The 1997-98 academic year is winding to a close, and restless minds have already begun to lie on the beach, summer internships, and new careers ahead. But before packing up the ThinkPad and dorm room (maybe for the last time) and heading over to the nearest storage shed, it seems appropriate to reflect upon the events that have shaped this year.
As students studied beneath the fluorescent hum of library lights, relaxed in Shorty's and cheered the Demon Deacons on to not-so-basketball-victory, much was happening on the university campus.
Not all was great: some events, namely the deaths of two students, gave the campus a startlingly bleak glimpse at reality. However, much that was beneficent, like judicial reform, unfolded with the year. Here is what the Old Gold and Black thinks of the significant occurrences in 1997-98.
Jeers to the fact that the university lost two of its members. The deaths of freshman Alexander Gedicks and sophomore Greg Wilson served as a bitter reminder that a university is not a refuge from tragedy and death. Gedicks and Wilson were involved in many areas of campus and have been sorely missed by those who knew them.
Cheers to Judicial Reform. After months of tedious work Student Government was able to present a reform that students would support. With hope, the faculty's confidence in the judicial process will increase with these reforms. Jeers, however, to the method in which SG rammed reform down students' throats with its politically crooked "Vote Yes" campaign.
Jeers to the loss of another pillar of the university's social structure -- the Kappa Sigma fraternity. It was unfair that the university subjected the entire fraternity to a punishment. Cheers, however, to the university's show of intolerance for hazing, in any form.
Jeers to Playboy for trying to recruit university women to appear in a women of the ACC pinup. More jeers to any intelligent university woman who would degrade herself by auditioning for the magazine.
Cheers to the near completion of Polo Hall, the latest in townhouse-style living. The university effectively followed through with the board of trustees's request that the residence be primarily for independents. However, jeers to the fact that the segregation of Greeks and independents will proliferate.
Many jeers to ICCEL, the latest company to sink its corporate claws into the soft underbelly of our liberal arts institution. The mutual boot-licking between university and corporations (IBM, PepsiCo, Nike) is destined to leave the university bankrupt of its liberal arts ideals. Pro-humanitate is fast becoming, "pro-moremoneytoday."
Jeers to the new alcohol policy. Rules stipulating that students bring their own coolers to parties has been an unreasonable request. No one wants to look like they are enroute to a picnic when they are going to a fraternity party.
Additionally, the paperwork that students have been required to fill out upon entering parties is as complex as a W-4 form. The university's efforts to curb underage drinking reached an unreasonable level this year. Underage drinking does not appear to have decreased since the establishment of the new policies.
Jeers to the loss of Delta Gamma, and to the large sizes of sorority pledge classes that have resulted from its loss. Cheers to Delta Gamma and Panhellenic for their attempts to preserve the sorority, and cheers to Panhellenic for bringing a new sorority, Phi Mu to campus next year. Hopefully, the decision to add a new sorority will be a successful move, and will enable interested women to become Greek.
Jeers to Edward Shlikas, the law school student who though that he could sue the university's law school and win. Believing that first year law school students are treated unfairly, he decided that a law suit could revolutionize things. Going on a hunger strike to prove a point did not seem to help his case much, either.
Cheers to the university for not caving in to the Baptists who wanted Shorty's to stop serving beer. Although the university dissolved its affiliation with the Baptist church a decade ago, the Baptists felt that their voice should be heard on this matter.
Cheers to the university for letting students make this decision on their own, and for remaining true to its nonreligious affiliation.
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