things you’ve got! Think while you still have me. Move while you still see me. You’ll be lost, and you’ll be sorry when I’m gone!” Letters to the Editor Consider ad>ption a possibilit) Dear Editor, After two years ofrying to have a baby of our own, dctors visits and tests that concludd that we would not be able to criceive, my hus band Chad and ftad almost given up all hope of evi having a family. We hadn’t givefnuch thought to adoption, becaiT we had our hearts set on having alfcy ourselves. That was, until the cf' we turned on the news to hear tit a newborn child had been left Cad in the land fill, only a short dtance away. Chad and lat, broken hearted, wondering Hw on earth it hap pened that fe could not have a child and stfieone else could de stroy what P so desperately want in our life. I We felt sry for ourselves for a while, unt/we sat down together and said, ;‘What if,” for the first time. Maye we could make a dif ference ft someone, and God knows, v) have a good home and all the lof in the world to give to a child, ri^t here waiting. This da, we made the decision to adopt, ^d I can’t express the great feeling fiat has come over us. In th^ake of the land fill inci dent ani the child left on the door step ofjhe crisis center in Boone, Chad ad I are trying to spread the word r| pregnant mothers who do not feethey can take care of a baby. Theresre loving couples, such as ourselles, right here in this area. who are unable to have children of our own, and would gladly have taken in either one of these babies. It is so important to us to let them know how much their baby is wanted by someone, and what may seem like their problem is our miracle waiting to happen. As we have found out, there are many, many couples just like us. We had to make an appointment at the Center for Applied Reproductive Science in Asheville two months ahead because they are flooded with patients. Chad and I have been together for nine years, married for two. Never in a million years did we think we would be faced with the very emo tional, as well as physical, problem of infertility, but here we are, and for the first time, we are actually happy about it. We want to adopt! Perhaps this was meant to be, so that we could spread the word throughout this area that there are options for pregnant mothers who don’t feel they are ready for the responsibility of raising a child. Chad and I want to adopt a Cau casian baby, and have chosen pri vate adoption as opposed to an agency, so that if someone doesn’t wish to have their pregnancy known, it can be kept low key and confidential. We are looking for someone who has a baby coming and does not feel they can take care of it, but wants the child to go to a very good home. To everyone who reads this, please pass it on to everyone you know, so that the life of another child might be saved all together, or saved from having to go through the Social Services system. Chad and I have looked in to trying to get the baby left at the Crisis Center in Boone, and while it may very well end up in a good home, it will have to be in foster care for an undetermined amount of time, and we were told that we have little or no hope ofgetting that child because we haven’t been pre viously signed up for foster care. Private adoption is a very caring way, and the baby goes directly to the adoptive parents at birth. We are a young couple ready to bring a child into our home in Candler, N.C., complete with a big bedroom to be decorated with love, as well as a big backyard and swing set all ready to go for our baby. If you are pregnant and would like to talk with us, our phope number is (828) 665-0973. Please feel free to call. Thank you for your time and at tention and, please, spread the word. Tracie Hoilifield Community member Contradiction in advertising Dear Editor, I think it is wonderful that half the back page of The Bannervjss dedi cated to detering students who may smoke or who are considering smok ing. I find it frustrating, and frankly, sickening, that on the other half of the same page was an advertise ment for The Planet LIVE, com plete with beer and mixed drink prices. What a bargain — all beer only $1, all mixed drinks only $2! Do you know how many people are killed by drunk drivers in this country a year? Do you know how many marriages are completely and utterly destroyed in this country because of drinking? Do you know how many children watch their mother being beat to a pulp be cause their father has had too much to drink? Do you know how many people drink to “get up the nerve” to do something they know they shouldn’t be doing? 1 am a former battered wife and I resent the fact that The Banner is saying, “don’t smoke, but it’s ok to drink”. My ex-husband beat me in ' front of my children, putting me in the hospital on numerous occasions — not because he had too much to smoke, but because he had too much to drink. Smoking kills, and so does drink ing. Smoking is an addiction that, left untreated, can get progressively worse, and ultimately lead to death — so does drinking. But, according to The Banner, it’s cool to drink. Please — give me a break. Jacqui Justice UNCA Staff Editor’s Note: Advertisements in The Banner are paid ads, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board, staff or university. The Banner welcomes letters and comments regarding the content or ^ality of this publication. Letters should be typed, double-spaced, and should not exceed 300 words. Letters for publication should also include the author’s signature, class standing ind major or other relationship to UNCA. All submis sions aresubject to editing for length and content. E-mail and web submissions should contain a telephone number for veri- fication/The deadline for Letters to the Editor is noon on Tues day. Please send letters to The Banner, 208A Carmichael Hail, One University Heights, Asheville, N.C. 28804, submit a letter via Tie Banner online or e-mail banner@unca.edu. Editorial Board Emma Jones Sarah Wilkins Meghan Cummings Kryscel Lucas Jason Graham Lauren Deal Matt Hunt Zach Dill Editor-in-Chief News Editor Features Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Copy Editor Online Editor Asst. Online Editor StafL Kay Alton, Lena Burns, Jennifer Crowl, Walter Fyler, Anthony Greco, Davon Heath, Kathryn Krouse, Susan McCord, Eric Porter, Melissa Starnes, Alison Watson, Teshania Wiley Managers Rebecca Cook Eric Porter Business Manager Circulation Manager Columnists Jason Allen, Jaimie Park, Andrew Thomasson Contributing Staff Justin Meckes Mark West, faculty advisor The Banner is the student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. We publish each Thursday except during summer sessions, final exam weeks and holiday breaks. Our offices are located in Carmichael Hall, Room 208-A.. Our telephone number is (828) 251-6586. Our campus e-mail address is banner@unca.edu. An on-line version of The Banner is also available at http://www.unca.edu/banner>. Nothing in our editorial or opinions sections necessarily reflects the opinion of the entire Banner staff, the faculty advisor, or the university faculty, administration or staff. Unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of The Banner cditonai board. Letters, columns, cartoons and reviews represent only the opinions of their respective authors. The Banner reserves the right to reject any advertisement on the basis of content or space availability. Advertisements represent only the interests of the paying contributors. The Banner welcomes submissions of letters and articles for publication. All submissions are subject to editing for clarity, content and length, and are considered on the basis of interest, space, taste and timeliness. Letters should be typed, single-spaced, and should not ex ceed 300 words. Letters for publication should also contain the author's signature, classification, major or other relation ship with UNCA. The deadline for letters is noon on Tuesday. If you have a submission, you can send it to The Banner, 208A Carmichael Hall, One University Heights, Asheville N.C. 28804. The deadline for display ads and the FYI calendar is Monday at 2 p.m. Classified ads are due at 5 p.m. on Monday.
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
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March 30, 2000, edition 1
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