Newspapers / Winston-Salem State University Student … / Jan. 28, 2008, edition 1 / Page 3
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Jan. 28,2008 The News Argus Ohnion/Editorial 3 Setting unrealistic goals a recipe for failure Sharrod Patterson MANAGING EDITOR , As the ball slowly descended and the clock inched closer to midnight, thousands of Americans embarked on a pulse-pounding, ijflil-biting journey. This journey may last a lifetime or it may just last a few weeks. The jburney is the New Year's resolution. ! Every year Americans vow to start the New Year off right by eating healthier or working out more. College students may resolve to start going to class on a regular basis. Jaceda Edmundson, a junior Birth to Kindergarten foucation major, decided to hit the books even harder this year. *'T want to do better in 2008; as students we should always strive to be better and not get complacent," she said. The question is, how many of us are setting unrealistic goals for ourselves? With goals of losing twenty pounds a week and only eating soup, many resolutions are doomed from the start. Some of the major reasons that cause people to abandon their resolutions may be procrastination, lack of discipline or simply having no game plan. Resolutions become more manageable once they focus on simple ways of personal improvement. Students can resolve to study Spanish more, walk to their car instead of tak ing the shuttle, watch something other than BET, or become more active in a club or at church. The outcome will produce a healthier and more fulfilled individual. Immediate gratifica tion usually follows. Students begin the long road to fulfilling their New Year’s resolutions. Photo By Sharrod Patterson PROTEST: Necessary for change or waste of time? Terri Day STAFF REPORTER In a recent story, the Winston- Salem Journal reported on the creation of several free-speech zones on the Winston-Salem State campus. The zones were seen by the board of trustees as a way to cen ter student protests, though some saw it as an attempt to censure student opinions on campus. However, the bigger question becomes; why do we even need the free speech zones? First of all, it seems that this school is run quite well. It's not that I am saying that things are perfect, but shouldn't there come a day when we can sit back and say we've arrived? Certainly there are a few areas that students might not be happy with, but for the majority, we're pretty content with the way things are. The school is growing quickly, departments are becom ing more and more forward thinking and people are having their needs met more quickly, and reliably than ever. There's never been more of a reason to enjoy going to WSSU, and also be able to enjoy not having to spend so much time worrying about the lit tle things. Also, in turbulent times in the 60s and 70s, the only way to get things done was to protest. There wasn't anyone listening to the voices of the students and attempting to make changes that would benefit them. They had problems that they wanted to address, as well as discontent with other global issues. However, while the world is becoming smaller, students are much more focused only on what's going on in their back yards. They simply don't have the time to think about the war in Iraq, or the strife in Kenya. There are pressing issues at home to deal with. Meanwhile, if they have prob lems, there are smoother and more accessible channels to deal with them than going out the protest. These days, people pay less attention to protests than they did in earlier years. It is much more effective to approach the right people with the right forms, if you want to truly accomplish something. Bureaucracy may seem a little less glamorous and certainly less radical, however, the right person with the right contacts is much more able to make change than the rabble-rouser. We all remember JFK's grand ideas for civil rights, however it was Lyndon Johnson's pragmatic insider's knowledge and leverage that actually achieved the success of the Civil Rights Act. It's easy to see that unless you're on the board of trustees, it's not simple to have your opin ion heard. One's first response might be a protest, but there are some that would just see it as "sound and fury, signifying noth ing." A lot of protests might lead to change, but not without a dig ging in by the administration, who wouldn't want to seem that they were swayed by an uprising. Finally, students find it hard to mobilize behind any one cause, and the faces that they see at the head of those issues are wearing out their welcome. The feeling I got from a lot of the students that I spoke with is that every time they turn around, they are look ing at the same individuals who are hosting forums, leading ral lies, and giving speeches. There's nothing wrong with achieving, but it's hard to get worked up about something when every couple of weeks, the same person is trying to get your attention. Pretty soon, like a song that you hear over and over again on the radio, you tend to tune them out, and try to find something more interesting. This is not to dispar age the student leaders we have on campus, but it doesn't seem that any of them are electrifying the student body in a way that makes students want to go out and protest. When UNCW was faced with the same situation, they protested and had the decision reversed. I'm sure that most of the WSSU student population wasn't even interested or aware that this was going on. This doesn't mean that the stu dents don't care, their priorities are just elsewhere, and rightly so. There are more pressures and stresses on today's student than their '60s and '70s counterparts. If they are to truly succeed in school and life, it's vitally important that they have their priorities straight. There is nothing wrong with protesting to make a person's life better, but sometimes, they're just not worth it. Give us a piece of your mind. Really, let us have it! □ Read and submit news stories □ Leave comments about recent stories □ Answer polls about issues that affect your life Join the team! WWW, thenewsargus. com i DON T FEEi&)6CCP! SOMEBOCV 6ETMETDA ICOTTAL! ¥ BARACK WINS IOWA Editorial Policy The News Argus is a student publication of Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem, N.C. The views and opin ions expressed on the Opinion page are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The News Argus staff or of the fac ulty, staff, students, or administration of the university. We welcome letters to the editor and opinion columns. Letters and columns should not exceed 400 words in length. E-mail your columns and letters to newzargus@yahoo. com. Or, deliver them in person on a CD or DVD at Carolina Hall, Room G005. E-mailed submissions should be sent in MSWord format. With each article or letter, please include your name, major or depart ment, classification. e-mail address and phone number so we may contact you for verifica tion and confirmation. The News Argus editors reserve the right to edit letters and opin ion columns for length, grammar, clarity, profan ity and style, but not for ideas. Anonymous letters will not be printed. The News Argus The Student Newspaper of Winston-Salem State University Editor-In-Chief Steven J. Gaither News Editor Stephanie Douthit Photo Editor Grant Fulton Managing Editor Sharrod Patterson Advertising Manager Tecarra Sutton Online Editor James Cherry Staff Writers Kesha Collins Alexis D'Anjou Trygeania Dowell Temple Jolly Charlene Wheeler Larry W. Williams Terri Day * Tire News Argus is a weekly newspaper for the students, faculty and staff of WSSU. *■ Opinions expressed in The News Argus are not necessarily those of the faculty, staff or administration at WSSU. * For advertising information e-mail newzargus @ yahoo.com or call 336-750-2327 www.thenewsargus.com
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