Newspapers / Gardner-Webb University Student Newspaper / Sept. 26, 1997, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page 4 The Pilot / Sept. 26 EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS College: just when you thought it was over Get out the map; we're going places by Karen Brower, editor The next time someone asks which college you attend and you answer with "Gardner-Webb," you're less likely to get a response like, "What? Where's that?" Despite many students' efforts to belittle the university's accomplishments, Gardner-Webb IS going places. And people ARE noticing. Since spring semester 1996, GWU has made over 15 announcements with national implications. Our new fiberoptics system is the most advanced of any university in the Southeast. We have what has been called the "premier" Macintosh Lab facility in America. Gardner-Webb is included on U.S. News and World Report's list of Best Colleges. We are listed on the Templeton Foundation's prestigious Honor Roll and pictured on the book's cover. We recently became the first university to sponsor a national cycling team. GWU Football Coach Steve Patton is known in the U.S. and Canada as a former coach and scout for the Canadian Football League. The Hollifield carillon is the only one of its kind in America. Our Noel program is considered one of the nation's top programs for the disabled. Gardner-Webb IS going places. And people ARE noticing. I could list more, but the point is simple: Gardner-Webb is not the sleepy- town, widely unknown school that some students make it out to be. The university is growing in numbers and in quality. While many colleges and universities of comparable size struggle with enrollment and funding problems, Gardner-Webb's enrollment has increased more than 30 percent during the last five years, forcing admissions personnel to raise their standards even higher. The average SAT score and high school GPA of this year's incoming freshman are 1,000 and 3.3, respectively. These numbers put us right up in the ranks with UNC-Charlotte. And we haven't had much trouble raising money. The Dreaming, Daring, Doing campaigners increased their goal from $20 million to $30 million because of the program's unanticipated and speedy success. So think twice before you tell someone that Gardner-Webb is just a little college up in the hills. He/she might think you're a little old country person who simply dnpsn't knnw anv hpttpr submitted by Matt Norman The sound of success is now ringing across campus, echoing from the stately bell tower which overlooks an increas ingly growing Gardner-Webb University. There are new apartments, a greater number of incoming students and many new faculty members. With the increasing number of good attributes associated with GWU, the university is changing — and what may have seemed ridiculous three years ago now seems needed. To what grand issue do I dedicate this space? December graduation. I recall a conversation with my father (a GWU alumnus) in which I asked him, "When did you graduate?" His answer was somewhat puzzling to me at the time: "I graduated in December of '76, but walked in '77." Today his answer hits home. I will graduate, by the grace of God, in December of '97, but I won't walk until May of '98. I understand that times change and institutions grow larger. In 1976, unlike today, a December graduation was probably not needed. Ask any one of the graduates at last year's roundup and they'll tell you that sitting for four hours is NOT fun. Sure, the one or two people that you may have actually come to see graduate an editorial by Chad Delzell It's amazing how we grow older and that little box of thought that says, "It can't happen to me," shrinks to fit our ever-expanding lives. As we get older, we come into contact with so many different walks of life that our perceptions and minds are constantly adapting. Recently I had to adapt to a whole new fear and completely new type of uneasiness and worry. I had a medical check-up, and it wasn't at my family doctor; it was at a specialist who ran a broad range of tests. The battery of tests also checked for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). After much worry, I received the good news: "All tests have come back negative—you are clean," said the aide. It was a hard week to wait through. But that week (and the rest of my life) would might entertain you for about 30 seconds. Then you have to watch the other 419. The pertinent question: Why don't we have a separate ceremony for these people? The number of summer Having a December ceremony might help make graduation seem less like a roundup on the Ponderosa and more like an intimate event. graduates is much smaller than 150, and we still have a summer ceremony. Maybe having a December ceremony would make graduation seem less like a roundup on the Ponderosa and more like an intimate event. The time to plan a December graduation for this year is passed. But let's not overlook the years ahead. After all, that is a university's job. It prepares us for the future, and in doing so, it have been even harder if she had said just the opposite, or maybe worse. I know for sure that I would have had several mid-life crises if I had tested positive for the HIV virus. At just a few weeks from my 20th birthday, that kind of news would have ruined all my dreams, my hopes, my serenity, my relationships and my self- worth. If I knew I were condemned with having a deadly STD with no cure, what hope could I have for living to see a family of my own? How wrong is it for parents to outlive their children, who died before their time because of a hasty moment, getting lost in feeling good? Everyday would be a living torture knowing that scientists have no cure. I think of Ryan White and how he kept faith and continued not with his own schooling, but with the education of must also be prepared. This year's estimated number of graduating seniors is 480. That's right — last year's number plus 60. And 150 of them will fulfill the requirements for graduation this December. If the number of graduates continues to increase with the same rate, 184 students would fulfill the requirements for graduation in December, 1998; 355 would fulfill them in May, 1999 — a total of 539. Talk about a long graduation. And if you miss it you'd better have a good reason: death, being out-of-state or overseas — or, you might have to work! The biggest inconvenience for those who finish in December is returning in the spring semester to take care of last- minute business, like buying caps and gowns. If you are working, it's hard to get back to GWU during the week. You can't just take a day off from a new job to buy your graduation stuff, when technically, you've already fulfilled the graduation requirements to get the job! I've done my four and a half years. They might not be paid-in-full, but I'll walk in May. I just wish I didn't have to wait five months to graduate so that I can wait four more hours to bask in my ten seconds of fame. others to help in finding a cure for the HIV virus. Ryan was infected by having a blood transfusion before the time of effective blood testing. But I also think of how Ryan's house was vandalized, and how he and his family were considered outcasts in his town because of his life-sentence. I have never met someone with HIV, AIDS or any other STD, yet I can only hope that I will be open-minded and supportive if I cross that path. Will you try to do the same for someone no matter what they are like? I ask only because at one point in my life, and surely in all of our lives, we will cross a bridge and meet someone who will die before his/her time. With no cure and no method of controlling the spread except abstinence, we must not only act responsibly and safely, but we must also be open-minded to issues like AIDS. Let's Go Camping! (an invitation to all Physical Education, Health Education, Sports Management and Athletic Training majors) On Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3 and 4, the physical education department will sponsor an overnight camping trip. We willlikely go to Linville Gorge Wilderness Area and Table Rock to camp and hike. This is a social gathering for majors. If vou are interested, see Dr. Chandler or call ext. 4421 by noon on Monday, Sept. 29. It's time for reality check on AIDS and STDs
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Sept. 26, 1997, edition 1
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