I
rsday, Novembe,
day, November 30,1992
MOVIl
:00 prr
rWOENTHUS;
THUMBS UP.'
• Jod Si«|cl. GOOD MORNING AM0
2 • SISKEL & BBBRT
Opinions
Take a look at this issue’s BABBLE
'f column as Mike Waditendorf takes
Spike Lee, also DeAnn DeBrand
ires her ejqieriences in Germany.
Sports
The Lions beat the Spirit Express in
^ reat basketball game. Also tte issue,
u get a full update on all the sports,
dueling intramurals, the upcoming
hedules for men’s and ladies’ ba^et-
^ from THE SPORTS EDITOR’S
"K, and a look at the last football
Ne\A/s
Medea was cancelled, but the show
t go on in 'It Don’t Mean a Thing..."
^ a, find out what has been going on in
' ur student government in the SGA
Noieport
SION
Features
Kelly finds out what make the bad
__^ys of the rerent Toad concert tick m
-er personal mterview with the GIN
LOSSOMS. Don’t miss the LETS
AND RECREATE article on
aintWar.
This is World AIDS Week!
HE Hilltop
4ARS hill
The Student Source for News
Volume 66, Issue 6 • Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, NC 28754
Toad pleases; Blossoms cause rush
by Kelly McElveen
assistant editor
Despite some initial
problems with the opening
act. Toad the Wet Sprocket
entertained over 1,000 peo
ple Nov. 14 in a concert at
Moore Auditorium.
caught up in the energy of
the young crowd predomi
nately made up of 16-18 year
olds.
"All I Want, and since then,
their fame has begun to sky
rocket.
People rushed the stage
during the last song of the
opening act at the sugges
tion of the Gin Blossoms’s
lead singer Robin Wilson.
Wilson pointed out that
there was not enough secu
rity to hold the crowd back
if they chose to leave their
seats and fill the orchestra
pit.
"This is a really young
band, and they didn’t know
how to handle the crowd,"
Hirst said. "They just kind
of forgot where they were,
and you’ve always got to re
member what you are
doing."
"It is mostly annoying,"
Phillips said of his fame.
"When we’re on the radio, I
turn it off. People think
they know you personally."
thought anyone would ever
hear of us."
"My advice to beginning
bands is to play the music
you like, not what people
think is cool. It’s most im-
E ortant to please yourself,"
e said.
This is part of the
attitude that Hirst describes
as laid back.
"It could have presented
a dangerous situation, but
security did a good job han
dling it," he said.
When Toad the Wet
As a result of their ac
tions, the Gin Blossoms
were not paid by Mars Hill
and Toad the Wet Sprocket
were to conduct a band
meeting to decide if the
band would remain on their
tour, according to Jay Hirst,
director of student activi
ties.
Sprocket begai^ playing,
lillips re
lead singer Glen Phillips l _
inforced the need for every
one to have a good time in a
safe manner, and the con
cert proceeded without any
more mishaps as Toad
thrilled the crowd with their
hit song "All I Want" and
new release "Walk on the
Ocean."
"Toad was the nicest
group of guys I’ve ever dealt
with. They don’t have the
big head, and they are not
into their fame. That’s the
kind of people you want to
play," Hirst said.
Toad has been on the
road for over year and will
wind up the second leg of
their tour in December only
to begin a European sweep
in February. From there.
Toad will probably go onto
Japan and AustraUa, ac
cording to Phillips.
The band started while
the four members were in
high school. They lifted
their unusual name from a
Monty Python skit, and Phil
lips says that the most often
asked question is about the
name.
Once the tour is over.
Toad will practice their
music and begin work on an
other record. "Being on the
road is not condusive to cre
ativity. It’s also hard to
practice when you see the
same people all the time,"
Phillips said.
Hirst said part of the
problem was they were
Toad was just another
band from southern Califor
nia until they hit it big with
"We thought we would
only use it for one show,"
Phillips said. "We never
"Once we’re off the road,
we can have a band again
. and a life."
MHC student knows meaning of dedication
to a cause as director of AIDS Coalition
by Andrea Deaton
staff writer
Nathan Shook, a freshman at Mars
Hill College, already knows exactly
what he wants to do with his life: edu
cate others about AIDS.
Shook, at the young age of 18, is the
director of the North Carolina AIDS
Awareness Coalition, a non-profit or
ganization whose main goal is to pro
mote AIDS awareness through
programs and seminars in schools and
businesses across the state.
While a sophomore at Owen High
School in Swannanoa, NC, Shook be
came interested in the AIDS virus be
cause of Ryan White, the young
hemophiliac who was one of the first
cases known and publicized.
Shook sympatnized with the suffer
ing of Ryan White caused by people
who were so ignorant about AIDS.
Shook then used this topic for an En
glish paper. Little did he know to what
lengths this would take him.
While Shook was still in high
school, this research paper blossomed
into educatmg students through pro
grams not only at Owen High, but also
m middle schools and high schools in
western North Carolina.
Shook now estimates he conducts
about four to five programs a week
along with other representatives from
Buncombe County.
"I am busy, but if I were just sitting
in my room with nothing to keep me
busy, I would constantly think about all
the people who need to hear about
this. If there is one person who has not
heard, that’s one too many," said
Shook.
He does this work in addition to his
academic load of 16 credit hours and
Bonner Scholar requirements of 40
hours per month of volunteer work
which includes umpiring Little
League, tutoring and student assisting
at Burnsville Elementary School and
working at the Health Adventure at
Pack Place in Asheville.
Shook is a very motivated and inde
pendent individual who comes from a
conservative home. His mother has be
come accustomed to the activities of
her son and is very supportive.
All of Shook’s work has not always
been easy. "At times it can become
discouraging because I tell people how
AIDS is spread, but they still continue
to have unsafe sex," he said.
Shook also must withstand stereo
typing and discrimination because so
many people believe that AIDS is a gay
disease.
"It is not a gay'disease. So many
people are dying. Each person must
take care of himself and not worry
about if the person next to him is a
homosexual or has AIDS," said Shook.
The North Carolina AIDS Aware
ness Coalition takes ten of the best and
finest educators from mostly NC
health organizations, to represent each
county in the state by conducting
AIDS awareness programs. They ^so
take an in-state and out-of-state tour
each year.
The expected result of this educa
tion is to reduce the spread of the virus
in North Carolina. Currently 46,000
people have tested HIV positive within
the state. The rate is anticipated to
triple within 2 years. However, if it the
number does not triple, the Coalition
will have succeeded with their pur
pose.
Future goals for Shook are to com
plete his educational training at Mars
Hill to receive a Bachelor of Social
Work, and then he would like to attend
graduate school in a larger metropoli
tan area so he will be able to reach out
to more people.