Robyn Dailey - Chancellor/Advancement Beat

Students, faculty and staff may nominate people for the W.H. Plemmons Leadership Medallion award until March 9.

The award, which is named in honor of Dr. William H. Plemmons, a former Appalachian State University president, recognizes students, faculty and staff who display outstanding leadership.

Established in 1996, the award has four categories of criteria for eligibility.

A recipient may be a student leader, a student development educator, a faculty member, or an Appalachian employee.

All recipients must display meritorious leadership. "There is no maximum or minimum. It's just based on merit," said Dino DiBernardi, director of the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership and previous medallion recipient.

"There doesn't have to be a medallion awarded at any given year."

According to DiBernardi, there is not always a medallion awarded for every one of the four categories.

Nominations are given anonymously and can be for anyone on campus.

A seven-person committee appointed by the chancellor and made up of previous recipients will review all nominations, said DiBernardi.

While screening the nominations, the committee will call people as references for the nominees. This year's recipients will be notified during the summer and will be awarded the medallions during the Fall Convocation.

"Awards are given on a basis of meritorious leadership and a person cannot receive the award more than once," said DiBernardi.

"Dr. Plemmons was well-known for support for students and trying to improve the quality of student life and promotion of leadership," said DiBernardi.

DiBernardi was presented the medallion in the fall of 2000. He is chairing this yearÕs selection board.

Kiley Costner, a Health Psychology graduate student, also received the award last year.

"It was wonderful. I felt very honored," she said. "It's nice to know that people notice what you do."

Costner is a former vice president of Student Government Association, a former president of Circle K, a Plemmons Fellow, and is involved in Delta Kappa, to name a few of her leadership positions.

"I believe there are a lot of great leaders on campus that don't get recognized," said Costner. Nominations can be obtained from the Student Life section of the Appalachian Web page or from the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership in Plemmons Student Union.

DiBernardi said, "It was created to recognize people who had put extraordinary time and energy and talent into improving the quality of student life."

Controversial Clinton cabinet official visits ASU

"Once you get an education you can never go back to being ignorant again." Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Former Surgeon General of the United States

Elizabeth Frye Multicultural Beat

Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former surgeon general of the United States during the Clinton administration, recently spoke of her ideas on educating this country in a presentation entitled "The Key to a Healthy America."

This event took place on Wednesday, Feb. 7 in Farthing Auditorium as a part of the Forum Lecture Series. The series invites an assortment of speakers to Appalachian State University's campus to share their knowledge on current topics with the Appalachian and Boone communities.

Elders immediately addressed her resignation as surgeon general after taking the stage. She said that she wanted to make changes for which American society was not ready to accept. "I want you to know that I did the very best job that I knew how to do. I also want you to know that if I had it all to do over again starting tonight I'd do it the same way; I did it right the first time," Elders stated.

Elders classified some of the major problems in America into what she calls the "Three P's": poverty, population and pollution. She said that society needs to be aware of these troubles and work to do away with them. She stated that many children fall into the "Five H Club;" they are hungry, hopeless, homeless, hugless, and lack proper healthcare.

"We have 43 million Americans with no health insurance; a third of those are children. We have the best sickcare system in the world. The problem is we have no healthcare system.

We have a healthcare system for the haves, and a sickcare system for the have-nots," Elders said. She feels that the "inequities" in the healthcare system need to be changed.

Elders said of those without hope, "We all know that when hope dies, moral decay can't be far behind."

Elders encouraged the audience members to be leaders and attempt to make important changes. "I was trying to make the difference. I talked about some of the sexuality issues that are going on in our country. I felt that it was time that we started educating our young people and talking about our sexuality, that we tried ignorance for one thousand years and it was time we tried education."

She spoke of how she wanted to have services offered to students, including having condoms available in schools. "I was called a condom queen. I told many people that I would put the crown on my head and sleep in it if everyone who needed to use one would use it." Elders thinks that abstinence should be promoted but also that children should be taught responsibility. "How can they be responsible for their own health if we've never taught them how to be responsible?" she said.

One of the many controversial topics Elders has an opinion about is masturbation. She was asked to resign because of her feelings on that issue. Her thoughts on masturbation became very public when she was asked at a conference if masturbation cuts out some of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. She said that masturbation is a "normal part of human sexuality and I feel that we need to make sure we educate our children and stop lying to them. It's never given anybody a disease, never gotten anybody pregnant, and you will always know you are having sex with somebody you love." Elders said however that children should not be taught "how to (masturbate); God taught us how to."

Other issues Elders discussed are crime, drug use, and unawareness, and how education can work to help these problems. "We need to learn how to tear down the many barriers and build bridges, if you will, over rivers of ignorance. Once you get an education you can never go back to being ignorant again, but you know some of us are stupid and stupidity lasts forever," she said.

Elders was asked by an audience member if educating children about sex encourages the act. She responded that studies have shown children better educated about sex are less likely to take part in unsafe sex or have many sexual partners.

Crystal Darden, a junior at Appalachian State University, said of the presentation, "It was fantastic. It was really cool to see somebody of her stature and of her educational background and her age be as liberal as she is about so many things, especially sexuality. All of her statements were well supported and it was really nice to see somebody that prominent in the political limelight, regardless of whether it was past or present, be that open-minded and be that in tune with things that affect my generation."

Scholarship named in memory of late board member

Watauga County Arts Council The Watauga County Arts Council is seeking nominations for Cultural Arts Scholarships.

The Arts CouncilÕs scholarship award program was first developed in 1985 and has been annually assisting local individuals in the pursuit of artistic training in a variety of disciplines.

Any county resident pursuing a program of study for his or her artistic development can be nominated or apply directly. Scholarship applications for the pursuit of a degree will not be accepted. Applicants should be as specific as possible regarding accomplishments, plans for study, goals and expected use of the award money.

In 1996, the Arts Council decided to memorialize the creative spirit and leadership of former board member Cathy Lion by designating one of its annual scholarships the Cathy Lion Memorial Scholarship.

Recipients of this award are pursuing training in the performing (and preferably dramatic) arts and demonstrate high self-expectations and the ability to contribute through the arts to our community in a manner similar to that demonstrated by Cathy.

Recipients of this award have been Lisa Latendresse, Valerie Midgett, Jenna Gray, Channing Franks and James Fickling.

Beginning in 2000, upon the death of Jerry Clemens, who was also a previous board member and had greatly impacted the arts in Watauga County, friends rallied to establish a scholarship to be awarded in his memory.

Although Jerry was a visual artist and was the founder of the Arts Placement Service, this award is not limited to visual arts recipients but is given to outstanding, young talented individuals of all disciplines.

The first recipient of this award was 7-year-old Jonathan Hopkins, who having already won two national awards for his musical competitions, was in need of assistance obtaining computer software to enable him to more easily transcribe his music.

Each year, two to six scholarships are awarded depending on the available funding. The amounts of the awards vary. Final amounts per award are at the discretion of the scholarship committee.

Among the winners over the years have been aspiring artists in all disciplines from dance to drama to all sorts of music, to visual art to jewelry-making to literature. They have ranged in age from a 7-year-old who writes musical compositions to teachers pursuing arts training to enable them to better teach their students.

Many are students attending summer arts camp programs such as Canon Music Camp, but some need assistance in other ways such as acquiring computer software or upgrading an instrument. Preference is given to the pursuit of learning opportunities.

Interested persons may obtain application forms at the Jones House Community Center between the hours of 12- 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday or by contacting the Arts Council office at 264-1789. Applications must be turned in by 5 p.m. on March 1.

Finalists will be contacted to schedule an interview to demonstrate their abilities. Preference is given to first-time applicants. Scholarships will be awarded at the Annual Celebration in May at the Jones House Community Center.

Printing Industry Leaders Honored

News Bureau

Ron and Katherine Harper of Charlotte were honored by the Appalachian State University Foundation for their contributions to the university's graphic arts and imaging technology program.

Ron Harper is chairman and Katherine Harper is president of the Harper Corporation of America, a company they co-founded in 1971.

They have been associated with the flexographic printing industry for 40 years. The Charlotte-based company manufactures laser engraved anilox rolls used in the flexographic printing process.

They have pledged $100,000 and a generous estate gift to the flexographic printing component of Appalachian's Thomas W. Reese Graphics Arts and Imaging Technology Program (GAIT).

Their gift will fund student scholarships, help defray the costs of other educational opportunities for students, such as internships, and provide professional development opportunities for faculty in the printing program.

As a tribute to the Harpers and Harper Corporation of America, Appalachian is creating and dedicating "The Harper Foundation for the Advancement of Flexography at Appalachian State University" fund.

The Harpers have also committed an additional $50,000 to create a flexography museum at Appalachian.

"It is difficult to explain in a few words the impact that Ron and Katherine Harper have made on the GAIT program at Appalachian," said Chancellor Francis T. Borkowski.

"Through their support and leadership, Appalachian has enhanced its printing program and added a much richer study of flexography.

They have also spearheaded efforts leading to the donation of a new flexo press to the program and have personally committed support for additional flexography equipment, ensuring that our students learn on state-of-the-art equipment.

Their support is truly helping create the best possible learning environment for Appalachian students."

Appalachian's GAIT program has 150 student majors and is expected to exceed 250 majors by 2004. The program prepares students for a variety of employment opportunities in the printing industry.

Flexography is the process of relief printing using flexible plates, anilox inking rollers and fast drying inks. It is used for printing flexible packaging materials, tags and labels, cartons, envelopes, paperboard, corrugated containers, newspapers and numerous other flexible materials.

John T. Bennett - Associate Editor

The Mountaineers of Appalachian State University used a strong first half to win for the sixth time in seven games, knocking off the Davidson Wildcats 78-70.

Appalachian dominated the first half Saturday afternoon, outscoring the Wildcats 24-2 in the paint en route to a 47-31 halftime lead.

"Our first half was maybe the best half of basketball we've played this year," said Houston Fancher, Appalachian State head basketball coach. "We did everything we talked about we wanted to do coming into the game."

The first 20 minutes belonged to the Mountaineers (10-15, 7-5), who repeatedly took advantage of Davidson's weak interior defense.

Appalachian's leading scorer Josh Shehan (16 points, 5 rebounds) continued his recent string of strong performances in the first half.

The sophomore center consistently punished the Davidson post defenders early on, banging his way to 11 first-half points in front of 3,233 fans at the Seby Jones Arena inside the George M. Holmes Convocation Center.

"Our guards did a great job of getting us the ball and all the post people had to do was turn around to shoot layups," Shehan said. "That makes it easy for us."

In the two teams' prior meeting Jan. 23, the Appalachian big men pummeled Davidson in the Mountaineers' 78-68 win, a fact Shehan and his low-post colleagues remembered vividly.

"We had our way the first game É when you find an advantage, you want to use it," Shehan said.

The 6-foot-9 center did more than score, grabbing three first-half rebounds to help Appalachian to a 20-10 halftime rebounding advantage.

When the Wildcats (10-15, 4-8) managed to derail the Shehan-led inside attack, the quick Appalachian backcourt exploited the razor-thin Davidson defense time and again with a relentless first-half barrage of backdoor cuts and fast-break layups.

Mountaineer guards Jonathan Butler and Noah Brown (15 points, 3 assists) complemented the low-post dominance of Shehan, each pouring in 10 points by intermission.

The backcourt duo repeatedly found holes in the porous Davidson defense and were able to invade the paint for countless high-percentage baskets throughout the first half.

"When you get deep penetration with the dribble, you're able to get the kind of production they got," said Bob McKillop, Davidson head basketball coach.

Appalachian took advantage of 10 first-half Wildcat turnovers and poor shooting to run early and often, outscoring Davidson 14-4 in fast-break points during the opening frame.

"Any time you can get an easy layup right off the bat you want to do that," said Butler.

In an ironic twist Butler added that coming in to the contest it was the Mountaineers who were fearful of being victimized by the Wildcat fast break.

While the first half resembled a track meet, the final 20 minutes featured more miscues and sloppy play than an XFL offensive possession, as Appalachian sputtered in the face of a more fervent Wildcat squad.

The Wildcats refused to go down without a fight after the weak first-half showing and came out of the break with renewed vigor.

Davidson opened the second half with a 14-6 run, cutting the Mountaineer lead to 53-45 with 11:49 to play when Wildcat guard Peter Anderer found forward Jason Dickens for a streaking layup.

The Wildcats used a tighter defense and more methodical offensive strategy to keep Appalachian from enjoying the same level of domination that was the theme of the opening half.

"We knew they were going to come back and make a run in the second half. We were just concerned with staying poised and I thought we did a good job, " said Butler (16 points, 5 assists, 2 steals). After trading baskets with Appalachian over the next nine minutes, Davidson made one final push, twice slashing the Mountaineer lead to six points in the game's final 2:00.

Leading by just a half dozen with 1:26 remaining, the Mountaineers turned to the catalyst of the first-half success as Shehan slammed the door with a jump hook that put Appalachian ahead 74-66.

The Mountaineers opened the season 5-14 but have been on a tear since mid-January, loosing only once since Jan. 20; a 72-67 loss to Southern Conference (SoCon) North Division leading East Tennessee State University.

With the SoCon Tournament only three weeks away, the Mountaineers have selected an ideal time to peak, climbing to a season-best two games over .500 in conference play.

Despite the recent success, Fancher contends his squad is not looking any further than the next outing.

"Our main focus has been on taking care of ourselves and focusing on winning ... one game at a time," the Mountaineer coach said.

"Our team is not mature enough to look at the big picture right now ... so we're looking at snap shots and eventually w'Õll look at the big picture."

ASU uses fast start to dump Davidson

Ty Brueilly - Sports Beat

Editor's note: The result of the Monday evening ASU men's basketball game was unavailabe at press time. Please check Thursday's issue for a complete wrap-up.

It seems as if the Appalachian State University men's basketball team has definitely had its fair share of obstacles to overcome this season, but surprisingly winning is not one of these obstacles, as the Mountaineers maintain their streak, defeating Davidson College, 78-70, Saturday afternoon.

The obstacles this season started with the devastating death of team leader Rufus Leach, then after the team looked as if they were back on their feet, guard Shawn Alexander and center Cory Cooper left the team. As if these obstacles weren't enough, Nick Huge decided to leave Appalachian for educational reasons.

After all this and after Appalachian was left with only 11 players, the team overcame these obstacles and has pursued six wins out of their last seven outings. Davidson head coach Bob McKillop said the reason Appalachian could overcome so many obstacles was because "they are playing with great confidence, they are playing like a team and they are adding the magical ingredient of intensity. If you put those three things together, wonderful things can happen.

"That's what's happening to (Appalachian) right now."

As Appalachian defeated Davidson on Saturday, it now looks as if another obstacle is placed in front of them. The team has lost another player, Charles Dearmon, who came into the game in the first half for only a minute before he was called for a charge.

After the charge was called he limped down the court and stopped in front of the Appalachian bench, grasping his right knee, gritting his teeth and squinting his eyes, showing that he was obviously in pain. Freshman Noah Brown came in for Dearmon and within a matter of a few minutes Dearmon was escorted by two of his trainers to the locker room.

At press time the verdict of how severe the knee injury is was not announced. But as Appalachian head coach Houston Fancher said, "My heart sunk when he came off the floor and he told me he hurt his knee, because Charles very rarely comes off the floor. He never wants to come off the floor, so I knew when he said he was hurt he was really hurt. "I remember in the Greensboro game, he got his tooth knocked in the back of his head and he didn't want to come off the court then. When he did, I knew that was going to be some bad news. We are hoping for the best, but I'm fearful of the worst. I'm afraid we aren't going to get great news; it's a disappointment for Charles and it's the only downer on our day."

After Dearmon left the game, the score was 8-3 in favor of Appalachian but after a Davidson run of three three-point baskets, a layup and a free throw, Davidson had earned their first and only lead of the game, 15-14.

After this Davison run and Dearmon's injury, Appalachian point guard Jonathan Butler knew what had to be done. Butler said, "When (Dearmon) went out I knew I had to step it up." Butler did just that as he started the series of plays with a three-pointer of his own that would knock Davison out for the rest of the first half and eventually out of the game.

This series of plays would put 15 points on the scoreboard for Appalachian but only two for Davidson, upping the Mountaineers' lead to 29-17 and was highlighted by a driving Butler who looked as if he was going to pull an easy layup but found a much easier shot, passing the ball to Josh Shehan for two quick points while he got fouled; Shehan then completed the three-point play.

After over three minutes off of the clock and only two points for Davison, they tried to put on a little streak for themselves with a three-point basket by junior guard Fernando Tonella, but their streak was immediately shot down with a Buddy Davis layup followed by a Noah Brown three-pointer.

The first half ended for the Mountaineers with a top of the key three-pointer by Butler raising their lead to 47-31.

Fancher said about the first half of Mountaineer play, "I thought we played really well. Our first half was .. the best half of basketball we have played this year, on both ends of the floor. We rebounded well, we defended well, we made shots, we attacked the transition (and) we did everything we talked about wanting to do coming into the game for the first half."

As the second half started, Davidson looked to have much more intensity than they did in the first half, scoring the first seven points, including a three-point basket. The rest of the second half did not provide much excitement or entertainment; it was sloppy but very physical and full of fouls.

Fancher said, "Butler got nailed on a pass inbounds late in the second half; there was no foul called but he got his neck snapped back. He is going to be really sore tomorrow. We had three guys with blood on them and one with a sore neck and Charles with a knee injury, so it was a very physical game and our guys fought through that."

There was a total of 25 fouls committed in the second half. Davidson had 16 while Appalachian had nine. It was basically a half of free throws for Appalachian and a half of field goals for Davidson. Appalachian attempted 21 more free throws in the second half than in the first. While the Mountaineers shot free throws, Davison guard Wayne Bernard went on a rampage, scoring all 15 of his points in the second half. Even with Bernard's intensity, Davidson still didn't have enough to hold off the Mountaineers, who had four players with double-digit scoring, pacing them to their sixth victory in their last seven games.

Shehan and Butler both ended up with 16 apiece, while Brown had 15 and Payne added 10, proving once again how key a balanced attack is in order for an Appalachian win.

The Mountaineers are in danger of having to go the rest of the season without a key part of their team but as Fancher said, "The potential loss of Dearmon is huge. It's just another one of those things that we are going to have to find away to put behind us. It's hurtful because Charles has worked himself into being a vital part of our rotation, and Charles is a key factor for us; he's got the ability to score, he defends, he's athletic, and if he is out we have got to find a way to bounce back.

"Noah becomes our back-up point guard, and Mike Patten and Josh Hare become even more important to us. We have to have them step up and carry the weight for us a little bit on the perimeter.

"I imagine somebody else is going to step up; that's what's happened up to this point. Every time something goes wrong somebody else steps up. I trust that's what's going to happen now."

WAGS cares for homeless pets

Jason Hoyle - Clubs\Organizations Beat

Keeping a pet in Boone can be troublesome. They aren't allowed in the residence halls and if you rent an apartment from one of the larger management companies pets can lead to a hefty fine.

Possibly the next best thing to owning your own pet is working with homeless ones. The members of Appalachian State University's Watauga Animal Guardian Society (WAGS) not only walk and play with the animals at the Watauga Humane Society but they also undertake a variety of duties to generate community awareness and to help get the animals adopted.

WAGS is a service club started through Appalachian and the Community Together (A.C.T.) in the fall of 2000. The club promotes responsible pet ownership and lifelong commitment to pets, an appreciation for our community's animal management professionals, and education about pet population problems. WAGS' volunteers walk and exercise dogs, play with kittens and cats, bathe puppies, help socialize animals, and assist animal shelter personnel in their duties where needed, according to WAGS Vice President Georgia Ayscue.

In addition to working with the animals directly club members volunteer as webmasters for the Watauga Humane Society (www.wataugahumanesociety.org) and the Watauga Animal Control (wcac.boone.net). As webmasters, the club members visit the shelters to get a description of the animals waiting to be adopted and take digital photos for the Web sites. Some members also post photos on national Web sites for adoptable animals, Petfinder.org and Petshelter.net.

"Walk Your Tail Off With WAGS" is a fund raiser the club is planning for a benefit in which animal control and the humane society where pet owners walk their pets for donations. They are also sponsoring a beautification project for the lobby/reception area of the Watauga Animal Control office this semester.

The club participates in the community to raise awareness of homeless pets. Last semester they participated in County Commissioner's meetings, National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week and November's Pet Population Symposium. "Someone who is an animal lover, caring and courageous, would want to join our club," said Ayscue in an E-mail interview. "It is very rewarding working with the homeless animals and if you can't have a pet but want one, volunteering through WAGS can satisfy that need to be around warm, fuzzy, loving animals."

WAGS meets the last Sunday of every month in the Mountain Laurel Room of Plemmons Student Union at 5 p.m. In between meetings, members keep up with announcements and activities via their E-mail group, asuwags@egroups.com.

Authorities abduct Cannon peeping tom

Sarah Sparks - Police Beat

An Appalachian State University student was arrested Friday, Feb. 2, after allegedly watching a female student shower, said Sergeant Stacy Sears of the Appalachian State University Police Department.

Edward M. Benitez of Charlotte was arrested and charged for invasion of privacy after peering around a shower curtain in Cannon Residence Hall on Friday, according to police. The victim was able to identify the perpetrator because she had seen Benitez, also a resident of Canon, around the dorm.

Benitez will face criminal charges as well as punishment form Student Judicial Affairs, since the incident took place in a residence hall, said Sears.

After being charged, Benitez was released on a written promise. Due to the threat of a repeat offense, Benitez will not be able to reside in Cannon Hall for the remainder of the semester.