Are we really safe?

CAP program needs reform

Security on the Appalachian State University campus is often an overlooked subject, even when it comes to residence halls. The recent security breach in Doughton Hall during the early morning hours of Feb. 15 has led us to question the effectiveness of the current Community Action Patrol (CAP) program which oversees security from midnight to 5 a.m. in residence halls.

According to the Appalachian State University Police Department, a pair of female students reported three males harassing women as they entered Doughton Residence Hall on the night in question. The police have received several calls since, all reporting the same men returning to Doughton Hall.

The official Residence Life page on the univeristy Web site states CAP is required "to enforce university and residence hall policies so Residence Life may provide a satisfactory living environment while meeting the safety and security needs of Appalachian State University students.

"Other CAP duties include checking student identification cards and providing support to resident assistants and resident directors in emergency situations."

The security of a building is largely a part of those who live in it; however, the university has a system already set up to handle situations.

Why did that system fail Feb. 15? Thus far no university official has been willing to answer that question or return our phone calls. The few ASU employees who would go on record merely told The Appalachian "no comment. We question this wide-spread silence strenuously.

While the university had clear intentions of ensuring the safety of student-residents when the CAP program began, we feel the events of Feb. 15 clearly show the program is flawed.

How can students truly remain safe if CAP employees who are responsible for ensuring only residents and their guests enter residence halls during the evening and early morning hours fail to carry out their jobs?

Official university policy states each student-resident is also accountable for the security of his or her respective resident hall.

We agree with this university policy, but must also point out the CAP system was initiated because residents cannot be both successful full-time students and full-time security guards.

We feel if the university is truly concerned with the safety of students who reside in campus housing, a thorough investigation of the events in Doughton Hall Feb. 15 as well as a comprehensive assessment of the CAP program should be completed by Appalachian State University officials, and a report to the campus community issued immediately.

Message to Bush: Keep Planned Parenthood

Elizabeth Frye

Usually I avoid writing opinion pieces like the plague. The last opinion article I wrote was about how apathetic I have found myself to be lately.

When my editor asks which two writers are going to write the edition's opinion pieces, I always pretend to become incredibly fascinated with the floor.

This past Thursday, however, I actually volunteered to write an opinion article because for once I have something about which I feel very strongly and wish to discuss. I would like to share my opinion about this particular topic with the readers of The Appalachian.

I heard recently that President George W. Bush is proposing a plan that cuts funding to Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides help to sexually active individuals who are uninsured or cannot see their regular doctor for one reason or the other.

Many young women who want to keep their sexual activity a secret go to Planned Parenthood to get on birth control, obtain other methods of contraceptives or to get tested for pregnancy. Appointments and medications are given reduced rates to encourage all sexually active people to be assisted by Planned Parenthood.

Bush wants to take funding away from Planned Parenthood because the organization offers abortion services to its patients.

A woman considering abortion can be referred to an abortion clinic by doctors at Planned Parenthood, and in very special cases the "morning-afterÓ pill is given to patients.

I understand that Bush disagrees with abortion, but it is legal to have one. One can almost reason that cutting the funding of Planned Parenthood encourages abortion because people will not have the same accessibility to contraceptives.

Yes, the unavailability of birth-control methods may keep a few people from having sex, but for everyone else who chooses to have sex anyway, the risk of pregnancy exists.

The solution to unwanted pregnancy for some people is abortion. In such cases, Bush's plan to rid the country of abortion backfires.

Bush supports abstinence education over the existence of such clinics as Planned Parenthood.

I am all for abstinence education, but the fact remains that some people will choose to have premarital sex.

Why can't abstinence education and clinics, like Planned Parenthood, coexist?

Taking away Planned Parenthood, in my opinion, does not promote abstinence but instead encourages disease and unwanted pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood offers STD testing and counseling along with all the other services mentioned, and thereby helps people to take care of themselves.

I am infuriated by the fact that Bush wants to take away money from Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is a good organization that aids many people.

Maybe Bush wants to impose his morals on the country, but he cannot change everyone.

People will have premarital sex and will need to turn to places like Planned Parenthood to be responsible for their choices.

A little mud is good for the soul

Sarah Sparks

All right, so I swore to myself that I would never write a commentary like the one that is about to unfold. But here I am, inspired to write a sappy "seize the day" type of story all because of a little mud.

The story starts in a town about four hours east of here called Cary, near Raleigh. That is where I was born and raised. Cary is a yuppie town with nice houses, lots of shopping malls and the best school system in the state. I had an incredibly typical American upbringing: I was a Brownie Scout for a few years, took dance classes, played every sport imaginable, played flashlight tag with the neighborhood kids until the streetlights came on and we had to go in -- all the things you would expect from a little girl growing up in suburban America. Thinking back, though, something was missing.

To put it simply: I was a wuss when I was a kid. It is so sad for me to think back and realize that when all the other neighborhood kids were playing Zorro with big sticks or swinging across the creek in a tire swing or riding on the handlebars of each other's bicycles, I was sitting safely inhibited on the sidelines laughing at their carefree fun.

It is true that I had an incredibly fulfilling childhood, but thinking back, did I miss out on too much because of my overly cautious nature? So then comes the question: why was I like this? Why did I feel that I had to sit out while other kids were up to their eyeballs in fun and trouble?

Maybe it had to do with the way I was raised. I am by no means saying it is my parents' fault that I was an overly cautious child, but my mother was always the worrying type and in some ways ingrained these sentiments in me. I think maybe more than anything, I didn't want to disappoint my parents by getting injured or in trouble for doing something stupid that I knew was dangerous. Still, it is frustrating to think back and wonder why I was like that while the other kids were so carefree.

I am still the type to worry immensely about consequences, but I have found that with age, I have begun to realize more and more that sometimes things are worth the possible consequences. I am in no way suggesting that people should go out and do something highly illegal just for kicks, but sometimes it is fun to do something you know is just a little naughty when nobody is looking.

I had one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life Saturday night. Sometime around 3:30 or 4 a.m., I went out to Sanford Mall and played in the mud. And I got dirty. I mean REALLY dirty. And I loved every second of it. So why didn't I do such things when I was a kid?

The funny thing is that I could hear the voices in my head forcing me to hesitate and consider the consequences of what I was about to do. I kept thinking, "Could I get in trouble for this? What would happen to me if the police patrolling campus happened upon a couple of silly students covered in mud?" But then I came to my senses and realized I was doing nothing wrong.

We were not by any means tearing up the Mall (anymore than it already was, anyway) and we were not doing anything illegal. We simply wanted to have a little fun. So we did. And I am eternally grateful.

My advice, then, to fellow students is to truly "seize the day." Don't let your life, especially your youth, pass you by without doing things that you will really enjoy, even if there are some possible minor consequences. Be young and crazy (within limits, of course), and more importantly than anything, have fun and laugh.

Laugh a lot. Always be safe, but know that sometimes it is okay to get a little muddy.