Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / April 23, 1998, edition 1 / Page 3
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Letters. April 23,1998 Pendulum needs activism To the Editor: I am writing in response to the April 16 edition of The Pendu lum. This edition, as with most previous editions, does not inspire anything in me except the desire to find the closest recycling bin. There is so much to write about at Elon, yet there is space wasted on “The Social Traumas of the Elon ID,” a younger brother’s theater beginnings and the mis placed sermon on forgiveness, that I truly wonder if these writers real ize that the scope of their subject is highly uninteresting to the larger population of Elon. I have read before in this pa per that the writers wish to inspire the student body, if so, why do you choose these uninspiring, washed out topics? All the students know that the bookstore is expensive, why don’t we start a protest boycott as univer sity students did at a California school? How about I start, when it comes time to sell overpriced books back at deflated costs I, and anyone else who wishes to join me, will simply refuse to be exploited in this manner. The pittance we receive for these books is not worth the time it takes to walk to the bookstore. Yet, unless we act, this will continue. The outdated horoscopes page would be better fitted to a discussion of politics, of Jesse Helms’ latest outrage, hog farms in North Carolina, what student groups are doing on-campus, something pertinent to either life outside of Elon or issues that have some con nection to campus debates or con troversies. We were honored as a school when Ralph Nader gave an amaz ing speech last Tuesday. His speech, and a friend, have inspired me to learn about the an cient Mining Law of 1872 (if you don ’ t know ask me or your congres sional representative), to write to my congressman and now I am ask ing you, the hard workers of The Pendulum, to please inspire us, the student population. Use all the resources avail able at Elon; the photography classes and experienced photography pro fessors, the English creative writ ers, the numerous student organiza tions, to really make this paper re flective of Elon. But not only should I ask you, the newspaper, but Elon as a whole to be more active in expressing dis pleasure—or satisfaction— with either Elon or its newspaper. Too many times I have heard complaints that students are too apathetic, and I am tired of hearing it. I am not apathetic, and neither is a large population of Elon students, but until we make others aware that there are things to do, we will not activate the rest of the campus. People want things to do, they want to feel a sense of control over their lives. So I am suggesting having an activity page for student organizations to promote avenues for students to be more influential with both our local lives and the national scene. I am also suggesting a col umn for specific student interest news; to start off with, are we aware that Congress is constantly trying to cut back student aid? We can make a difference in our lives by asking for more federal education aid, for more Pell and Stafford loans, demanding a reduc tion in the cost of student loans, and providing significant tax relief to low and middle income students. Just as this government is our government so is this paper our paper and we all need to play a role in determining the direction of both. Sincerely, Meghan Moore Giving a voice to the victims To the Editor: This is in response to Mr. Busfield’s letter from a week ago (April 16) about the incident in London. Eloti students would have found out about it one way or an other. Many students know people studying abroad and sooner or later word of the incident would have gotten around campus. Would you rather hear about the incident through an official let ter from Elon or by the “grapevine” method? Personaily I would have rather heard through an official let ter, The latter makes it seem like Elon had something to hide when in fact they did hot. The crimes of stalking, as sault, sexual assault and rape do bring unpleasant thoughts to the minds to many people. How many of us know someone who has been affected by these crimes? Almost ^1 of . But why are people who.are victims of these crimes treated like they have some sort oi contagious disease? Vic^ms of these crimes did notdo anything wrong; they did not ask for it to happen to them. They need caring and love just like ev eryone else, not to be isolated and looked at strangely. Does Elon do enough to help the victims of these crimes or to keep these crimes from happening on campus? The opinion here dif fers. A student won a case against another student at Elon who was stalking them and apunishment was issued. But it took months and much pushing by the victim for Elon to even start to punish the guilty party. This sends a message that if. you commit a crime like thisr you can get away with nothing happen ing to you. Another incident at Elon is similar. A student reported two assaults over a two-^d-a-half year periods One person* who was a likely suspecty was questioned and, of course, he denied doing any thing wrong. Campus security dropped the case right there. Someone commit ted those crimes, someone should be punished. A criminal is walking around campus just because the likely suspect denies he did any thing. Is Elon saying that victims of these crimes are unimportant, that we should let students be hurt just because these crimes make us feel uncomfortable? I hope not. Sincerely, Pam Carman Letters blow off too much steam at Elon To the Editor: When I read the ‘'Letters to the Editor” section of The Pendu lum, I sometimes find it interesting how students like to blow off steam. However, when reading today’s issue (April 16), I had some thing to say. Today two letters stuck out at me. I couldn’t believe the level that students had sunk to while complaining. First of all, I am a senior here and I am going to graduate in May. Also, 1 am not a transfer student, I have been here all four years. During these four insightful years here at Elon, I have heard many complaints against many things. One of the largest com plaints is that of books. I have to agree thatlhatespendingmoney on books. But I have to ask Mr. Alex MacDonald one thing: Did you just notice thisi 1 mean hello, examsf are only a few weeks away and you’re com plaining now? When teachers assign text books to read, they generally have a plan. However, schedules are sub' ject to change and not all teachers follow their schedule. Also, no one forced you to buy the books. You bought them because you thought they were go ing to be used. Guess what, so did the teacher. So, you’re out $200, poor baby. The other letter I would like to answer on is the one regarding Good Friday. Because I am Jewish, this day does not affect me. However, be cause the student body is mostly composed of Christians, I can un derstand the disappointment. After all, r ve heard it almost every year. Spring Break usually falls around March 20. In fact, we are made aware of this fact a year in advance. Here’s a hint, when you get the dates for breaks, read it\ Also, if you haven’t noticed, Elon also doesn’t observe President’s Day, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, Veterans’ Day and up until two years ago, Martin Luther King Day. Wow! I guess this isn’t like your old school In conclusion, I would like to say that while Elon does have its faults, it’s the college that you de cided to attend. So stop the whining and the complaining and stop wasting the readers^ time with problems you could have dealt with a long time ago. Sincerely, David Malowitz Whitley vandalism To the Editor: Pendulum readers, have you and your roommates ever: 1. Had your bathroom trashed? 2. Had your furniture stolen? 3. Had your door broken? 4. Had someone urinate in your recycling bins? If so, we are kindred spirits. My office is in Whitley. For the past ten years, the mathematics and computing sciences department have had most of their offices in Whitley. During that time, we have shared our building with Whitley Auditorium. During office hours, this is rarely a problem, although now and then someone decides to do a sound check without thinking about us. Unfortunately, in recent years, a small number of student groups using the auditorium have vandalized the building. The latest incident occurred on Thursday, April 16, when the mirror and paper towel dis penser from our restroom were ripped off the wall. There have been worse incidents, particularly the year when we had our recycling bins used as toilets three times in a two month period. In the past, we have passed our complaints on to the advisers of the organizations using the auditorium. Yet the vandalism keeps recurring. So, I am trying to publicize what has been going on in hopes that this last Thursday’s vandalism will be the last. Those of you that have taken our mathematics or computing science classes know that we are dedicated teachers who put a lot of time into our jobs because we love what we do. Forus, Whitley is a second home. Please do not violate our home. Sincerely, Jeff Clark Mathematics Department
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April 23, 1998, edition 1
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