O PINION O L D
This column represents the views of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board.
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but suffice it to say that we feel that they are working hard to listen to students, more so than we perhaps gave them credit for initially. However, we would like to emphasize two points. One, when students organize an event with SAF funds, they should continue to keep the best interest of all students in mind. Secondly, we think, agreeing with something SG president Jermyn Davis proposed, that the SAF committee should be a more open and transparent group. Students should be entitled to see how their SAF funds are being spent so that everyone involved is held accountable for their decisions. Why is so much secrecy necessary? Note that Kell Wilson, editor in chief, abstains from endorsing this editorial, as she is a member of the SAF committee.
Safe Walk sounds like a great idea
K
udos to Matt Triplett and Student Government on his recent initiative to start up a Safe Walk Program. It almost goes without saying that safety at our university has become a concern of many students recently, in light of the notable robberies of the past few weeks. We are glad that SG has a response to this. It’s also good that Triplett wants to get student involved in the program. It could give us a chance to show off our own sense of Pro Humanitate by lending a helping hand in keeping our fellow students safe. It could become an established group in the same way that the EMT program is
currently. Although it could be initially difficult to secure enough volunteers, we know that similar programs at similar schools work out well. However, if the promise of a sense of self-satisfaction alone isn’t enough to secure lots of volunteers, which would indeed be a sad fact, then it may be a viable plan to put various incentives in place, such as credit or pay. Another thing we believe should be petitioned by Student Government regarding campus safety is the return of the shuttle to the call system. This, coupled with Safe Walk, could ensure that no student is left alone at night and could cut down on the risk.
OLD GOLD&BLACK The Student Newspaper of Wake Forest University since 1916
Kell Wilson Editor in chief Tyler Kellner Mariclaire Hicks Business manager Managing editor News: CeCe Brooks, editor. Caitlin Brooks, assistant editor. Opinion: Alex Osteen, editor. Hannah Werthan, assistant editor. Sports: Allison Lange and Connor Swarbrick, editors. Life: Kara Peruccio, editor. Caroline Edgeton, assistant editor. Photography: Kelly Makepeace and Sophie Mullinax, editors. Graphics: Ryan Caldwell, editor. Production: Ashton Astbury, Olivia Boyce, Hunter Bratton, Sam Cernuto, Bobby O’Connor, Chantel O’Neal, Nilam Patel, Gary Pasqualicchio, Tori Stewart, Bo-Shan Xiang, production assistants. Online: Elizabeth Wicker, editors. Nick Venditti, development. Business Staff: Max Rubin, associate manager. Jake Gelbort, invoices and circulation. Adviser: Wayne King. The Old Gold & Black is published Thursdays during the school year, except during examinations, summer and holiday periods, by Stone Printing of High Point. Send e-mail to ogb@wfu.edu. To subscribe, please send $75 to P.O. Box 7569, Winston-Salem, NC 27106. © 2008 WFU Media Board. All rights reserved. The views expressed in all editorials and advertisements contained within this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Old Gold & Black. Send guest columns to ogboped@wfu.edu. The deadline for inclusion is 5 p.m. the Monday before publication. To view editorials policies, visit www.oldgoldandblack.com.
Submissions The Old Gold & Black welcomes
Student leaders show they care
ast week’s editorial (“Do not waste our SAF money,” Nov. 13) was met with a lot of response by various student leaders as well as administrators. We can say that we are actually very pleased with this fact, even if one may assume the opposite. First of all, it means that there are at least a few people out there who take the time to read the newspaper. (After all, we do write our opinion here for a reason). But more importantly, it is reassuring that the people in charge of Student Government and Student Union care enough about what they do and about what their fellow students think that they took the time to meet with us and to write in. We will let you read through their columns in this section to see their exact responses,
A T : w w w. o l d g o l d a n d b l a c k . c o m ogboped@wfu.edu
submissions in the form of columns and letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and columns should be under 750 words. Send yours via e-mail to ogboped@wfu.edu, by campus mail to P.O. Box 7569 or deliver it to Benson 518. by 5 p.m. the Monday before publication. We reserve the right to edit all letters for length and clarity. No anonymous letters will be printed.
Quick Quotes “The next thing he knew he was in the river.” - Lawrence Callahan, of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, explaining how 42-year-old Andrew Hanson’s sneeze made him lose control over his pickup truck.
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L E T T ER S T O THE E DITOR
Columnist’s argument about race in elections was flawed and circular
SAF committee is actually a “careful steward” of the funds it distributes
As I read through Josh Binney’s column “Race shouldn’t be a factor in elections” (Nov. 13), it became increasingly clear to me just how truly dizzying his intellect must be — not from any sort of brilliance, but from the circularity of his arguments manifested in his extremely confusing prose. One might expect a writer who is so particular about words — he refuses to refer to Obama as the “President-Elect” until the “Electoral College has bestowed upon him that honor” — to understand the definition of “aesthetic.” Or maybe he honestly meant to convey that his opposition to Obama’s candidacy was not “concerned or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste.” But poor word choice is not Binney’s only flaw. He seems to be under the impression that the election must be the result of either concerns about character or color, as if these categories were mutually exclusive, as if one cannot both be proud of Obama as “the nation’s first black president” and also be proud of his character. He asks the question, “Should it not be self-evident that a hard-working person of any race can rise to our nation’s highest office?” Until this election, however, what Binney takes to be a “self-evident” truth was exactly the opposite. Surely he does not expect us to believe, in over 200 years of history and 43 presidencies, that this country has never had an African American qualified or capable enough to hold that office until now? Binney raises the question, “Why must we constantly prove to ourselves — and the weeping Reverend Jackson — that we are a nation of tolerance in which African Americans can live as equals?” I might raise my own question: “Why must columnists who argue that race shouldn’t be a factor in elections constantly attempt to convince readers that it didn’t play a part in their own personal vote?” Most telling of all, most selfcondemnatory, is Binney’s own answer to that question: “We don’t.” And all his claims that race didn’t matter to him, all his trite generalizations of “leaders of the African American community,” his biting reference to Jesse Jackson crying (one might ask what that has to do with anything), his complaints regarding a presidential outcome with which he is obviously quite unhappy, certainly do not convince me otherwise.
I am writing in response to the editorial “Do not waste our SAF money” (Nov. 13). I appreciate the thoughts and concerns behind the article, but I want to correct a basic inaccuracy. You asked why Student Government and Student Union should have to bend to the pressure of the administration to spend their money on a greater number of small events throughout the year, instead of events that you do want. I am not sure how you arrived at this conclusion. In fact, the SAF committee does not plan any events. Instead, it receives requests for funding and thoughtfully allocates funds. The only events that the SAF committee has ever put forward itself have been Wake Invasion busses and Random Acts of Fun. Student organizations, including Student Union and Student Government, submit funding requests. The SAF committee consists of three administrators and seven students (six students are voting members). It was designed so that students would always hold the majority of votes on the committee. The SAF guidelines note that previous funding is not a guarantee of future funding. Each event is evaluated on its own merit. When an event is not well executed or well attended, those facts are given consideration for future funding decisions. The SAF fund has provided students with many events that by all accounts have been very successful — Springfest, Shag on the Mag, the Presidential Ball, Springfest Kickoff Carnival, aWake All Night and numerous large concerts, including O.A.R. the night before your editorial. And yes, the SAF fee has also funded or partially funded some smaller events such as Homecoming, South Campus Lawn Party, Can-I-Poet, Homecoming Bash, Chinese New Year and Wake the Library. These are events that, while smaller in numbers, have been well-received by students. The SAF committee has been a careful steward of SAF funds. The members of the committee are students too, and they have expressed their own desire for big concerts and events. The committee wants to fund as many large events as possible. There is one cautionary note. Attendance can’t be the only criterion of success. You should be assured that the SAF fund is in good hands.
Ben Wilkinson English graduate student
Mary T. Gerardy Associate Vice President for Student Life Chair, SAF Committee
“I want to promote anything that manages human waste on the mountain.” - Dawa Steven Sherpa, who led an eco-Everest expedition in May to collect trash dumped by previous climbers, on how he wants to market a toilet fashioned from a plastic bucket with a lid to Everest climbers.
“” “It is inexcusable for a member of the police to have caused this case and we plan to deal with it strictly.” - Tsutomu Sato, the head of the National Public Safety Commission in Tokyo, Japan, about a senior police official in charge of arrested drunk drivers who has been arrested for driving under the influence.
“” “When I rang the bell at the jail and told them who I was, they were surprised. I guess they haven’t seen that before.” - Chad Toy, of Paducah, Ky., explaining the reaction he received when he returned to McCracken County Regional Jail after escaping the day before.
“” “I didn’t think it through and didn’t anticipate the consequences.” - Lutz Heilmann, a member of the German parliament who got a court order blocking online encyclopaedia Wikipedia in Germany for two days because of entries linking him to communist-era security police, apologizing for his actions.