University report card

Officials receive high marks for improving faculty pay, low grade for Holmes Center

Student Government Association President Ryan Bolick delivered his state of the university address Tuesday evening. As the end of the semester nears, final exams are looming on the horizon. While the deadline for professors to submit students' final grades is still two weeks, below we serve up our end-of-the year marks for the university:

Campus construction projects starting on time: There is no question this was the year of the orange cone at Appalachian State University, but most projects commenced long after the original projected start date. Since Appalachian is a state-funded institution, projects must be handled under specific guidelines outlined by North Carolina law. University administrators are often at the mercy of this bureaucratic red tape when setting a potential start date for projects such as the Rivers Street Parking Deck and the academic portion of the Living-Learning Center. Despite the logjam often created at the state level, the opening phases of major construction projects are rarely delayed for extended periods of time. Grade: B-

Completion of campus construction: Of all the projects started this year, not one is completely finished, prolonging the inconveniences suffered by students, faculty and staff. With all the additional time required, we can only imagine the increase in cost and hassle. Perhaps construction output needs to be greater before the legislature-mandated budget cuts leave our university littered with giant mounds of dirt and large sections of pulverized concrete due to a lack of dollars to complete the projects currently in their early stages. Grade: Incomplete

George M. Holmes Convocation Center debacle: Although some credit should be given to campus officials for having the center open in time for the Nov. 17 Appalachian State University men's basketball game verses the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the rush was not worth the compromised quality of the finished product that currently sits at the corner of Blowing Rock Road and Rivers Street. With a perineal NCAA championship caliber opponent and a rare appearance on Fox Sports Net on the docket, we acknowledge the importance of holding the event in the Holmes Center, but are left to question the decision based on the many problems that have surfaced with the facility. In our opinion, the $34.6 million price tag bought the university a yet-to-be repaired leaky roof that still requires more detail work to be completed. In the future, we hope the university will delay the opening of a new campus structure until the entire project has been completed. We also feel it is important to note this grade includes not just Appalachian State officials, but the various contractors who were hired to complete work before the Nov. 17 opening. Grade: D

Tuition increase for faculty salary: The realm of higher education is a job market that is ultra-competitive. Top-notch professors are in high demand, leaving Appalachian State faced with no option than to offer potential faculty members salaries higher than other offers they have received from other institutions of higher learning. While this publication has been outspoken in its opposition to tuition hikes in the past, we feel this increase will allow university officials to attract professors needed at any high-caliber public university. Grade: A

Tough questions demand public responses

Kara Hodge

According to quite a few e-mails and personal conversations, my opinion in last Thursday's paper has caused a lot of talk. Honestly, that is what I wanted. It was supposed to be controversial.

But what I would like to address is the issue that most have reprimanded me for -- the sentence "Rumor has it that a gay and lesbian group on campus would leave pink rocks at the cross in protest."

My advisor told me it sounded like an accusation. A few angry e-mails told me that it was stereotypical. Those of you who thought that it was rude, callous or intolerant of gays from that sentence, let me ask you a question -- did you actually read that sentence correctly?

I was addressing a rumor. Webster's Dictionary defines the word rumor as "general talk not based on definite knowledge; mere gossip; heresy; an unconfirmed report, story or statement in general circulation."

I was told by more than a handful of people that not one specific gay or lesbian group (like B-GLAAD) would leave pink or rainbow colored rocks at the cross on Good Friday, but a few gays or lesbians would. I admit that the sentence was not correct in saying the words "organization on campus."

It was a rumor. It was not an accusation, a confirmed report or a stereotypical comment meant to insult the gay and lesbian community. It was a rumor and that is why I started the sentence with "Rumor has it ..."

What is stereotypical about pink or rainbow rocks anyway? Isn't the rainbow the official symbol for the homosexual community?

And for those of you who attacked me and said that I should not have written that sentence, did you see the cross on Good Friday? Rainbow colored rocks were out there with the rest of the lot that members of Christian organizations had carried all week symbolizing their sin.

It was a commentary, not a news or feature article. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects it. I had a right to say what I wanted -- that is why we call it an opinion.

That opinion was not to insult anyone. It was to make you think about how you treat people who are different than you and in doing that I offended a few members of our university.

For that I am very sorry. Please know that it was not my intent to insult by using the labels and stereotypes mentioned in last week's opinion. I used them to make a point.

The point was that we need to respect each other for our differences and stop kidding ourselves in saying that we are as open minded and tolerant as we say we are.

I am not perfect in this area. By writing what I did, I had to re-evaluate my own personal prejudices and stereotypes. I just wanted to make you think.

We have a policy at The Appalachian that a writer is to do everything in his or her power to ask the hard questions. I did ask tough questions to the audience and the public responded accordingly.

Six and a half reasons why I love women

Craig Cox

The end of the year has come and if the readers are anything like me, they are slightly fried on tackling the tough issues. So I offer for discussion something that is more important to the impending summer than the intellectual pursuits here at school. I picked a topic close to my heart.

With much thought I approach the topic of women and my favorite qualities they possess.

Men and women are fundamentally different. In efforts for gender equality we have smeared some of these wonderful differences. There is a true essence of a woman that is beautiful and distinct. When a woman enters a room she has a distinct walk, smell, appearance and demeanor.

A woman can wound with her eyes. When a woman's eyes connect with mine, for a moment there is excitement and intensity shared. A woman looks through a man with piercing eyes that demand attention.

"The look," as it's referred to, can tell many things in an instant. If a woman is interested or curious, the look might be given.

A woman tells what she wants with her eyes, and hides what is to be kept secret. A woman's eyes are shiny stones of green, blue, brown or black. Blue-green eyes are my vice. I find myself lost in the deep color of this mixture.

Spending time with a woman is warmth for the soul. When I'm with a woman, one on one, it's like the rest of the world fades to oblivion.

There are certain things I can only do with a woman, such as going out to an Italian restaurant for dinner and red wine, strawberries and fondue chocolate late at night.

A woman's laughter and smile over coffee in the morning are beautiful ways to start the day.

A woman smells so good. Any trip across campus would not be complete without passing a woman with an intoxicating perfume.

Walking past a pack of women, as they often travel, can be an overwhelming experience with the smells of Bath and Body Works, and assorted perfumes filling the air behind.

A woman's hair is so beautiful. Resting upon on the shoulders, down the back or cropped close, a slight shine radiates in the summer sun.

Women have hair that is playful and soft, simple or styled. It seems a woman's hair is often an expression of herself for the world to appreciate.

Dancing with a woman is an experience of becoming one with her. Swinging a woman around the dance floor to jazz and blues music, while making spins and turns is outrageous. Two bodies connected, moving around the dance floor in sequence is thrilling.

Dancing slowly is the practice of becoming one. To hold a woman in arm, and dance slowly, connected on many levels, is to know a woman.

Women's clothing is stylish and sexy. Across campus, women are walking around in faded blue jeans and T-shirts right now. As summer approaches, jeans are traded in for summer dresses and khaki shorts.

A woman reveals many things with her clothing. The curves of a woman's body give the clothes she wears a deep appeal.

Men throughout the ages have written about women loved, lost and remembered, and its profound effect upon them. Today this effect continues.

Women have the ability to make men forget their names, and say things such as "Bu, ugh, umm."

A beautiful woman is capable of stealing the attention of every man that crosses her path. To this end men are controlled by the women around them.

The happiest, most joyful days of my life were the product of the feelings I had for a woman, while the most horribly depressed were from the same source.

The feelings women create within men captivate them for their lifetimes.

To understand a woman is to appreciate her distinct essence.