November 18, 1999
Opinions
'yiewjyoint
Thanksgiving. The oWy holiday thathas not been truly twisted into
a demented marketing ploy. No talking animals pushing sweef-tooth
addictions, no super expensive roses and no trip to mall for UtUe
[Timmy’s robotransformer.
For too many students, it is the week in which they get to escape
academics and try to rescue themselves from an end of the semester
breakdown.
To others it is the promise of seeing family and friends for the first
time in months. Gatherings will be fiill of good conversation, theMacy’s
Day Parade, football and tables overflowing with food.
When you’re away fromElon,try to reflect on the good of this year.
It could be something as simple or material as good grades or a new
possession you were able to acquire or as meaningful as finding true lo v^:.
Have you ever thought about being thankful for something not
happening to you?
We at Elon are fortunate. AH along the coast of North Carolina,
students lost all they owned In Humcane Floyd and were forc^ to st^
again. More thanadozen high schools faced devastating violence caused
by their own students. In both situations student realized something
good... they were alive. That was reason enough to carry on.
The simple fact that we are all alive and well is reason enough to
give thanks. Every day that we have is a gift-
We should give thanks for a the little things m life. If we take joy
[from thedetails in our life,thebigproblems wonHseemtobesodaun^ng,
fThings like having friends that you can count on and people who care
about y(«ir well being are Ae most precious commodities.
With the end of the semester cooling up. many professors are
;making exceptional demands on students energy. It*$l>egittiiitig
to seem to many that diere is a lest or a p&pet due cveiy ^gle d&y. All
we can say is to tiy and take a few moments for yourself and realize that
you are going to get through this.
Too often people on this campus get caught ^^)in trying to make it
[through fee day and forget the reasons to do so. Tjdce this break and make
the most of it.
Find some piece of happineb and joy tocarry with you. Return to
[Elon recharged and feankful; thankful far your life, good and l5ad.
• The Pendulum Editorial Staff
Help campus security: Use common sense to stay safe
THE
Informing the Elon College Community
Editor in Chief
Carrie Lancos
Senior Editor
Chuck Buckley
News Editor
Alan Medeiros
Opinions Editor
Chris Rash
Focus Editor
Tammy Tripp
A & E Editor
Lisa McChristian
Sports Editor
Travis Suber
Photo Editor
Emily MacDonnell
Business Manager
Jenna Denton
Office Manager
Carolyn Lampila
Online Director
Jeff Sanders
Adviser
Byung Lee
Reporters
Reid Albright
Melissa Anderson
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Kellie Brielmaier
Patrick Collins
Kristen Conn
Samiha Khanna
Johannah Lawrence
Bill Monken
Tom Mullen
Annie Reilly
Jessica Rivelli
Jennifer Shelton
Biyan Skeen
Erica Stanley
Mike Trainor
Jason Tully
Jessica Vitak
Photographers
Greg Boger
Jessica Snowf
Meredith Vesely
Matt Widerman
Columnists
Brie Bittenbender
Rich Blomquist
Cameron DeJong
Ethan Pell
Advertising
Becky Robmson
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Elizabeth Butler
Christine Zon
The purpose of The
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and entertain the Elon College
community. The Pendulum
shall be a forum where all
members of the college
community are able to express
their ideas and opinions.
Address all
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Brian McDonald
Guest Columnist
brian.mcdonald@elon.edu
As of late, the campus of Elon
CloUegeisnotasafeone! The violence
has continued to escalate over the last
coupleofweeks,includingboth-asIsee
it- reported and unreported events by
the college. Just in the last month Elon
has seen two “physical” assaults and a
sexual assault Rumors and stories
haveitthatapCTSon was assaulted when
crossing the field between the Danieley
Center and the Science Clenter paridng
lot; whileanotherincidentsaw aperson
being attacked in a stairwell and dragged
to the baseball field.
Students seem to have two main
concerns on campus. The first is the
lackofsecurity phones. ClairieJohnson,
I will say, however, that it ap
pears to me as though both the town
police and campus security are crack
ing down. How do I know this? I
learned this past weekend from per
sonal experience.
What person experience, you
may be asking? Early Sunday morning
Idrove backfiom afriend’s apartment
I parked my car in the Science dlenter
parking lot, and started to walk towards
the McMichael Science Center when a
campus police car pulled up. The of
ficer asked me to come over to the car.
Whenldid,he asked thatlputmy hands
on the hood of his car and spread my
legs. He told me that I matched the
description of aperson, reported eaiiio-
in the evening to be armed, at which
point he searched my entire person.
He called it in and said that he
would have to detain me in handcuffs
aso{^om(He,believesthat“theieshould
bemoreonthepathto Danieley Center, (was that really necessary?) until other
because currently there is only one.” officers arrived. While we waited, he
Lauren Smith, a senior, believes that askedifhecouldsearchmycar;Iagreed
“tfiey are not in the best places on
campus. If the college increased the
number of these phones they would be
more likely to be used in hqjcs to
decrease violence.”
TTie other issue is the lifting on
campus. While I believe it to have
improved somewhat, it needs to be
lighter at nightsothatstudentscanfeel
comfortable walkingaround. (Certainly,
we wouldn’t want to have to tell our
evening professors that we couldn’t
make our night classes because we
woe a&aid to walk to them.
knowing fiill well tfiat there was noth
ing to hide in my car. Finally, two other
officas arrived and after asking me a
nvmiber of questions and detaining me
for whatseemed like forever, they took
the handcuffs off, quickly apologized
for the inconvenience, and let me go.
(By the way, I didn’t do it)
While still irate and feeling very
violated, I have thought more about it
and can put the incident into context It
was 5 a.m. and I was simply walking on
campus fix)m what z^peared to be
Sheridan, whae the incident was re
ported (the officer did not see me park
or leave from my car). The officers
acted both efficiendy and profession
ally. Even though the handcuffing and
marching me around the parking lot
was psychologically embarrassing, it’s
nice to know they are doing their jobs-
even if they are going after the wrong
people.
I am, however, still waiting for
an official apology fix)m the office of
campus security for what I think to be a
violation of my personal rights. I still
think that the handcuffs were a bit
much.
Even so, I encourage you to par
ticipate in the following safety practices
while on campus:
1. If you see someone suspi
cious on campus, please report him or
her to campus police at ext 2407. Even
if itis amistaken identity, itis important
to be better safe than sorry.
2. Walk in groups, pairs, or at
the very least when going somewhere,
let someone at your destination know
you are coming.
3. Use and volimteo* for Safe
Rides. Their hours are Thursdays, 10
p.m.-2 am. and Fridays and Saturdays,
10:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
4. Take advantage of Eton’s
^cort SCTvice-this is a service provided
by the college that runs 24 hours a day,
7 days a week. Again, this can be done
by dialing security.
5. Lock your car and your door
wheneveryouarenotaround. Thiscan
limit both theft and damage.
A Presidential Chat
Elon College president Leo Lambert (center) spends time
discussing issues and concerns with residents of the West
Area in the West Parlor during Tasty Tuesday Topics.
^