Page 2
Opinions
Sept 65 2001
Editorial
Rhodes Stadium ojfers chance for Eton
community to strengthen school spirit
The pinnacle of school
spirit is almost upon us- are
we ready? As our
a d m I n i s t r a t i o n ,
organizations and comm
unity get ready for Rhodes
Stadium’s grand opening,
we must ask our student
body- are we ready support
the Phoenix?
Will we cheer, tailgate
and stay for the whole
game all while remaining
sober? Will the game be a
place for Phoenix fans of all
ages, or will we slaughter
our stadium with drunken
behavior and plummeting
attendance at hatftime?
Hon and its advisors have
always provided students
with a sense of community
and pride. It shows in our
landscaping, our study
abroad programs. College
Coffee and convocation. It Is
our turn to show Elon how
proud we are to be here, and
how thankful we are of these
gifts that accompany our
education.
As students, we have the
opportunity to watch Division
I football in a state of the art
facility with our family and
friends, to be entertained by
a laser light show and a
nationally-known comedian,
and to eat more
barbecue sandwiches
than Hursey’s produces
in a year. What are we
waiting for?
This September, let’s
prove to Elon that we
appreciate everything
we have here. Let’s
show the administration
that we know how to
support our school and
have good clean fun
without passing out from
dehydration or drunk
enness.
Let’s practice low-risk
drinking habits that Elon
has been emphasizing
so heavily since an
unfortunate incident
several weeks ago. Let’s
support the football
team, show some school
spirit, and while we’re at
it, some common sense.
Why not let the students have
their money: It is theirs isnH it?
Josh Davis
Opinions Editor
Senators received a fund pro
posal from one of their biggest
askers in recent history last
Thursday at the Student
Government’s first weekly
meeting. Given the recent mon
strous changes in the Residence
Life system beginning this fall,
a generous “donation” or appro
priation of student activity fees
from SGA’s 2001 carry-over
account seems feasible.
Even if the amount proposed
is $8000 dollars, less than half
of the nearly $17,000 dollars
SGA has set aside for student
funding requests, what other or
ganizational event, aside from
last year’s semi-successful
Phoenix Phair, could so effec
tively use such a daring alloca
tion of funds?
Much confusion arose Thurs
day over senators’ displeasures
with past residence life experi
ences. Both Dean Blackman and
Shana Plasters of Residence
Life made clear that if passed
the $8000 dollars would go
strictly to hall programs. There
are now more than 2,000 stu
dents living on campus. If this
money were given to Residence
Life, that would average $4 per
student. Or according to SGA
Residence Life representative
Brian Feeley, “little Phoenix
Phairs”.
This article is not a response
to the SGA’s decision to table
last Thursday’s consideration of
Residence Life’s proposal. Al
though to some attendees, it was
obvious that some senators had
little knowledge of the new sys
tem, and buying time to leam
more on the issue seemed like a
good idea.
What is important is that
readers of this article let SGA
know how they feel about the
issue. As representatives of the
student constituency, senators
have a responsibility to answer
student’s concerns.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. SGA
will most likely bring the issue
back into discussion, and I ex
pect anyone in the Elon commu
nity with a concern for the bud
geting of on-campus student
programs to be there. Do you
like the idea of having funding
for programs? Do you like
spending your money on things
you like to do? Talk to your class
senators. Make sure they know
how you feel. It is their job to
listen. And it is our job to en
courage them to vote for this
proposal.
KRT Campus
Colleges, communities can
reduce binge drinking
KRT Campus
Too many college students
will toast the new school
year with a shot and a beer,
and then a few more.
Small wonder binge
drinking is a top concern of
their parents, with 95 percent
considering it a serious
threat and 85 percent partly
blaming easy access to alco
hol on and around campus,
as an American Medical As
sociation survey shows.
A rite of passage has be
come a major health threat.
Several alcohol-related cam
pus fatalities have occurred
in recent years, including a
University of Michigan stu
dent who celebrated his 21st
birthday by downing 20
shots in 10 minutes.
Binge drinking hurts aca
demic achievement and
makes students more prone
to sexual assault and other
violence, suicide and unpro
tected sex. Still, nearly half
of college students say they
binge drink, usually defined
as downing four or five
drinks in an hour. Students
most likely to binge are
white, under 24 and resi
dents of a fraternity or so
rority. The share of frequent
binge drinkers is rising to
nearly 1 in 4 students.
More needs to be done
on campus, in communi
ties, and at home. The ease
with which underage drink
ers can get alcohol must
change, as must the social
norms that make binge
drinking cool, especially
among young white males.
Colleges can eliminate
alcohol-industry sponsor
ships of athletics, ban alco
hol sales at athletic events,
increase alcohol-free social
events on campus, and en
courage tavern owners to
end cheap-drink specials
for students. Communities
can control high-density
alcohol outlets around cam
puses. Tavern owners can
make sure drunk patrons
aren't served and ID card
ing is thorough.
Finally, students should
see - from their peers - that
there's nothing cool about
getting sloppy drunk and
acting the fool.
The views and ideas expressed in Opinions are not necessarily those
of The Pendulum, its staff, or Eloti University.