Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Dec. 12, 1997, edition 1 / Page 14
Part of The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
14 Confessions of a Coke addict BY KELLY A. WHITE Staff Writer Smoking is supposed to be really hard to quit. It must be everywhere I look I see smokers: on TV, billboards, and in our own caf (although not for long). A lot of my friends are smokers and the tobacco industry is one of the most lucrative in the nation. I, on the other hand, have never in my life had a cigarette, and I don't plan to start. I was always a lot happier watching and sipping my Coke. Coke is great, it's delicious, it's caffienated, and it fizzes. I can't think of another cola that Another case of prejudice BY FRED WILLIAMS Staff Writer Recent complaints about The Guilfordian's biased editors are true. An opinion was stated in The Guilfordian Forum section that was so ridiculous that I am sure many people have written letters to complain. However, our preju diced editorial board must have chosen not to print them. This ex clusionary practice must end. Hopefully this editorial will break College: is it a necessary evil? BY ADAM PALMER Staff Writer I hear the phrase "necessary evil" all the time. I hate that phrase. It refers to shots to help the sick, the government, discipline; the list is endless. And now I have one more to add to that list of hated things: college. I hate college. I hate what it represents, what it requires of me as a student, and what it will give me if I graduate. But, nonetheless, I must finish college, for that is the way of the world now. Twenty, thirty years ago, a col lege degree was not needed. Now, in the late 19905, a college degree is what a high school diploma was back then. I have friends who have gradu ated from universities all over the United States, and more than half makes me happier. It never oc curred to me that I was becoming addicted. I knew that I drank Coke a lot. Then I realized that I drank a lot of Coke. There is a differ ence. Drinking one Coke a day is drinking Coke a lot. Drinking six Cokes a day is drinking a lot of Coke. At every party I have ever been to, someone has made a comment to me about how weird it is that I never want beer or a cigarette. At every party I just sip my Coke and smile. Little did they know that I was an addict. It's kind of an interesting perspec tive, actually, to be the secret the silence. Several issues ago an edito rial appeared singing the praises of "General Hospital." My ques tion is, how could this second-rate soap be given any attention when the greatest soap opera of all time is: "Days of Our Lives?" How can romance on 'GH' compare to the pure and beauti ful love between Carrie and Aus tin? Is any suffering able to com pare to that which Stephano has caused Mariana? Any drama to of them work in bagel shops, fast food industries, low paying menial work, physical labor jobs, or are still unemployed. And yet I feel obli gated to complete my lengthy and stressful college career just so I have a slightly better chance of getting a better job. Looking ever deeper, stop and examine what colleges use as re quirements for graduation. Many schools require a foreign language to be learned for at least two full semesters. Now, unless one plans to leave the country or working as a translator here in the United States, the requirement not only seems pointless but unfair. I know many students who graduated from Guilford and have yet to master turning on and off a computer. Consider this: which is more com mon, the need to know another lan guage or the need to work with a Forum Coke addict among an army of alcoholics and nicotine fiends. Well, I have decided that it is time to quit, at least for a little while. I tried to quit last summer, too, but unfortunately I fell off the wagon with a 32-ounce Jumbo fountain drink from the local con venience store. This time is different, though, I swear. For one thing, I have a sponsor. One of my friends is cracking the whip so that I don't overstep my limit. Most people either drink Coke or they don't; they like soda or they don't. No one ever thinks of it as an addictive substance that can suck your life away. But compare with Bo and Hope's first wedding (Bo arrived on a horse)? Any act of heroism to compare with Roman's first death of fall ing off a cliff trying to thwart Stephano? I think not. Characters on "Days" have a reality that transcends realism. There are no actual diseases, no one is gay, there are no fat or ugly people. This is the world in which we all live in our minds. "Days" shows us all just how ridiculous, irrational, plastic, and two-dimen- computer? Another requirement is a multicultural demand. While I ac cept and feel that learning about other cultures and peoples is inter esting and helpful, I can not under stand why I should be forced to take Modern Japan considering I will never use that information again. The list of requirements is lengthy and beyond that, are limiting to the effect that it keeps one from taking other courses that have a much higher level of interest, thus lead ing to more retention of the mate rial at hand. And it is not just the class re quirements that disturb me. Edu cation is similar to drug rehabilita tion in that they are both busi nesses. Most private schools cost between $16,000 and $24,000 a year. Point one, most of us will be paying off our education for most The Guilfordian December 12,1997 a Coke addict is in just as bad shape as a smoker or pill-popper. The only difference is that we are hiding in the shadows of cultural acceptance. Quitting is a lot harder than I thought it would be. When I don't drink Coke, I feel shaky, and I get really bad headaches. Still, this is a battle that I have to fight. If I allow myself to continue on in this seemingly harmless ad diction, who knows how far it could go. If I am not careful, I might find myself selling my soul on a street corner for one little sip of that caffienated goodness. At that point, I might as well start smoking. sional we really are. Nothing on "GH" can hold a melodramatic candle to that. Until "GH" presents a char acter as devious as Sammy, who, in her weaker moments, reveals to the world that she is just a hurt little girl inside because her mother was captured by an arch villain when she was a child and her husband only married her be cause she drugged him, I'll stick with "Days." Thank you very much. of our lives, yet we still may be no more than a cashier at Burger King. Point two, with the amount of money that is shelled out for these schools in particular, I find it ironic that they feel the need to kick out students who are either failing, not attending classes, and so on. While I would agree it is a waste to pay all that money to flunk year after year, the school keeps it either way, and in the case of a business, the more money the better. I find myself on the verge of getting kicked out of college at least once a year, and the sac' truth is I know it is my fault. I do not blame the teachers, or the deans, or the attendance policy. But that does not change my opinion that the policies are foolish and unfair. While college is to some extent a privilege, it is a damn expensive one.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 12, 1997, edition 1
14
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75