2 The Pilot I March 21,1994
Editorial page
Forum
Gardner-Wdjb University
THE PILOT
Campus Box 5103 Phone ext. 4389
Greg Carpenter Dr. Bill Stowe
Editor Advisor
Jason Farr- reporting
Special Edition
Printed by Shelby Printing
The students of Gardner-Webb are fortu
nate to have two strong candidates for presi
dent, two for treasurer, and three for SEA
chair.
Looking back over each of the candidates
resumes, each is impressive in their own right,
and you can read those on the front of this
paper. The new faces are the intriguing ones
though.
John Miller, though his one weakness is
that he has not served on SGA, he has served
in the military, was involved in Desert Storm,
and has some fresh ideas.
Heather Robertson's resume is impres
sive and well-rounded. Her experience as a
senator should qualify her to go to the next
level.
All of the SEA chairs are new candidates on
the executive level. All have served on SEA on
some level and each is qualified. This should be
a tight race and the most fun to watch.
Kevin Bess and Penny McMillan will run
unopposed and while the student body would
rather have a choice, both seem to be well
aware of what the student body expects of
them.
Seeing new faces involved in student
government is refreshing. The key to success
ful government is student involvement and
that has been a prevalent theme in the cam
paign speeches this year.
The current SGA gave up on students this
year when an officer said, “There is nothing
we can do about student apathy accept not fall
victim to it.”
It is time for that theory to die. We need
new faces in student government who will
actively solicit the thoughts of the student body.
Greg Carpenter
Campus Calendar
SGA Elections
• Voting: March 21-23
Voting will take place during lunch and dinner
at the DCC Information Desk.
• Election Results: March 24
SEA
• Fun Flicks: March 23
Make your on music videos! 2 p.m. - 8 p.m.
•Movie: March 25
Indecent Proposal will be shown at 9 p.m. in
the DCC Commuter Lounge.
• SGA Blood Mobile: March 29
Come give blood and save a life. The Blood
Mobile will be in the Bost Gym from 11:30
a.m. to 5 p.m.
Local Flex-Schedule Employment
Minimum of 12-18 hours a week.
No experience necessary.
Selected students receive a guarantee of
$9 per hour, plus bonuses & scholarships.
Information Session:
March 31, 3 p.m. in the DCC Board Room
More professional officers needed
on University Police Force
A few weeks ago, I called University
Police for car assistance because my car needed
to be jumped off. After several attempts of
trying, someone finally answered. When I
stated my situation, the male could only tell me
something was wrong with their car and some
how their jumper cables had been misplaced.
How disappointing! We were informed that
University Police were here for us - even if we
needed motor assistance. University Police
did not uphold their duty to serve the students
- especially as we were informed they would.
I have never called for a GWU escort, but
my roommate has previously. She stated that
the student escorts were very slow, although
the professional officers were prompt. Many
feel uncomfortable with student escorts and
would prefer if they were chosen more care
fully. Since professional officers have been
trained and are indeed professional, we would
be more at ease. If I ever needed to call an
escort, I would be more comfortable knowing
they would be a professional.
Security is real, not fun and games. Thus,
more professional officers should patrol. We
have seen only student patrols. There is the
possibility of “unmarked” officers, but they
should be identified so we wUl feel more at
ease on campus.
It is important that the officers make
themselves known - by occasional appear
ances on campus, for example. How are we
supposed to feel comfortable when we do not
even know, and would not even recognize our
security guards from any other John Doe off
the street?
My solutions for University Police would
include adding more professional officers. Are
four officers actually sufficient? The addition
of at least two more would improve security as
well as visibility. Also, a more selective pro
cess should be involved when assigning stu
dent workers. Training should consist of more
than just a few meetings and a test on policy
procedures. Courtesy and manners should also
be considered.
University Police should be more con
cerned with the well-being of students and
become more readily available - more so than
just riding around in a car all night.
Tamela Morrow
GWU student
Switching Decker and Royster a
big mistake
As a student of GWU and a female resi
dent living in the Decker residence hall, I feel
obligated to voice my opinion concerning the
most recent proposition to turn Decker into
male living quarters next year. Converting
Decker to from its current female status to one
that would occupy men would be an extremely
unwise decision.
Wayne Johnson, along with other em
ployees in Residence Life, have proposed the
above change between the two dorms. The
reason for converting Decker into a male's
residence hall is to accommodate the rising
number of male students attending GWU.
Currently Decker can house the greatest num
ber of students. The first and second floors are
currently occupied, but he third floor remains
empty. Not only is there space available on the
third floor, but many females on the first and
second floors have private rooms. Moving the
females to Royster would not only accommo
date the females, but would allow Decker to
accommodate the growing male population.
This seems to be a simple solution for a
big problem, right? Not really, when you con
sider some of the other possible angles to the
situation. Transferring Decker into a male
dorm would require a tremendous amount of
funding. Decker is not equipped to accommo
date men. The condition of Decker needs to be
considered. It is a fact that males at GWU tend
to be more destructive when it comes to resi
dence halls. Given the frail condition that
already exists in Decker, it doesn't appear wise
to place a group of roughhousing men in the
dorm. A tremendous amount of money would
have to be spent replacing broken items. The
suspended ceilings would also cause a prob
lem for tall males, because the ceilings are still
within the six foot range...
There is also a safety factor involved with
converting the residence halls. Along with
moving the males into Decker, the females
would be moved into Royster. Royster would
be a very bad choice for a female's dorm. Not
only is it separated from the quad, but it lies
across a busy street. Females walking back to
Royster at night would be placed in greater
danger having to walk all the way across
campus and across the street. Royster is also
more accessible to outsiders due to its loca
tion. The location of Royster also accounts for
less patrol by GWU security...
Not only are females complaining about
the possible change, but men are two. The
men's living halls don't seem to be quite as nice
as those provided for the females. Many men
regard Royster as the nicest male dorm on
campus. Taking this privilege from them seems
unfair...
Decker does not seem to be a logical
choice for a male's residence hall. Other pro
posals have been made. Some of them includ
ing making the wings of H.A.P.Y. into males
halls and making Nanny a male dorm. The
RH A has already met several times to discuss
these possibilities and is planning on involv
ing the students through a campus-wide sur
vey. I sincerely hope that Wayne Johnson will
take all of these reasons and the students'
opinions into consideration.
Janet T. Marsh
GWU student
Profile fronn page 1
S.G.A. and students is a prime concern for
Price. He would like to see an opinion board
posted in the DCC.
In fact, communication, or lack of, was
the key focus of Price in his speech last Tues
day.
“‘I would like to see more publicity and
communication between S.G.A. and students.
S.G.A. can and does make a difference.”