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JTiePifer. Friday, April 29, 2005 Page 3 Op/Ed — Editorial We deserve to know candidate’s name Jennifer Menster Pilot editor-in-chief Rumors are flying all across campus and no one wants to give any honest answers. , I am so tired of getting the runaround. It is time for the search committee, the administration, the presi dent, and the board of trust ees to come clean with the students. GWU is the students’ school. We go to school here. We live here. It also is the faculty’s school. They teach the stu dents. So why can’t we know who exactly is going to be the presidential candidate? Why does every possible little detail have to be se cret? 1 respect that some people put their jobs on the line. But forget that. The committee has known for a week now who they are recommending. But instead of telling everyone who the candidate is, they announce when the meetings are. It is great to know when and where the meetings are, but why can’t we know who the candidate is? How are we supposed tO"prepare for a meeting with someone when we don’t even know who he or she is? So as a student I am encouraging everyone to speak out. This includes each student and each fac ulty and staff member. Tell the committee how you feel—whether it’s good or bad. Make a Hst of issues that are important to you and ask how the candidate stands on them. Go to the meetings on Monday. Ask lots of ques; tions, smart questions, im portant questions. What is most important? A new science building? A student center? Academic freedom? More programs and faculty members? Ask these ques tions. Students only have one hour to meet and greet the candidate. Faculty, only an hour and a half Ask ques tions, make your voice heard. Committee members are supposed to be pres ent at these meetings. Talk to them, ask them ques tions, voice your opinion to them. Students, you must real ize how important this is. A new president could come in and possibly take away programs, eliminate faculty positions, change the way of the university. He or she could also do positive things like build a new science building, cre ate a separate student cen ter, improve dorm quality. So it is important for us to tell him what we want and need. The board of trustees is the real ones that make the ultimate decision on who will be the next president of the university. However, students and faculty are not allowed in that meeting. The commit tee members will be pres ent so you must voice your opinion to them. It is our only hope to have your voice heard. Left vs. Right Topic: has the liberal media gone too far? Danny Barbee Special to the Pilot As you may have noticed, there is a new face at the top of this column. It is my pleasure to assume the role of the liberal voice in The Pilot. The media has become so persistent in our lives that, despite exactly where on the ideological fence you sit, the issue of media bias has become inevi table. In fact even as I sit down to write this article; Bill O’Reilly is talking about how the liberal media is trying to sabotage Tom DeLay by attacking him on an ethics charge. I am certain that it will not take long before this segment turns into a good old fashion Democrat bashing festival of sorts. Given the recent successes of news outlets such as Fox News and The Wall Street Journal editorial pages, no sensi ble person can dispute the existence of a “conservative media.” You, the read er, might be surprised to learn that I do not quarrel with the notion of a “liberal media.” However, contrary to popular opinion, it is tiny and profoundly under funded when compared with its conser vative counterpart. I offer for example the fledgling Air America Radio Net work, which is aired on 55 stations na tionwide, a mere drop in the proverbial bucket, when compared to Rush Lim- baugh; but it does exist! The supposed “liberal media” that dominates American society is creat ing a “cultural divide” as one Fox net work mouthpiece stated. I wonder how many of the average Fox viewers from the South and Midwest really read The New York Times on a daily basis or even once a week. Rupert Murdoch recently said this in an interview with Anna Ca- rugati in regards to the accusations that his Fox network is biased. “We are fair and balanced and we challenge anyone to show Fox News has any bias in it” (worldscreen.com). Evidently, Murdoch does not watch his own network. I also will go one-step farther; I imagine he told Carugati that he was only joking with the “we are fair comment,” as he turned into a bat and flew away. On the cover of the April 25, 2005 Time magazine is Ann Coulter, the con servative primadonna of the 21 century. Liberal media huh? I will close with the following quote from Ann Coulter: “I take the biblical idea. God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God says, “Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It’s yours.” So Jesus was a supporter of strip mining, ozone depletion, toxic waste spills and con taminated water. Who knew? Jacob Conley Piiot staff While channel surfing between the sci-fi channel and “Sports Center,” I occasionally pause on news channels such as CNN or FOX to catch up on current events. While watching these stations. I’ve come to realize that there is a liberal media in America, and it is actively pushing its agenda. Exactly what is the liberal agenda? It consists of toler ance of gay marriage, expanding abortion rights and an overall mockery of Judeo-Christian val ues. Sadly, however, the biggest perpetuators of this liberal media is not the usual suspects of CNN or MSNBC; it’s children stations such as the Disney channel and Nickelodeon. Before you stop reading this article and as sume that I am going to claim Tinky-Winky is gay, let me explain. The reason liberal sublimi nal messages pervade shows such as Sponge Bob Square pants, Rug rats and Joe-Joe’s Cir cus is because children’s minds are young and impressionable, and since the traditional family structure has broken down, most children spend their aftemoons stuck in front of the television for hours on end. Therefore, their values are being shaped by a media, which supports homosexuality, blind tolerance and other questionable issues. For example, on Disney channels popular claymation children’s show Joe-Joe’s Circus, one of the characters has two fathers. A young child, whose father may or may not be in the family situation, could easily perceive the idea of having two dads as normal and feel abnormal because he doesn’t. Children aren’t the only ones being subjected to this liberal agenda however. Adults who wish to be well-informed only have to tum on main stream and cable news channels to get bombard ed by liberal ideas as well. One can clearly see this in the stations of CNN and MSNBC. Each is more and more critical of George Bush and oth er conservative leaders. For example, they will show a few dozen Iraqi’s protesting in the streets on the news, but rarely do you see pictures of soldiers passing candy to children. I know such positive images exist because I have seen them on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” While this news program is simply for entertainment purposes, it is equal opportunity, embarrassment to both liberal and conservatives. While it’s a sad moment in American TV his tory when a news program on Comedy Central offers the most unbiased news coverage, what’s even vvorse is when the only, “Conservative” show that I’ve found on mainstream cable is “South Park.” Yes, I as a Southern Baptist watch “South Park.” Why is “South Park” conserva tive? Underneath their coarse language and their lewd humor, who do they make fiin of? The liberals. The characters of “South Park” have attacked PETA, the idea of abortion and homo sexuality. You would never see such taunting of this agenda by the liberal media because they want it to be adopted by mainstream America. It’s just sad when the bastion of conservatism in this country is South Park. Saying goodbye to GWU is bittersweet Jennifer Menster Pilot editor-in-chief At first I thought that post partum depression described my feelings these last few weeks of college. I was leaving a.place I had grown comfortable with during the last four years, and I was leav ing behind a newspaper that I was in charge of the last nine months. But then I started to think that I wasn’t really depressed about leaving. I was sad to leave Gardner-Webb Univer sity and The Pilot behind, but I know that life goes on, and, boy, am I ready for my life to go on. The paper is in wonder ful hands and is going nowhere but up. As for the university, I have positive feelings that it is also improving, as long as the right president is brought in. I think that bittersweet best describes my feelings about leaving G-dubb. I haven’t al ways been the most involved student and definitely not the most popular student, but I did the right thing, sometimes. I went to classes, made decent grades and hope to one day be a great alumna, although never a rich alumna considering the journalism pay. I had fiin, hung out with friends, sometimes got myself in trouble and some times spent hours studying in my Spangler dorm or working diligently on the newspaper. I am grateful for Grace and our three years as roommates and all the memories we made. I am thankfiil for Amanda and her hard work and dedication to the newspaper that I love so much. I am even grateful for that little Shelby restaurant Hams and all my bar customers that helped me pay for tuition, books and rent, especially my favorite Thursday night trivia crowd from GWU. It is sad when you think about it. Those that are graduating, we are leaving four, five or so years of our life behind. Hopefiilly, we will keep in touch, but like high school, we are turning an other page in our life - this time to the real world. This is where my sweet comes in. I am so ready for the real world. I am ready for a fiill- time, challenging job, a new place to live and adulthood. It all sounds so sweet to me. For all the underclassmen, your time goes by so fast here. You may think it goes by so slow; I felt like that once, but before you know it, you will be getting your diploma. Have fiin, don’t let fi-iendships slip through your fingers and keep the main goal in sight, whatever your main goal may be. Jeff Davis The Jeff Zone I’m going to miss this place. I’m going to miss the clean, elegant, fine dining of the cafe, the smell on the sidewalk between the DCC and Hamrick Hall and the commu nity bathroom where you never know what you’ll find. But I’ll continue referencing experi ences I had at Gard ner-Webb forever with analogies like: “That was dirtier than a cafe cup” or “That smells worse than the sidewalk to the DCC.” Of course, very few people will understand these references, but that’s not important. The important thing is that I was here, I leamed, I grew, I en joyed it, and I made life-long fi'iends. Over the last two years I’ve en joyed writing “The Jeff Zone” more than anyone ever enjoyed reading.it. It’s been a privilege to have my at tempted humor published. Now it’s over, finished, done. No more Mr. Funny Man. I’m moving on to small er and worse things. I’m out of here. But before I go... My replacement should have plen ty to talk about. After all, to hear most people tell it, the world is rapidly go ing somewhere hot and dark in a hand basket. r The latest example of the down ward direction of our culture is the assertion the new Pope was a Nazi, a Hitler youth, that served in Hitler’s army in WWII. In sports, the continued use of ste roids by baseball players is a contro versial newsmaker. In entertainment, reality shows have hit an all-time low. I think they’ve filmed all the reality, there’s none left. There’s countless other things to be discussed both locally and world wide, and I’m confident my replace ment will cover it all. Thank you students, faculty, staff, and community, for reading The Jeff Zone and inspiring its material. For The Jeff Zone, I’m Jeff Davis saying, “I’m out of here.” Gardner-Webb University Box: 5192 Phone: 3533 www.gwupilot.com Email: gwupilot@yahoo.com editor-in-chief Jennifer IVIenster sports editor Sean Hubbard photo editor Kaylin Bowers copy editors Katie IVIain Amanda Wood production manager Wes Rice web editor Sarah James contributors Jeff Davis Joel Fluty Joseph Fluty Amy Hipskind Scott Holstein Christina O’Grady Emily Slaughter staff Daniel Abrahao Christie Barlow Ronda Carpenter Jacob Conley. Stephanie Faile Shauna Porter Eric Proctor Matt Tessnear advisor Denise A. McGill The Pilot is the official Gardner-Webb University student newspaper, it is produced by students under the supervision of the Department of Communication Studies. Gardner-Webb fosters an atmosphere in which student journalists may report on matters of common interest and writer critically about University issues, policies and programs without fear or reprisal. At the same time The Pilot adheres to high standards of integrity and journalistic responsibility.
Gardner-Webb University Student Newspaper
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April 29, 2005, edition 1
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