February 11, 1997

Rape case decision should anger community
Viewpoint
Vanessa Urruela
Editor-in-Chief

There is no doubt in my mind as I write this late Monday night, that some people are going to be angry when they read the punishments the University Board recommended be given to the men accused of recently raping a first-year student.

As I read the press release detailing the sanctions, I grew furious. Mad as hell to be exact.

All I could think about was the fact that The Appalachian had been so fair to the accused, writing "alleged" in headlines and stories about the case.

Then I started really processing everything that I had seen and heard about the case. My mind was spinning with questions.

First, why was one boy (nobody who assaults a woman is a man) completely exonerated?

Why did the boys who were found guilty of "lewd and obscene conduct" only get suspended and not expelled from school? I don't want "lewd and obscene" people who like to assault women on this campus, at all. They don't deserve any chance to earn a college degree.

How can a mere suspension be just punishment for the behavior of these boys?

Then, after I realized I couldn't answer my questions, I began to look at it in another way.

There are really only seven people who know what happened in the residence hall room. They were there, participating in whatever happened willfully or not. One woman and six boys.

Nobody besides those people can truly say if someone was raped. Not one single person.

So, when we get angry about the situation, do we process our emotional response intelligently?

Here's the way I look at it.

I would bet that O.J. Simpson is very guilty of somehow participating in the murder of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman. However, I think so because I was privy to information that the jurors didn't see during his first trial. We all were. The jurors weren't shown all the evidence that was on TV. If they had, Simpson would be rotting in jail like he probably deserves to be.

So, similarly here at Appalachian, only a chosen few were in the room during all those hours when the testimony in the rape case was going on.

We don't know what happened or who was present on that night.

What we do know is that finally, students and other members of the Appalachian community are talking about safety. Constantly.

There are some positive things that have come out of this whole situation.

Though handling the case through the university exacted a much too light punishment, at least the woman was brave enough to press charges in some way. The fact that she reported the events to the University police in the first place is a positive thing. That takes an amazing amount of guts.

We should also be thankful that the university community is finally bringing an extremely serious issue to light. Never in my four years at Appalachian have I witnessed students caring so passionately about one issue. I am proud of the efforts that the university has made to educate and encourage discussion about sexual assault and other interpersonal/relationship issues. This is an issue that has been taboo for far too long.

Though I hope to God that the boys involved go home and attempt to fix whatever's wrong with their heads, I doubt that this will happen. I pity the women who will attend Appalachian in the coming years when these criminals come back to a place they don't deserve to be.

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Daytime talk shows need overhaul
My Turn
Todd Goodman
Columnist

Are daytime talk (smut) shows ruining America? I don't know, but I am certain they're not helping.

Sometimes I get bored with studying and find myself watching daytime television. I hardly ever watch soaps (excluding re-runs of 90210) and I'm too old for cartoons, so eventually I happen upon a talk show.

Why is it that everyone of these shows resemble each other? It all begins with their guest selection. Where do they find these people, "Trailer-Parks-R-Us?"

The last episode I watched came via the Ricki Lake show. This one was a classic. Her first guest was a young lady who was unhappy with her boyfriend's job. He was a male dancer at a local sleaze joint.

Ricki then brought on her boyfriend. I believe his name was Reggie. He burst onto the stage gyrating and shaking his moneymaker. He ended up his routine by dry-humping the floor in front of the audience. This is quality television as far as daytime goes.

An hour later, the show had accomplished absolutely nothing. The two guests had argued back and forth, getting louder and louder with each outburst.

Ricki acted like she wanted them to calm down, but I knew better. She was loving this tirade. Good arguments equal good ratings, I think. The reason I am picking on the Ricki Lake show is because it's the only one I can clearly remember.

I will not pick on it without offering up some constructive ways to improve it. First and foremost, these shows should watch the Howard Stern show and emulate it.

Stern's shows are interesting and have interesting guests. The other night, Heather Locklear was his guest. We all know who she is, right? For those who are unfamiliar, she is the blonde bombshell who stars on Melrose Place.

Howard made her feel very welcome. He asked her pertinent questions which interest the audience such as "So what do you sleep in, a thong?" Her answer was "I sleep in the raw." Inquiring minds want to know.

By the way, that was just a mild question. Stern explored Heather's thoughts on sex and fantasies. I know more about her than I did before watching, and that is a point of a good interview.

Daytime talk shows (DTS) have idiots for guests. "Now on the Ricki Lake Show; Daughters who think their mom is a whore."

Maybe it's just me, but I don't care if she is a whore. Get a famous guest on your DTS and reveal something juicy. Get supermodel Nicki Taylor to tell me her deep dark secrets, not some toothless waitress from Bob's Chicken Shack.

These shows could benefit greatly from following Stern's example. He's not afraid to ask the questions we all want to hear. Sex sells, especially that of famous people.

A few things for smut-show hosts to remember:

1. Fire your current guest selector.
2. Bring on intelligent, interesting guests.
3. Ask probing, racy questions, and
4. Watch the Howard Stern Show weeknights on E.

If the DTS's follow my simple suggestions, the quality of daytime television will increase tenfold.

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Campus Perspectives
What do you think about TV talk shows like Ricki Lake?

Jimmy Brannam
"I think that they're a waste of TV airtime, and they serve no good purpose."

Owen Prentice, Junior
"I find TV talk shows as an interesting part of American society, in that they give a clear... it's like psychoanalysis of American society, seeing some of the less appealing parts our society."

Kathryn Goforth, senior
"I think that talk-shows can generally serve a good purpose, if they're educational, but a lot of them tend to be for entertainment purposes, and they exploit people."

Alice Nuckolls, Freshman
"I think that they're good if they benefit society in some way... if it helps the person who's there in the first place, it's great, but if you must get up there and talk about your problem, and no one helps you, you didn't help anyone or anything."

Karen Bush
"I think TV talk shows are somewhat educational, but then there are others that are trashy."

Laurie Troutman, senior
"Although sometimes they could be a pretty good forum for people to discuss their problems, I think that the vast majority of them these days are trash."

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Our Opinion...

Boone rocks on: without ASU?

These hills are indeed alive with the sound of music. It's a shame you can't always hear it.

The amount of local talent that the ASU/Boone community has to offer is astounding by any measure. This town has much more to offer than some metropolitan areas in the state. Let's go out on a limb and say that, next to the perennial critics' favorite college rock town, Chapel Hill, Boone has the most fertile music scene in the state.

That's not so much of a stretch if you think about it.

Some of the bands that we have in our proximity are hard tourers, playing to the farthest reaches of the East Coast, if not the entire nation. Some have had major offers from not-so-small labels.

Why is it then that we can't see them on campus?

This isn't to say that our homegrown talent is totally neglected by the University.

It's just that most of the bands have to resort to playing in local bars and restaurants. It would be nice if the University would provide a small venue for local acts, exclusively, to perform in.

The big problem is that these bands are just not as readily available to students as they should be. It really stinks that we have to trudge out into town when we want to see any area groups play. What's even worse is that many of these artists go to ASU. They can't even be assured of a gig on their own campus.

There's lots of plusses to encouraging area bands to play on campus. One is the redirected revenue. These bands often play to packed houses: wouldn't it be nice if that was on campus? Think about it this way. People pay loads of money each year for conveniences. It's not an outlandish thought that they would pay for this one.

Though it can be a hindrance at a typical rock and roll show, there won't be any question about the security at the gig. Anything on campus is sure to be well secured and safe. With all the concern lately over such matters, wouldn't you think that would be a definite plus for students?

There's no denying the fact that organizations like A.P.P.S. provide students with loads of quality entertainment. Not every college campus can boast the caliber of artists that we have pulled in the past year because of the Programming Society. One thing most other schools can say is that they nurture local bands a bit more than ASU has.

Most bands in college towns wouldn't be anything without the support of their schools. There's only so much a person can read in a student newspaper or hear on a campus radio station about a band. It all comes down to the live experience. Too bad there's not too many places to rock around here.

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