April 01, 2004 Online Since 1996 Vol 78 No. 45

The Appalachian | Opinion
Our Perspective ... REI only successful if fully supported

While last week’s student government elections ended without a new president, 81 percent of student voters agreed on a $5 fee to fund renewable energy.

The Renewable Energy Initiative, if approved by the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees this summer, will attempt to raise $120,000-150,000 each year for the university to spend on renewable energy technologies.

REI, the brainchild of Appalachian’s Solar Energy Society, will use a committee of students, faculty and administration to determine which environmental friendly projects the university will undertake.

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Turn signals are more effective when used
I jump into my car parked in the Stadium Lot, slowly make my way to the stop sign at Stadium Drive, and switch on my left turn signal.

And then I sit there waiting, and waiting, and waiting, as my frustration begins to build up and my patience dwindles away.

I listen to the continuous clicking sound of the blinker.

This wait period is not because of high amounts of traffic passing by in both lanes before me; rather, it is thanks to those impolite individuals turning right into Stadium Lot who blatantly do not use their turn signals.

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Stop making excuses for abusive relationships
There are some things that are gross yet tolerable when dealing with some couples on campus. One situation could be when I’m in Crossroads trying to do homework and am forced to hear the couple next to me flirt with each other, or even worse, see them make out.

I can tolerate this though, because true love is a great thing. What I cannot tolerate is when I see a girl in a physically or verbally abusive relationship. Violent and abusive “love” in America is on the rise, and I want it to stop.

“In the United States, a woman is more likely to be assaulted, injured, raped or killed by a male partner than by any other type of assailant,” according to the Women’s Rural Advocacy Programs. The program also said 4 million women each year are assaulted by their partners.

Women can also be emotionally abused, which can be just as harmful as physical abuse.

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