Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / April 20, 1995, edition 1 / Page 2
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Editorials April 20, 1995 Viewpoint Once again, the Student Government Association has fumbled the ball during an important play of the game. SG A officials delayed the upcoming elections because students are busy this time of the year and SGA wanted to give them more time to turn in petitions. Hello, eveyone is busy. Big deal. If students aren’t responsible enough to turn in an election form on time, then they have no business running for a position on the SGA. If they can’t balance aclass load and getting signatures, how will they balance a class load and bemg a member of SGA. Because SGA officials decided to delay the petitions, students won’t be able to read about the possible candidates and learn about their qualificions, goals and expectations for next year. The Pendulum is printed on Wednesday mornings and distributed on Thursdays, making it impossible to publicize the candidates. Also, the SGA elections are being held next Tuesday and Wednesday, making it impossible for us to also publicize the election results. In past years, there has been criticism of election turnouts. With virtually no publicity on the candidates, do you think there will be any improvement in the turnout? But who will the SGA blame for the poor turnout? Lack of publicity? Lack of student involvement? These might be the excuses, but the answer is lack of planning on the part of the SGA. The SGA needs to start taking into account other organazations besides themselves. They need to realize their decisions and actions effect other people besides themselves. Changing a deadline might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but how many more people do you think are going to turn in their petitions at the later date. And also, what effect is it going to have on the publicity surrounding the elections? Off The Record "This town rips the bones from your back. It's a death trap, a suicide rap. We've got to get out while we're young, cause tramps like us, baby, we were born to run." - Bruce Springsteen "Born to Run" THE Pendulum Informing the Elon College Community Kditor in Chief Enck P Gill MantiKitig Kdilor Rob Mancuso Assistant Manafting Kditor Amy Logcrwell A & 1C Kditor Shannon Praicr Spurts Ldilor April Perkins Opinion Editor Scoll Miller Copy Kditor Tracey Siark Photo Kditor Tonya Huhart Advertising Michelle Riley StafT Reporters Andrea Schmidi JeffWmck Siacey Ward Sports Reporters Bob Gnnunie Colleen Hemdon Robert Burnett Steve Lucaiuano A&K Reporters Chns Adains Enc R Sailer Joe Brown Graphic Artists Andrea Schmidt Heather Coffey Judy Sweger Adviser Joey Senat The Pendulum, founded in 1974, is published by Elon students. Single copies of The Pendulum are free. If extra copies are needed, they can be purchased at The Pendulum office. Address: Campus Box 2800, Elon College, N.C., 27244. 584 2331. The scourge of pessimism on society I wish I had a normal vice. An addiction to pornography, sex, rock and roll or smoking would be fine, even desired. 1 don’t do drugs. 1 have only gotten drunk twice in my life at two moments of extreme personal weak ness. I have a problem that is even worse in this world. I am an opti mist. 1 believe in things. It is entirely the hip thing to be a pessimist to day. About everything. From the existence of the CIA to Elon’s mo tives in making the campus look beautiful, it seems as if though ev eryone has to doubt and question. I think that it is a societal thing. Ever since Vietnam, journalists, moviemakers and average citizens have made themselves a name by questioning "the man.” It does not matter whether “the man” is the aforementioned CIA or anyone in authority, it is done all too frequently. A New Jersey congressman can accuse the CIA of complicity in the killings of American citizens in Guatemala with no evidenc? and shape national policy. Oliver Stone can make JFK and have thousands believe his egregious assault on the truth. Ross Perot can accuse Presi dent Bush of making a deal with Saddam Hussein to take part of Kuwait on a nationally televised debate and still get 20 percent of Scott Miller the vote. To always seek the truth is a fine endeavor. But when the truth seek ing starts from a faulty assumption, such as the belief that every move in US foreign policy is driven by business interests, it erodes the firm moral fabric that our society sits on. I’m talking about people who lose sleep about the CIA getting involved in a Tightest coup in 1956. r m talking about people who spend there lives ascertaining the certainty of the second shooter at the grassy knoll. The outlandish theories that in dividuals have about our govern ment institutions and national es tablishments would be material for the tabloids if it were the entertain ment industry. However, since they are going after the “man,” the pessimists gain legitimacy in the eyes of our soci ety. In the United States we are not bound by ethnicity, religion or race. Our binding experience is the com mon culture of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ihatwei as Americans... not Afnc^^ or Mexican Americans, buifc cans. The same individuals w| to Balkanize our society i| the curse of political coi.„ also improperly attack the'L tions that define, as well as| us. Spiro Agnew called them, nattering nabobs of negativi They are still around todiy they permeate every facet of collar society, not just thejd istic field that Vice-Prcsi Agnew was talking about 25 ago. If we begin anew and toward a brighter future by ^ a unifying experience, and ebrate, rather than denegrat* we may find many of our« problems sliding away. The religous right would like experience to be religion. Itdoi have to be that. It could beanK disaster. It could be a war on declared in every street, village hood in the country, by thep( themselves. It does not ma® will come. No doubt there will be pq there pointing out the racial ori der i nequal ity i nherent in the ml ment. There will be peoplt'i will always doubt die greatn« what we could become in thisc( try. Why? I’ll never know. Out of the Closet and into the Stonewall Ca: Cybill Shepherd Guest Columnist “The Stonewall Cafe” is hon ored to submit the following letter in Its entirely. It is inspiring as well as strengthening for all of us gays and bisexuals, who have come out or cannot and for heterosexuals who want to understand. For those of you who have clipped these articles to keep you strong and to see you through your journey of acceptance and self-love, do not forget this one, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You will reach it. “The Coming Out of Humanity” by Bill Walker “1 am a gay male. And while I gain new wisdom and new insights everyday, I am sure of and com fortable with who I am. The problem is this: an unfor tunate majority of Americans, gay and straight, are neither comfort able with themselves nor with me. They do not wish to know the per sona that exists in the mind, body and spirit. Why? There is no logical rea son, only a similar prejudice people of African-American descent have fought to release themselves and society from for centuries. And for the greatest part, prejudice is based on stereotypes, stigmas, miscon ceptions and, above all, fear. But by being afraid of sexuality, or skin color, or any other dislike of fellow humans, we exhibit a fear of our selves, of who we are by nature and nurture. As it is, people are a lot like snowflakes. No two are ever the same, yet the two cover the Earth. Both are drifters, though snow flakes do not have the unique abil ity to change direction by sheer force of will. But the snowflakes do possess one advantage; they blend, forming natural, unequalled beauty. We, as humans, should strive to be more like snowflakes, to share our cultures, our spirits, our own individual and collective beauties. But for us it takes will. It lakes desire. It takes effort. Societal harmony is achieved passively, and notv( out recognizing and respecting similarities, as well as ourdi ences. My own coming out hai li direct, because I am a persa honesty, compassion and ambil But it has, at times, been a uni struggle. Unless faced by • hardship or revelation, mosl| erosexual people never braves a struggle because they are u forced to explore and evaluate ery single facet of their being, cause I have, 1 want to share wj have learned, not out of ccno but out of concern for my o nity. The future of our nation our being always exist in a sii uncertainty. But the outcome! both for us to decide and to em If each of us invests in le; who we are, we will be empo to dispel our fears and the an: to our collective uncertaintiei' become much clearer.”
Elon University Student Newspaper
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April 20, 1995, edition 1
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