Assesment Day has poor timing

Assessment Day was an ill-timed vacation for those who were not tested. Situated on the same week as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it resulted in a disconcerting second week of the semester.

The three-day weekend we got was fine, and with Labor Day holiday during the fall semester, we are accustomed to a small break at the start of semesters. The placement of Assessment Day in the spring semester, however, turns what would be a normal vacation week into a time of confusion where nobody is sure what day of the week it is or what class to attend.

A day of testing and/or sleeping in during this arduous spring semester would have been well-placed if it had occurred a little further in the semester.

Currently, Appalachian State University students, faculty and staff are entering a seven-week period of straight Monday to Friday workweeks. If Assessment Day were to occur during this period of time, it would afford a break for each of us, even for those who have to show up for the testing. At this point, the possibility of simply a half-day off would be a welcome rest during the long haul that looms ahead.

Our suggestion for future such days is to reschedule it during the month of February, or place it after the holiday of the week it currently falls in.

As any sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student knows, the aforementioned seven-week drive creates a sense of monotony, causing the spring semester to seem as it if has no end. We recognize the importance of Assessment Day and are far from recommending it be abolished. The testing of students is needed in order for administrators to gauge what areas need be bolstered, and what programs are benefiting the students. Without Assessment Day, Appalachian State officials would have no mechanism by which to determine where funds should be allocated, and attention given.

Instead, we are merely suggesting that Assessment Day be moved to a date later in the semester, a move that would give students, faculty and staff a much-needed break during 35 consecutive business days in the classroom.

If Appalachian State officials do not view this as a feasible option, perhaps a more common sense plan would be to simply leave Assessment Day in its current week, but move it from Thursday to Tuesday.

Doing so would not interfere with Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes, and at the same time would put an end to the confusing fragmented week by creating a week consisting of three straight days (Wednesday-Friday) of regularly scheduled classes.

COMMENTARY

Tomatoes, like suprises, provide the spice of life

Jason Hoyle

Too often I find myself entangled in a web of my own creation. Too often I miss the fact that the web of my entanglement is of my own creation. I look for external causes to effects that manifest in my life.

Effects, you know, things that seem to happen, the way plans don't always work out the way they were intended. But no matter how unexpected the events of my life, dinner is always served. Even when it was fried potatoes with seasoning salt, dinner was served.

Now, I would rather dinner be a little more than fried potatoes and seasoning salt, but I'm also very happy to have warm shelter to sleep under. So, what could be better than salty potatoes for dinner? Tomatoes, that's what.

Tomatoes are wonderful. A vegafruit by my classification, tomatoes have a flavor of their own that changes every way you fix them. They come processed in cans, sliced, diced, peeled, sauced and spiced. They are everywhere.

What they taste like depends on what you do with them, how you cook them and what you add to them. Of course, everyone has their own preference as to how they can stand tomatoes. Personally, it sends shivers down my spine to watch someone eat a tomato like an apple, maybe because my little brother used to do it all the time.

With all the tomato-preparation variations available you'd think they would be the main course of our dinner. Rarely are they the staple, but rather a complement flavor, an addition to the dish providing a wholeness of taste.

What the tomato does for your dinner is entirely up to you. How the spices in your life change the taste of your dinner is all in what you did with spice when it arrived, unexpectedly or not.

Does a little tomato sauce spilling in your bean soup scare you? Is that bean soup trashed or do your taste buds get a treat? Some of life's best moments are of the surprise variety. Surprises are the spice of life like tomatoes are the spice of dinner.

For me, the spice of life comes in many forms. It's the little everyday things that give life its truly exceptional flavor. What did you do with your last tomato? I hope it's not rotting in the fridge unappreciated.

An overcrowded campus combined with impatient drivers equals an ugly situation

Catherine Quill

Traffic congestion, as we all know, is a terrible problem in Boone. Most people, myself included, try to avoid the major roads during their busy times, causing drivers to use Rivers Street instead.

For those of us who live off campus, being picked up by a friend or a roommate often proves to be more desirable than riding the AppalCART home. All of this brings more traffic from the roads of Boone to the roads of the university, but the problem lies with the drivers being inconsiderate of the pedestrians who are trying to walk to their next class without being plowed over by an obnoxious motor-vehicle operator.

Personally, I've noticed a few locations in particular where this problem is extremely prevalent. While trying to cross Rivers Street from the Raley parking lot to get to Wey Hall, students have to contend with traffic from both Raley and Farthing Auditorium parking lots.

Although there are some drivers who understand the concept of yielding to pedestrians, most turn out as quickly as possible in order to make it through their green light, completely ignoring the hoards of people with their backpacks strapped on, rushing to make it to safety.

Another life-threatening location is College Street, near the campus post office and Whitener Hall. Not only is there a high volume of traffic, but there are also numerous AppalCARTs along the road, with people rushing across the road from all directions.

Many drivers are trying to reach the post office, but I can't understand their rush to pick up their mail, since I usually find some form of bill, but maybe their mail is much more exciting.

One day, I noticed an AppalCART attempting to circle around the parking lot at Raley to pick up a large group of freezing students. A car was stubbornly parked in the circle, ignoring the honking of the AppalCART driver, while the waiting students motioned the car to move.

Finally, the car moved, and the AppalCART began to pull forward, but suddenly stopped when another vehicle flew around the side of the AppalCART and got stuck between it and the curb.

Why do so many of these drivers have no patience?

Not to sound hypocritical, there have been plenty of times when I've driven around the campus to run errands or pick up a friend.

The difference is that I am very courteous to pedestrians walking across the roads, and I even pay special attention to those raised crosswalks. Perhaps I'm in a minority of drivers, but isn't that how it should be while driving on a college campus?

I'm tired of watching the same driver vs. pedestrian scene over and over again. If you're one of those drivers described above, I think most students are just as annoyed with you as I am.

Please remember that the campus is designed to allow students to safely make it to their classes without having to worry about drivers who think their vehicles afford them special privileges.