Our Perspective....

Students: Let your voices be heard

We stand looking at a $200 tuition increase over the next two years, proposed by Appalachian's administration. There was a chance the student body would not even have heard about it, as these sort of issues are primarily discussed in meetings that not every student has acess to. Fortunately, we now have it called to our attention with the opportunity and time to do something about it.

The Appalachian State University Board of Trustees and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors believe they have a finished deal. These organizations decide policy on issues such as university funding, tuition and construction projects on a local-to-Appalachian and state-wide level, respectively, and often make policy with little student input.

This is not because these committees have an agenda against us, but rather because students' voice never exists. The Board of Trustees and UNC Board of Governors exist to benefit us. They lobby for money and land.

They make arguments and deals with larger organizations and governments on our behalf. But they can do little in our interest if our intrests are not heard. CREATE A VOICE Lack of input occurs somewhere between SGA presidents, chancellors and feedback from the students.

Fortunately, students of Appalachian have both an SGA president, Ryan Bolick, and a chancellor, Dr. Francis T. Borkowski who welcome and listen closely to the student voice.

All we have to do is create one. In the North Carolina State Constitution it is written in Article IX, Section 9 that, "The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense."

Now that we know this, let us make our opinion known. When Bolick goes to the Board of Trustees meeting on September 15 in the Plemmons Student Union, have him armed with our voice. Do not be complacent. Contact Ryan Bolick at rb28173@appstate.edu or call the SGA office at 262-2245.

Let it ring? The telephone is the devil's trumpet

by Gerald Witt

I am not a fan of telephones. Useful as phones may be, I dislike receiving phone calls in the quiet and privacy of my own home.

According to one of my former professors, Dr. Hall P. Beck, "The telephone is the devil's trumpet," and I couldn't agree more. When a phone rings, watch the people in the room, each one gets a little tense. Who is it? Why are they calling? Is it for me? Everybody likes to know. Everyone wants to have a phone call.

I will admit that I want phone calls too. They make me feel important and wanted, but my issue is with the timing of phone calls. When I cook my food, I will have a nice, sizzling spread. In my pan are peppers and some onion with teriyaki-marinated beef.

I am stir-frying away, looking forward to a hot meal at the end of long day of working, lectures, notes and fighting the Appalachian masses. RIIING! RIIING! See? I am in a subdued mood, listening to some Coltrane, getting ready to munch, and off goes the phone. As far as I am concerned, the phone can ring away.

See, I go about my life unbothered by the ring of the phone. Gone, is the anger toward that little electronic ringing device. I have seen people vent their anger and frustration at telemarketers who call at inopportune moments, such as dinnertime, quality time with a loved one, or cooking a meal. It is not the caller that I think is the issue. The interruption is the problem, which brings me back to cooking dinner. The phone has rung three full times now, and I am just now getting to answering, since I am the only one in my house and the call could be a message for a roommate.

Frying makes the hands slightly greasy, and I am no exclusion to this rule. In order to get to the phone, I have to wipe my hands, pray my stir-fry does not burn, and find the phone. Finding the phone could be adapted to an "Indiana Jones" movie rather easily. In our house, we have three cordless phones, which would seemingly make the process of finding a phone much easier.

However, when you have three phones ringing at the same time, not only are you torn three ways, but you are also sent on a expedition to find that little ringing object, whether it be hidden by a pillow, jeans or a magazine or two.

I go for the magazine-hidden one, to find that it is not working. The night before it was left off the hook, which spent the batteries (another problem associated with phones). By now, the dreaded fourth ring has transpired, which kicked the answering machine into action.

One room away, I hear the message, and the beep when one would leave the message. Then I hear the dial tone. All this work, for someone who wants to hang up on the answering machine. Nonetheless, dinner turned out reasonably well, a little overcooked than I had hoped for, but still tasty.

Phones bug me, but they remain a constant in life, and it looks like Ma Bell would win versus me any day. As far as my dislike of phones is concerned, my only option is to simply suck it up.

Feeling Fat? Get off the sofa and get to work

by John Bennet

It seems as if not a day goes by when I fail to hear someone comment on the fact that they need to shed a few unwanted pounds.

As someone who lost over 100 plus pounds, I am never shy to interject myself in conversations where I feel I can be of assistance to a plump person who wants to improve their health by trimming the fat from their rather rotund frame. While losing weight is one of the best things a person can do in terms of improving their physical health and appearance, most people lack the drive, dedication and intestinal fortitude to get results.

For a reason I have yet to discover, overweight people seem to live with the delusion that they can lose a substantial amount of weight overnight. Upon discovering that is far from true, most trade in their running shoes for a candy bar, reverting back to their lifestyle of laziness and obesity. The old cliche says Rome was not built in a day.

The same logic can be applied to weight loss. Losing weight can be simplified by setting a series of reachable short-term goals rather than lofty ones that may begin to seem unreachable, causing a person to call off their pursuit of a slimmer self. If an overweight person truly wants to drop the fat, he/she must first make a few vital decisions. Above all others, the obese individual must realize that no one is going to lose the weight for them.

Our generation seems to be content to simply sit back and wait for things to be handed to it, rather than rolling up its sleeves and working for the things it wants in life. If shedding the love handles is what someone truly wants, they must learn to love taxing physical exercise.

Starting a diet and exercise regiment is the easy part; sticking to it is a more difficult task. If you get over the first weight loss hurdle and actually begin exercising regularly you will soon feel pain in muscles you were unaware you had.

A word of advice: if you want to overhaul your frame by dropping a few pounds, learn to thrive on the pain. By welcoming the pain, a regular workout routine will inevitably bring a person to overcome the temptation to quit.

Failure to develop a solid work ethic will only lead you back onto the couch with a half-empty potato chip bag in your chubby paws. I have overheard many overweight people say that they have been exercising lately, but they just can't seem to lose any weight. On more than one of these occasions I have seen the same person tear into a cheeseburger or candy bar during the conversation. Sometimes I wonder why people go out of their way to make things as difficult on themselves as humanly possible.

Take it from someone who has gotten results, you will never lose weight by only exercising or simply eating right. You must do both. The secret to slimming down boils down to basic math. If a person burns more fat and calories (through exercise) than he or she takes in each day, the pounds will soon begin to fall by the wayside.

Using common sense can also go a long way toward getting in shape. If your common sense tells you that having an order French fries may interfere with your weight loss goals, pass on having that plate of deep-fried fat. Perhaps the most important part of getting in shape is getting to the point that you are sick and tired of being overweight.

Most people who complain about their weight seem to just need something to complain about. If a person is truly fed up with being fat, they do not need any more motivation. Those who fall into this category have the drive to get the job done, while those who do not will forever be members of the fat farm.

Losing weight is not rocket science, despite what Richard Simmons may want everyone to think. A person does not need to call Simmons' 1-800 number and order Deal-A-Meal in order to shed a few pounds. So get off the couch, put down the candy bar and get to work.