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| Dec. 2, 2004 | ||||
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Our Perspective... A new day has risen. Dr. Linda K. Robinson, director of the Equity Office at Appalachian State University and the best women’s basketball coach in ASU history, will take the reins as director of athletics for the interim period. This was really the best and only logical move after the resignation of Roachel J. Laney, effective last Tuesday. She is a friend not only to ASU athletics and the Mountaineer student-athletes, but also to the student population in general. She won 236 games, a school record, in 13 years before she decided to step down following the 1996-97 season. Within three years she was running the Equity Office. She has succeeded in everything she has set out to do. The Appalachian firmly believes that she will raise the bar of accomplishment once again in this position. The position of director of athletics has evolved into a most critical component of universities across the country. It is time that Appalachian joined the crowd. Status quo is never the answer under Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock’s leadership. Anyone who dares to stand still in the quicksand does not have a place in this new day for Appalachian. The potential is here. Mountaineer student-athletes are among the best in the region, in and out of the classroom. The coaches that teach these athletes on and off the field are hungry, intelligent and determined. There is no reason that the new director of athletics should not have the same attitude. This must be a true nationwide search where the best candidate can be found. Laney was a frequent target for alumni criticism, founded or not. These alumni have done a tremendous job of showing this displeasure. It is time to show their pleasure with this decision with the checkbooks. The move to I-A football has been a topic discussed ad nauseum by alumni for as long as anyone can remember. However, it has been all talking and very little walking. Laney said in the Winston-Salem Journal that this year’s athletic budget was $7.6 million. East Carolina director of athletics Terry Holland in the Raleigh News & Observer said that the Pirates athletic budget is $18 million. Both universities offer 18 varsity sports, yet ECU is working with $10.4 million more. It is easy to wine about not hiring the best coaches, but the best coaches cost money. It is easy to complain that coaches are never fired at ASU, but who will pay the buy-out? These are issues that the new director of athletics will have to deal with, never mind possibilities of a new stadium. Qualified members of the Appalachian family are working at institutions across the country. It is time to bring them home. Divorce, television hurts image of marriage
Last month 11 states voted to ban same-sex marriages as they also made their selections for the next president. While this may be considered a victory for opponents of gay marriage, that same group (of which I am a part) would do well to look to other issues surrounding the sanctity of marriage. The “sanctity of marriage,” a term that has been made popular over the last year, has been degraded in the United States for years, long before we ever heard of activist judges or possible constitutional amendments. Imagine for a moment, if you will, if gay marriage wasn’t even an issue in this country (I’m speaking hypothetically here). Is marriage held up to be a sacred thing? “When you talk about protecting marriage, you need to talk about divorce,” Bryce Christensen, a professor at Southern Utah University, said in an interview with ABC News on Nov. 21. Another source for the article, Jordan Lawrence of the Alliance Defense Fund, put it this way, “Marriage has become a junior high school dating scene where if I am unhappy I could divorce my husband or wife and move on to someone else.” The homosexual community has rightly argued that heterosexuals have done damage to the image of marriage long before legalized gay marriages even became a possibility in this country. In North Carolina, for example, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that from January to April 2004, there were approximately 12,746 divorces. Reality television downgrades marriage to a prize that you can keep, or if you so desire, trade for the mystery box. The FOX program “Temptation Island” was one of the many shows to treat marriage that way. To purposely endanger your relationship by putting yourself and your loved one in a situation that might ruin you, all for the goal of winning money, is absurd. One of the show’s couples was kicked off the island because they hadn’t informed FOX they had a son together. FOX did not want to be responsible for breaking up a marriage when children are involved. “Married by America,” another product of FOX’s “quality” programming, paired couples up based on the number of votes received by fans. Marriages were created the same way a finalist is chosen for “American Idol,” viewers, you decide. Non-reality programming carries the same derogatory attitude toward marriage. Adulterous relationships are upheld to be the right thing to do, whether it’s by a man or a woman. Usually the person having the affair is held up to be the helpless victim, while their spouse is thought to be the real cause of it all, leaving the other person no choice but to sleep with someone else. The image portrayed is that marriage is boring, while having an extra-marital relationship, that’s where the excitement of life is found. For those of you thinking, “Well, that’s what happens when you have a liberal media,” keep in mind the media produces the material they do because there’s a market for it. There’s no shortage of outrage over same-sex marriages, from politicians to preachers to the guy and girl on the street. But where is the outrage over the national divorce rates or television shows that treat marriage as a hand-me-down? It’s hypocritical for a person to think they can denounce one (gay marriage) without addressing the other. Either take a stand for the sanctity of marriage by going against any attempt to degrade it, or sit down and let others do it for you. Meet the Fockers, Ocean's 12 this holiday season
For students, this holiday season time is typically most noted for Winter Break, presents and the annual argument between your mom and dad over which house the family should celebrate the holiday in. Add December movies to that list. Over the past few years, more and more movies have been slated to come out in late December, with a few even coming out on Christmas Day (“Ali” in 2001 and “Cold Mountain” last year are a few examples). This year is no different, with a handful of solid movies coming out in the next few weeks. The earliest opening for a quality movie is Dec. 8 when “Blade: Trinity” comes out. However, I have not seen any of the “Blade” movies, so I’m just going to skip to the movie I am the most excited to see. On Dec. 10, the gang is back. That’s right, Danny and Tess Ocean are reunited and Ocean’s notorious gang of hoodlums will add another character in “Ocean’s Twelve.” Director Steven Soderbergh managed to pull back together George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac and Andy Garcia to make the sequel. In the sequel, Ocean’s henchman cannot attempt to steal anything in the United States because everyone knows their names after robbing the casino. So, the group travels to Europe and plans three more extravagant heists in Rome, Paris and Amsterdam. “Ocean’s Eleven” was one of those movies that practically everyone could enjoy. After viewing it, I’m sure many people wanted to try and plan an exorbitant robbery worth nine figures. I know I did. Hopefully, “Ocean’s Twelve” will have the same effect. Also opening Dec. 10 is a movie called “Beyond the Sea.” I honestly did not know this movie even existed … but I’m still going to go see it the day it comes out. You only need to know two words about this movie to know it’s good: Kevin Spacey. Spacey is the King Midas of actors; everything he touches turns to gold. The only thing I know about this movie is that it is a biography of singer Bobby Darin and his rise to fame. I don’t know who Darin was, but I do know I will be in the theater on opening night. Another solid movie that opens Dec. 22 is “Meet the Fockers,” the sequel to “Meet the Parents.” The original 2000 comedy was not only very enjoyable to watch, it was very beneficial in picking out inside jokes with your friends. In a pool volleyball game, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) just can’t seem to spike the ball over the net. Playing with competitive in-laws does not do much to Focker’s self-esteem as they constantly belittle him and poke fun at him for being a male nurse. At one point, someone uttered, “maybe if Florence Nightingale would play a little defense.” That was an all-time classic line. Whenever I play basketball with my friends and someone keeps getting beat to the basket, I too can say, “I just wish Florence Nightingale would play a little defense.” On another note, my family just got a new kitten and named him Jinx after the cat in “Meet the Parents.” The plot about “Meet the Fockers” is obvious from the movie title. Focker takes Jack Byrnes and his wife (Robert DeNiro and Blythe Danner) to meet his parents, played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand. The Fockers are everything the Byrnes are not: laid-back and easygoing with no regard for responsibility. It definitely will not be as good as the first installment, but should be funny regardless. Besides, even if it ends up being a major letdown, anything would probably be better than endless “bonding time” with members of your family you have not seen since the last holiday. The editorial ("Bobcats bring NBA spirit" Nov. 18) about going back to the coliseum for NBA basketball was on the money. We were there for their first win on the 10th and the atmosphere was great. I have tickets to six more games and could care less how they do. Can't wait for the new arena, and go Cats! Will "Murphy" Post It is the press' role to keep the government in check, and nowhere is that more evident than here at ASU, where the Appalachian has done more than its share to bring the topic of the Highlands court case to the students, while SGA, amidst the high-intensity poster policy hubbub, has somehow managed to turn a blind eye to the fact that $300,000 should go back to the students. While SGA's dedication to the student body shines through with last year's strong mobilization against tuition increases, where is student government now that there is money that could actually go back to students? Why is there no legislation being churned out by the legislative machine some call the Zeddy Factor? Where is Miriam Makhyoun in all this? Why have we not all heard about how SGA president Makhyoun is out crusading for the students of ASU by standing up to a fierce Highlands allocation board? Perhaps it is time SGA take a hint from its archenemy, the Appalachian, and do something about the Highlands money. Evan Moody I'm what you would call a sports fan. Well, I guess sports junkie would be a more appropriate term. I've seen every Super Bowl, World Series, and NCAA championship since I've been able to pick up a remote. I love my teams with a passion that tends to worry my parents and friends from time to time. So naturally when I went off to college I thought I would don the black and gold and proudly become a mountaineer through and through. However this wasn't the case. Between my own athletic commitments, extracurricular activities, and that thing called studying I don't have much time left in the day. Since there is no magical fairy to add a few extra hours into my day, the sports fan inside of me had to retire. I'm a senior now, and I made a promise to myself when the school year started. I was going to go to at least one event of every sports team here at App. So by chance the first sport I choose was volleyball. After wrestling practice one afternoon I took a stroll down the convocation center to find out what this sport was all about. A few of my buddies went with me and not ten minutes later we were hooked. There were girls flying through the air hitting balls at what seemed like a hundred miles an hour. They were diving and rolling on the court making the most impossible play look routine. Jump serves where flying through the air and then dropping like a hammer as soon as they crossed the net. I'm telling you this was the sport for me. It was intense, fast paced, and the girls played with an intensity that makes you get involved with the game. Take number two for example. If the ball is anywhere in the gym she is going to get to it. One rally we saw her dive onto the scorer's table to keep the ball in play. If that won?t get you fired up in the stands not much will. I could tell a story like this with every one of the girls out there on the court. They hate to loose. That hatred shows, because they don?t loose very often. Needless to say my buddies and I didn't miss a game from that day on. We just fell in love with that team. They play their hearts out every time they step on the court. The season ended just a few short days ago with App loosing to the most hated College of Charleston in the conference finals. I know all too well how if feels to come up short on your dreams of winning a SoCon title. It?s tough to come so far and then fall short right at the end. But the volleyball girls should know that there are a lot of people that admire the way they played this season. You were able to make ten guys sitting in the front row want to be part of the team. I know that it doesn't bring much solace, but congratulations on a great season. You play your sport the way it was intended, with intensity and hustle. We really do love to watch you play, and don?t worry we'll burn down Mushtown next year. If you've never been to a volleyball game before do yourself a favor and go to one. You'll see first hand the things I've so inadequately tried to describe. Be careful though. Volleyball can be addicting. Lee Roper In response to your Nov. 9th editorial, "SoCon once battleship, now dinghy," the columnist could not be more wrong in their points. First, in regards to the Elon game, yes indeed it was a butt-kicking, that cannot be denied. The Phoenix had a tough stretch and were outmatched, not to mention the Mountaineers ran up the score and stat sheets to pad Williams' and Fowlkes' stats. The columnist talks about the fact that App has a tough non-league schedule and if they had some more cupcakes things would be different. Well, if you look at the numbers App finished fourth of eight teams in football and lost to the two last place teams, UTC and Western Carolina. No matter how hard your non-conference schedule is, if you can't get it done in your own league, then how can you have any merit to say that the SoCon is as bad as it is? And football aside, other then your volleyball team, name one other major sport in which you excel in the Southern Conference. Both men's and women's basketball where the laughingstocks of the league last year, not to mention your atrocious baseball team. They do not help your argument there one bit. I think your comments were very unfounded and without merit if you stop to look at the numbers. Appalachian State at best is a middle of the pack team when it comes to Southern Conference sports, AT BEST. You may be right about the Mountaineers needing to change conferences, but a move down rather then up may be more suitable. You are right as well about the Southern Conference losing its respect as well. You can look no further then the record of App State sports to see that it is the Mountaineers and not teams like Elon, that are making the conference a dinghy. Mike Demos I read your paper's perspective, printed on Nov. 9, on Appalachian State being too good for the SoCon. Then I proceeded to laugh for your editor's sake. Your paper is irresponsible to claim that the SoCon isn't lofty enough for the almighty standards of App State. Your football team's losses to UTC and Western Carolina validate your publication's gross overreaction. At least Elon didn't choke against UTC by giving up 59 points to a terrible team. Blame Furman, Wofford, and Georgia Southern for playing cupcake games all you want. Ask the so-called experts about how easy it is for a SoCon school to play Georgia and Pittsburgh. I know that ASU didn?t play a tough school like that. Still, that's beside the point. Football is just one sport. Elon finished better than ASU in men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball last year just to name a few sports. It?s not fair to slight all the other schools in the conference because the ASU football team did not make the playoffs. A school is in an athletic conference for all sports, not just football. Before you call on Chancellor Peacock with your uneducated diatribe about how ASU deserves better by jumping ship to another conference, your paper should do some actual research. Hopefully, the Appalachian will now actually think about why ASU?s football team is not in the playoffs: because they lost on the field. Mike Gerrity Leave the prayer groups on campus alone. The Constitution does not offer young Jason Hauser protection from "feel(ing) rather awkward." Allen Norman complains he "always feel(s) uncomfortable" with these Bible studies being conducted...my goodness, in an open venue! Imagine how this ol' 1977 ASU graduate "feels" when I perceive ASU has become a haven for too many societal malcontents and homosexual activists. Many of these seem hell bent on subverting the collective wisdom of a few millennia regarding their imprudent conduct and their prescriptive remedy for all that ails America. I applaud the students courageous enough to offer to the ASU body politic a welcome respite from the incessant proselytizing from homosexuals and their campus apologists. A university that loudly proclaims the moral high ground with its most recently concluded Fifth Annual "Queer Films" festival can surely "tolerate" a few Bible thumpers. Redemption is a powerful attraction of the Christian community, serves inclusively the benefit of all humanity, and offers assurance that believers ARE different from those who busy themselves with "feelings" of discomfort and awkwardness. Cheers to Catherine Potter and Megan Hutchins. Bible students expect to be maligned and unfairly characterized. Thanks to the secularists for reminding these students of what they "know," and knowledge is infinitely, and eternally more important than how one "feels." Finally, where's the "diversity" crowd on this issue? Why, I expect they are right now preparing long-winded speeches and protest marches on the chancellor's office in support of these sincere but misguided moral hegemonists... One shouldn't hold ones breath, I'm sure. William Elmore |
© 2004 ASU Student Publications
