01
April 19,2001
The Blue Banner
Page 9
Opinions
Letters tffthe Editor
We £J1 Have a
Right to Our
Opinions’
Dear Editor:
In response to Shaun Cashman’s
March 29* Blue Banner column
and its’ April 5* Blue Banner re
plies;
I don’t understand what all the
controversy behind Cashman had
to say.
So, he doesn’t particularly care for
gay people.
That’s his opinion, and he has a
right to it.
personally, don’t have much to
do with the gay population.
But, that is my right as an indi
vidual to determine who I will or
will not spend my time with.
You cannot force me, or shame
me, into hanging out with gay
people just because that’s the po
litically correct thing to do.
We all have a right to our opin
ions, and mine happens to be that
homosexuality is wrong.
It is my firm belief, and I am
entitled to it even in this age of
ultra, politically-correct censor
ship.
Stephen Aho
Freshman, Computer Science
Disturbed by
Headwaters
Decision
Dear Editor:
As a member of the Headwaters
staff, I am disturbed by the deci
sions of the staff regarding pieces to
be published in the upcoming edi
tion.
The staff of Headwaters has deter
mined that no prose works will
appear in this year’s magazine.
Headwaters is a “creative arts
magazine” that serves the arts com
munity at UNCA.
Its sole purpose is to provide rep
resentation for the creativity of all
printable genres of both students
and faculty.
Not every submission will be ac
cepted for publication.
However, Headwaters is respon
sible for representing every medium
from which worthwhile pieces are
submitted.
When confronted with my disap
proval, David Mahaffey,
Headwater’s editor, stated, and I
quote:
“Please understand that the opin
ions of Headwaters staff members
are just that: opinions. We are a
student organization.. .and what
happened this year is simply that
the work submitted did not appeal
to this staff”
This statement does not portray
an atmosphere of objectivity within
the staff
Headwaters is a student organiza
tion that receives funding, no mat
ter how small the amount, from the
university, which obtains money
from students’ tuition and tax pay
ers’ dollars.
The activities and biases of the
Headwaters staff clearly contradict
the definition and purpose of a
liberal arts institution, and any such
publication that should arise out of
the student population.
By refusing representation of all
genres, and byjudging submissions
on whether the content appeals to
the staff, regardless of technical and
artistic merit, the staff is severing
ties with a large portion of the stu
dent population, both those who
submit prose and those who enjoy
reading it.
I am thoroughly disappointed in
the actions and agenda of the Head
waters staff this semester.
It is a pity that an organization
with such good potential for repre
senting the artistic community
should be wasted on a selective
group of subjective opinions.
Dearborn McHaley
Headwaters Reader
Junior, Creative Writing
Promotion of
Diversity and
Multiculturalism
Dear Editor:
The UNCA Minority Affairs
Commission would like: to call at
tention to its mission, which in
cludes the promotion of diversity
and multiculturalism.
We urge members of the UNCA
community to exercise good judg
ment as we express different opin
ions, especially as we use printed
media.
We all must understand that use
of particularly provocative language
or rash images has the potential of
placing those at who these slurs are
aimed in great emotional stress, if
not in physical danger.
UNCA offers all of us the oppor
tunity to choose our words and
deeds wisely, in ways that convey
the spirit of our meaning without
necessarily promoting hatred or hu
miliation.
It is our sincere hope that we can
continue healthy dialogue on these
sometimes awkward topics associ
ated with diversity in the spirit of
scholarship and camaraderie.
UNCA Minority
Affairs Commission
Staff Made‘the
Right Decisions’
Dear Editor:
Headwaters has no prejudice
against fiction, essays or any other
form of creative writing.
Prose works by students and fac
ulty appeared in our last three edi
tions.
I encourage any prose writer at
this university to submit new works
for next year’s publication.
Each year, Headwaters and the
UNCA Literature Club sponsor the
Thomas Wolfe Award for fiction
and the Wilma Dykeman Award
for non-fiction.
We will announce this year’s win
ning entries (and the accompany
ing $100 each) at our reception in
Laurel Forum April 26th at 6:30
p.m.
I have edited Headwaters for three
years now.
In that time, I have, with the aid of
a highly capable staff, eliminated
from our editorial process the very
kind of prejudice Dearborn
McHaley has accused our publica
tion of endorsing.
If a particular work was not given
a fair chance, I would have inter
ceded.
The Headwaters evaluation sys
tem is democratic.
Writers’ identities are not revealed
to the staff until all editorial deci
sions have been finalized.
Each member of the staff inde
pendently critiques each submis
sion in our first round of evalua
tion.
I tally their votes and eliminate
any submission that is not sup
ported by the majority of the staff
The staff then discusses each sub
mission as a group in a second
round and votes again.
The quality of prose submissions
this year was not consistent with
what we have received in the past.
We make every effort to ensure
that the decisions made are fair and
reflective of the opinions held by
the staffas a whole, while maintain
ing our high literary and artistic
standards.
The staff, itself, is comprised of
graduating literature and creative
writing majors, adjunct faculty
members and a mix of other stu
dents representing a considerable
range of literary tastes.
I am satisfied that this staff made
the right decisions.
David E. Mahaffey
Headwaters Editor
Senior, Creative Writing
Tuition Increase
Questions
Dear Editor:
I have a few questions about the
tuition increase:
1. What is the actual amount of
the tuition increase?
2. Is that increase amount for just
a semester or for an entire year?
3. What will be the final tuition
amount after the increase is over?
4. Is UNCA prepared to help stu
dents who won’t be able to afford
the increase?
5. Why is the Student Govern
ment Association so excited to raise
the amount of tuition when the
majority of students don’t want to
pay more for their college educa
tion, especially a UNCA educa
tion?
6. Is SGA supposed to be the
representative of the students of
this college?
7. If so, why is it being the repre
sentative of the administration, in
stead?
Both the administration and SGA
should answer these questions
through the Banner. Keep it simple
and accurate. Don’t be political.
Remember, the increase will af
fect both current and future stu
dents. They deserve to know ex
actly how much more they are go
ing to have to pay.
Thomas Armstrong
Senior, History
Good Coverage
Of Philosophy
Conference
Dear Editor:
In response to an April 12th Blue
Banner news article, “Students
Present Philosophy Papers”:
1 would like to commend Thad
Eckard for his coverage of the
Fourth Annual Southern Appala
chian Undergraduate Philosophy
Conference at UNCA.
This conference, from its incep
tion, has been initiated, organized
ind run by UNCA’s student Philo
sophical Society, whose faculty
moderator is Melissa Burchard, as
sistant professor of philosophy.
For the past four years, the confer
ence has given students the oppor
tunity to exchange their ideas in an
academic setting and to make con
tact with professors from neighbor
ing universities with Ph.D. pro
grams.
As a result of this year’s confer
ence, Michael Sullivan of Emory
University invited participants to
“think of Emory when applying to
graduate school.”
Alan Perreiah of the University of
Kentucky wrote; “The papers were
really impressive and speak clearly
‘for the benefits of dedicated under
graduate teaching programs.
UNCA’s students excelled in the
liberal arts.
This seems the kind of article most
appropriate for a student newspa
per at a liberal arts university.
The BannervidiS there and reported
it. Kudos.
Gordon Wilson
Chair of Philosophy
Column has
Wrong Definition
Of Free Speech
Dear Editor:
This is a response to Melissa
Burchard’s April 5* Blue Banner
column:
Actually, the right to free speech
does mean you can say anything
you want under the protection of
the first amendment, which is why
we have no anti-hate speech laws
on the books.
Maybe you should actually know
what you’re talking about before
you write about it and look like an
idiot.
Just a thought.
Robert Johans
Junior, Recording Arts
Submissions for Blue Banner Letters to the Editor
The Blue Bannerwelcomes submissions ofletters 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 exceed 300 words. Letters for publication
should also contain the author’s signature, classification, major or other relationship with UNCA.
The deadline for letters is noon on Tuesday. If you have a submission, e-mail banher@unca.edu.
Timber-Sale
Teach-In
Workshop
American Lands
and the Southern
Appalachian
Biodiversity Project
will hold a “Timber-
Sale Teach-In” April
24 to educate mem
bers of Congress and
the community
about problems with
the federal timbe^-
sale program.
For more informa
tion, contact Lyndy
Worsham at (828)
251-9500 or Marty
Bergoffen at (828)
258-2667.
The Blue Banner Staff
Editorial Board
Sarah Wilkins
Lena Burns
Kathryn Krouse
Luke Knox
Kathryn Krouse
Justin Meckes
Rachel Grumpier
Matt Hunt
Sarah Lacy
Editor-in-Chief
News Editor
Features Editor
Sports Editor
Photo Editor
Asst. Photo Editor
Copy Editor
Co-Online Editor
Co-Online Editor
Staff
Amanda Anderson, Angela Brock, Keith Cromwell,
Rachel Crumpler, Mason Currey, Justus D’Addario,
Deleon Dendy, Thad Eckard, CJ. Eland, Walter
Fyler, Anthony Greco, Claire O’Brien, Eric Price,
Gabriel Rexrode, Orin Shepherd,
Jessica Welch
Managers
Cate Bergman Advertising Manager
Emily Schell Asst. Advertising Manager
Matt Deal Circulation Manager
Breandan Dezendorf Computer Consultant
Columnists
Shaun Cashman, Eric Winters
Mark West, Faculty Advisor
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