February 11, 1997

ASU's ROTC wins prestigious award
Amy Foster - Staff Writer
Jeremy Ball - Assistant Features Editor

A faculty member of Appalachian's Military Science department, Captain Brian Lugenbeel, recently received a prestigious award from the United States Army for his distinguished service with the school's program.

In January Lugenbeel received the Army's Accommodation Medal for service above and beyond the normal scope of his duty.

This award was the result of the cadet program's performance in the Army's annual evaluation of cadets looking to be commissioned after graduation. Cadets are required to attend the evaluation between their junior and senior years.

Appalachian's 14 cadet's did an incredible job. They came out first among all of the cadet programs east of the Mississippi.

In two of the five categories that cadets are evaluated in Appalachian's cadets placed above every other cadet program. Their performance in the other categories was top notch, as well, placing them in the top one percent.

The event was held for a period of six weeks at Fort Bragg, with Lugenbeel's cadets working on infantry tactics training.

Lugenbeel said that they were evaluated in such areas as rifle marksmanship, physical fitness, orienteering and leadership skills.

All last school year, Lugenbeel trained them here, on campus. He was recognized for his training because of the astounding performance of the cadets at Fort Bragg.

Two other awards were given to the cadets. One was for the Army Physical Fitness Test which includes push-ups, sit-ups, and running. The other was basic marksmanship which involved shooting the M-16.

An All Pro Award was presented to Appalachian for being above the camp average in every event and sending 14 cadets to camp.

All of cadets from Appalachian received the option of an active duty commission after graduation. Lugenbeel said that is extremely rare.

Thirteen of the cadets did so well that they were told that they could choose the branch they wanted to go into. The other cadet was given his second choice.

"What many people don't realize, is how valuable the ROTC program is at Appalachian. We have one of the best programs in the nation with the best benefits you could get," Lugenbeel said.

Captain Lugenbeel has been at Appalachian for two years as Assistant Professor for Military Science, Operations Officer, and MS-3 Instructor. He plans on going to Fort Campbell, Kentucky in April, where he will eventually become a Company Commander.

Lugenbeel credits the program's success this summer to three factors. First of all, "They were evaluated on infantry tactics and I'm an infantry man", he said.

Secondly, he said that he is much younger than most of the cadre selected to lead this type of program, so the cadets were able to relate to him much better. "When I tell them something they know that it's probably true".

Lugenbeel said that, most importantly, "I just got a lot of quality kids".

Lugenbeel, obviously, has many reasons to be proud of his work and of the school's program.

"This program teaches college survival and instills leadership skills," he says. "When cadets leave this program, they are very prepared to accomplish their goals."

If Captain Lugenbeel's training is any indication of the level of expertise among all of the cadets then the goal of national security is definitely in capable hands.

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Keeping dates creative
Amy Trampush
Reporter

Last night, were students' hearts beating fast for that special someone or did they drink too much coffee at Tradewinds?

With Valentine's Day approaching, the Creative Dating lecture last night in Tradewind's Coffee Shop was a help to students who need creative new dating ideas, as well as those who desire to create-a-date before Friday.

The Creative Dating lecture presented by Michael DeRosa was sponsored by APPS. It received the 1996 lecture program of the year award from Campus Activities Today Magazine.

DeRosa is the assistant dean of Student Development at Florida Tech and travels nationwide giving lectures to high schools, colleges, civic groups and professionals. With DeRosa's experiences from his student involvement at Florida Tech, he was able to relate to ASU students and provide an interactive and entertaining atmosphere.

Many times DeRosa feels people learn more from each other in discussion than the material he presents to them. Some students arrived thinking the program was ASU's version of "Singled Out" which was definitely not the case.

However, those who attended did learn how to make a good first impression, what role interpersonal communication plays in dating, the impact of alcohol and AIDS in relation to dating, ways to bring back romance, methods of breaking up, and how to make the best of a bad date.

The lecture also offered suggestions for ways to impress a woman and ways to impress a man. To impress men it is helpful to: be independent and self-reliant, initiate conversation, allow yourself to be treated like a lady, be comfortable with his friends (but not too comfortable), and pretend you enjoy sports (which may not work too well if you don't know why you are cheering).

To impress women the suggestions included: flowers, chivalrous acts, call if you will be late, check your ego at the door, and consume alcohol in a social manner only (which applies to women as well). Even if you don't follow these suggestions or agree with them, Creative Dating gave students a new perspective, as well as ways to develop feelings of confidence. Sometimes that's all we need.

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ACT gives Spring Break alternative
Amy Foster
Staff Writer

Do you not have enough money for Spring Break this year? Looking for an "alternate" plan? If you are, then ACT has the solution for you.

ACT is providing a seven-day trip to Atlanta, called "Alternative Spring Break," to work with Hands on Atlanta, a volunteer organization. Four of the days will be volunteer work and two days will be free days.

One project will be working with AIDS patients and their families. The volunteers will help with things such as meal preparation, writing letters, and companionship.

Another project will be working with refugee teens. These teens will need assistance with their homework since English is their second language.

Other projects will include, aiding newborn infants and their accompanying families, putting together meals for people who are HIV positive, sorting and packaging food for delivery to local feeding programs throughout the city, and helping children realize how important they are to society.

There are only 12 spots left for this trip and applications are due February 12. If you would like to go on this trip or volunteer for any other human and environmental service, contact Peggy Setzer in Plemmons Student Union at 262-2193. Help yourself feel good by helping others feel good.

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Danzig: Alive with rock cliches
Jeff Simms
Reporter

So there I was, wading amidst an ocean of people, swimming in the sea known as Ziggy's, in Winston-Salem, at my first Danzig show.

For those lesser informed, Glenn Danzig has been a punk rock icon for nearly 20 years. He founded the Misfits, quite possibly the classic punk band (a title only disputed by the likes of Black Flag or the Bad Brains) in 1977, and upon their demise in 1983, started Samhain, another classic ghoul-punk band.

But I digress. The point is that through all of this history, I had never seen Danzig, in any musical incarnation. So when I heard that the band was playing at Ziggy's two Fridays ago, I had no problem deciding what I'd be doing that night.

Upon my arrival, I quickly realized that all of the metal essentials were fully accounted for: lots of smoke, beer, hair, screaming, and most importantly, lots of black. As Danzig took the stage, my world forever changed.

The show began well, and in all honesty, it rocked. The band was extremely tight, and Danzig has a very well-honed stage presence. The opening chords of "Mother" also brought to my attention for the first time the most intriguing aspect of the night: the girl.

The girl to whom I refer had somehow made her way out onto a platform so that she was standing a few feet above the rest of the crowd, or just high enough for Danzig to see her, her tight pants, and her tight midriff top.

Every time Danzig came to the stage right area, this girl would start her sexy dance routine, all the while pointing and gyrating at the metal god himself. The two made eye contact several times, with Danzig and his tour lackeys taking turns pointing at her.

One of the stage guys eventually made his way out through the crowd to the girl. I saw him talk to her for several minutes, and then give her and her friend each a piece of paper (surely with a hotel name or a phone number on it) before leaving.

By now, the show was just about over, and if I didn't mention it before, it was awesome. The man and his band, metal as they may be, had played a great mix of songs from their six records and had proceeded to rock my world while doing so.

As the evening came to an end, the band exited stage left just long enough to towel off before a two-song encore. It was highlighted by "She Rides," one of the better songs from the 1988 debut LP. Even more interesting than that, though, was when I looked to my left and found the space previously occupied by the two girls conspicuously empty.

While the band did "She Rides" and one more off the new record, dozens of scenarios raced through my head to account for the girls' absence. As the show drew to its final close, I poked around their area, expecting them to have left clues as to their whereabouts.

Finding nothing but cigarettes and beer bottles, I entertained thoughts of waiting outside the club and following them, but quickly decided against it. Those kinds of things were always better left to the imagination anyway.

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