This week's stories:
The Student Government Associa-tion senate passed a proposal at Monday's meeting to help deal with the much-talked-about parking problem on campus. From a student's perspective, the proposal could solve many of the worries about parking, especially parking in the evening hours. The proposal says, basically, that students would be able to park in faculty spots from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. without being ticketed by Security Services. In addition, by eliminating ticketing at night, security could focus on providing a safer campus. Now it's up to George Solan, vice president for student life, and Jon Penner, director of Security Services, to pass or reject the proposal. We urge them to pass the proposal. Students have made their point crystal clear - they want something done. The university should respond to students' requests. Most students pay tuition, room and board and a $50 fee for an annual parking pass. If they are not satisfied with the services provided, they have the right to demand action. But if the administrators do reject the plan, they should offer a compromise. Maybe administration would like an hour shaved off the proposed times for the new parking regulation. Or maybe some spots could be utilized, while other are still reserved 24 hours for faculty teaching night classes or working later hours in the evening. Either way, it is reasonable for students to be able to utilize faculty spaces after 5 p.m. when they work in Plassmann Hall computer labs, eat at the Reilly Center Cafe or play basketball in the Reilly Center Arena. If Penner and Solan do reject the proposal, SGA, students and administration must work together to solve this problem. Constant complaining does nothing. If this plan doesn't work, all the parties involved must make compromises to come up with a workable solution.
On the St. Bonaventure campus, the problem of diversity has been lost among more popular and direct complaints from students about parking, food and Clare College. Nevertheless, a problem does exist. If students aren't subjected to other people's points of view and ways of life, whether it be from professors, peers or extracurricular activities, they are not receiving a full education in the ways of the world. The university's Diversity Action Committee has attacked this issue, seemingly under the radar of many students on campus. On Jan. 7 the committee held a meeting with administrative leaders from Alfred University and Alfred State College. While no official plans came out of the meeting, it was a small step toward the goal of providing a diverse learning environment for students. Jon Boeckenstedt, vice president for enrollment, said although the schools are very different, "It all comes down to how to make diverse people feel comfortable on a campus that is a predominantly white and rural area." In addition, the committee has planned a slate of speakers to visit campus to discuss racism, gender oppression and class disparity. Elaine Brown, the former chair of the Black Panther Party, is scheduled to be on campus at 8 p.m. on Tuesday in the Trustees' Room in Doyle Hall. Brown's talk will be a great opportunity for students to hear a different point of view than many are used to. More opportunities will come on March 1, when Chanrithy Him will be on campus to discuss surviving the killing fields of Cambodia, and April 4, Beverly Donofrio, author of the book "Riding in Cars with Boys," will discuss issues concerning women and gender. This won't be the first time the committee has brought a speaker to St. Bonaventure to discuss other cultures and viewpoints. Last fall, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Helen Hatab Samhan presented "Who are Arabs? Who are Muslims?" All of these lectures are a simple way for students to learn something new and, in the process, become more aware of the world surrounding them. The committee is providing opportunities and working toward a more diverse community. Students should work towards increasing their awareness.
By Rob Dermody At the end of my senior year in high school, I had to make one of the toughest decisions I ever had to encounter: Where would I go to college? I had athletic scholarships to several schools, and other great offers for academics as well. But, I chose St. Bonaventure University. I earned a small academic scholarship of $6,700 per year, and I also received other grants and loans. My parents dish out thousands of dollars per year for me to come here. After reading a Jan. 18 article in The Bona Venture about how high book prices are, I was angry. This is my sophomore year here, and I have paid over $700 in books between the last two semesters. That money came out of my own pocket, and I spent the summer sweating for it. Students spend so much money to attend SBU and really get very little for their dollar. One of the biggest concerns I have is the classrooms being less than adequate. Class-rooms are supposed to be the places for learning. We are in an organization for higher learning and it appears by the look of the classrooms around here that we are in a poverty-stricken elementary school. There are cracked walls, very little technological presence and not even something as simple as clocks are located in some of the classrooms. Another problem with SBU is that the parking situation is a joke. Students cannot even find a spot in a hurry and if one does, he or she is probably going to have a ticket on the windshield of the car when returning. All the convenient spots are for the faculty and staff, and when they leave for the day, there are hundreds of wasted spots no one can utilize. Another complaint others have is the community is making our social life difficult to enjoy. I understand there are laws to be followed in order to protect everyone from harm however, being responsible and having some fun during time to unwind shouldn't be stopped. I go to school all week and put in around 20 hours at the library, so when the weekend roles around all I want to do is go out and chill out. This community needs us to stay alive financially, and for some reason it seems as if it does everything possible to ward us off. Ever since the closing of Mad Dogs, an Allegany bar, and strict police presence, I barely leave campus. I know there are several others who do the same. Next, we are allowed three meals a day at the Hickey Dining Hall, at times that are convenient for them. The food quality has improved slightly, however the dining hall should be more open at later hours. Some students can only eat at the Hickey. When it closes they are out of luck. I was taught in my management science course, that the students are customers here at SBU and we are paying for a product. With that in mind, we should be able to complain and have change the things we are dissatisfied with. Our parents pay roughly $23,000 (before scholarships and financial aid) a year for us to come here. As a paying customer, I believe the customer is always right and that administration should open up their eyes a little and listen to the students, and offer us a "True Bonaventure Experience."
Cancellation system needs work Last week, in which two of my classes were unexpectedly canceled for the day, it has become apparent that St. Bonaventure's class cancellation system needs some serious attention. If a professor is unable to make it to a scheduled class, due to inclement weather, illness or any other reason, the students of that class have a right to be notified before actually going to the classroom and waiting for 15 minutes. If a professor knows he or she is not going to be there, it seems students could be informed of this through some organized system. One way would be to e-mail the students on the class roster. Many professors ask for e-mail addresses at the beginning of the semester so this could be easily accomplished. A secretary could perform this task after a phone call from the professor saying he or she isn't going to be in for specific classes. At the very least, a class cancellation notice should be posted on the classroom door and on the professor's office door. It is a mild inconvenience for on-campus students to walk to class, wait around for 15 minutes and then decide whether it is safe to leave and get on with the day. It is more of an inconvenience for off-campus students to drive to campus, search for a parking place, and get to class on time to find out class has been canceled. It's a waste of gas and time. It's a huge inconvenience for those students, like myself, who live off campus and have small children that need to be run to preschool or daycare before I can go to classes. Whatever the system, if any, that is suppose to be in place for these circumstances is definitely not working and needs to be addressed by the professors and administration at SBU. And above all, it is students who are paying for these classes, and the professors and the university that have an obligation to give us the classes we are paying for. Yeah, it is sometimes nice not to have a class when you have other things to do, but students have the right to be notified in some way that class won't be held that day without having to play the waiting and guessing games.
Sincerely,
We can stop hate a little bit at a
time "How can you call yourself an Indian? If you were a true Indian, you'd hate Pakistanis." The ghost of the partition of India and Pakistan, with its continuing legacy of hate, reared its ugly head yet again, this time on an innocent Yahoo! Games server. Fifty years ago, India and Pakistan were one country (Pakistan being a land of Muslim majority). In the past 50 years, the two countries have fought four wars over Kashmir, one of the few states in India with a Muslim majority. Four bloody wars and continuing terrorism for control of a state the size of Vermont! There were a majority of Indians in the chat room, many passing anti-Pakistan comments. I merely asked them why they hated the Pakistanis. "You're nothing but a fag. Only faggots hate their own countries," chimed in a fire starter, who was certainly not an Indian and merely butted into our conversation to feel the thrill of a debate and to provoke someone in having a war of words, preferably dirty. "Don't you know that at least 10 Indian soldiers die in Kashmir everyday, just because those bastards want our land? Would you preach this non-violence crap if your own siblings were attacked?" Surprisingly, I had no answer to this. Until then, I was able to match him word for word. For all my views on not giving hate and not jumping the bandwagon, I wasn't sure how I'd react if someone close to me was hurt. Sensing weakness, my adversary pounced. "See, it's easy to preach when you have other people to die for you. "You are welcome to share your views, but the truth is that people like you just fade away with your beliefs." The world suddenly didn't welcome me anymore. It was too full of hate. People just don't seem to give each other a chance. I hated Pakistanis until I was about 12 years old. I hated them because my culture taught me to hate them. I hated them because I was taught they hated us too. But when you grow older, strange ideas enter your head. Maybe they're not so bad after all. Maybe they're in the same position as we are. Maybe they are taught to hate us too. Being a tennis player, I get to travel a lot. I have met Pakistani men my age, sharing the same dreams and ambitions, hoping to someday break the barriers of hate that divide us. But, these barriers don't just stand before Indians and Pakistanis. Hate is as visible as our political boundaries. How many Americans are willing to forgive Osama bin Laden for what he did to them? How many Americans are willing to forgive the young blood of Palestine for raising their hands in glee as the blood bath unfolded in New York City? How many Americans are willing to forgive the thousands of children brought up on a diet of hate by extremists, brought up to hate the West and their ideals? These problems are not easy to solve, neither are their solutions quick and simple. Indeed society, especially American society, is becoming far too focused on fast, easy and effective solutions with its sophisticated gadgets and time-saving techniques. There is no quick formula for a good life. Sacrifices have to be made. But the hardest part is that not all sacrifices pay off. Still, we must try. I believe communication is the most vital aspect in our effort to make life better for all of us. We have to start learning from each other. And you can start in your very room, on your own computer. Get in the chat rooms. Talk to people. Let them learn about you, and learn from them too. Find out why people think like they do, instead of criticizing them first. And if you feel your effort was a failure, think of this: because of you, there might be a little less hate in the world.
Journey into a young man's mind:
why he doesn't call As I flipped through the Feb. 1 edition of The Bona Venture, I noticed a question to Ms. BonaSolver that read something like this: "Why are guys so shady when it comes to calling girls?" The confused student couldn't understand why guys took so long to call a girl after receiving her phone number. Although the answers given are credible and detailed, I've decided that I know enough about this hideous act to elaborate further. I am guilty of committing this crime and have done it many times in the past. There are many reasons why such an act takes place. There are times when guys don't even ask for a phone number but receive one nonetheless. Sometimes guys don't call girls right away, or even at all, because we simply don't want to. There are instances where girls we encounter are either annoying or repulsive, and we take your number because we want you to leave us alone. Other times, we play it like a game. We ask you for your phone number simply to see if we can get it. It's like an ego booster. Asking a girl for her number doesn't always mean that we are going to call. There are circumstances when a guy who is inexcusably arrogant will just wait to see if a girl will call him. It might not be a good thing, but it happens. Maybe if a guy hasn't called you yet, it's because he is hoping he can find someone better. If he can't do it within three or four days then he may break down and call you. In the worst-case scenario, we might not call at all because we only wanted a one-night stand and we don't ever want to see you again. In such cases, a guy probably didn't even ask you your name or he gave you a fake one. There are also innocent reasons as well. Sometimes we forget that we asked for a girl's number. This could either be because we have a bad memory or we were just too drunk that night to even remember we met you. Another reason could be because calling your house is a nightmare in itself. If you don't have that irritating little brother making ignorant remarks, you have that tough-guy older brother threatening to punch our faces if we ever talk to you again. If that's not bad enough, then we have to suffer that uncomfortable, yet inevitable, first conversation with your father. It's not exactly heartwarming to sit through 15 minutes of your beer-swilling father talking about how he used to be our age. We sit through that oratory about how your father knows that we're no good as he continues shining his double-barrel hunting shotgun. To us, that isn't always worth it. Some guys don't call right away because they are too shy. Not every guy is the Romeo girls expect him to be. Often we hope that you will just break the ice. If you don't get called for a series of days, this is probably the reason. There are dozens of other reasons why that first call takes so long for a guy to make. The best advice I can give to girls who have a question similar to this is to lighten up. If a guy really likes you, he'll call.
Valentine's not for everyone, especially those without love
By Jim Miller Bah, Humbug! Love is all well and good. Indeed, it is downright wonderful for those in it. There are some of us, however, for whom that emotion has entailed one long marathon up Heartbreak Hill. And we do not picture, alas, an idyll of utopian bliss when the fell phrase Valentine's Day is uttered. We view it instead as the evil creation of the Hallmark Card Company, a holiday as chilling and ephemeral as the snowstorms amidst which it takes place. It's not that we dislike those fortunate enough to be in love, though we might not, perhaps, have objected too loudly if St. Valentine had been torn apart by rabid wolves before anyone got around to naming a day after him. And don't get us wrong: we're not angry or bitter or jealous or anything as crazy as that. (Well, maybe just a tiny bit jealous, but that'll be our little secret.) It's simply that we object to the calendrical expression of an emotion that, if truly felt, should exist and be celebrated all day, every day. To commercialize romance, to dedicate a day to its overzealous display, serves only to cheapen what should be priceless, and to put bounds on something that ought to be boundless. Love should mean more than one day on which everybody is obligated to bring flowers or candy to their sweethearts. Love may be a beautiful thing for those who have found it, but it remains a sad thing for those who still seek it, and for those who have lost it. If you are fortunate enough to have come upon it, treasure it - for you are truly lucky. Remember, too, as you rush around in the throes of romance on Feb. 14, kissing anything that remotely reminds you of your significant other, that there are some of us who will spend the day alone. So don't take what you have for granted; if you have found love, express it always - not just on one single day of the year. One minor request, however: don't make the rest of us endure all the endless platitudes of passion run amok, on Valentine's Day or on any other day. We're happy for you - really, we are - but we'd just as soon associate St. Valentine's Day with Capone's massacre as with Cupid's Arrows - at least until some pierce our hearts, that is. And hey, until then, if you have any candy left over, send some our way!
By Torre Catalano If this was prison instead of college, AIM would have acquired me for a carton of cigarettes and I would be in charge of doing its laundry. Like I said, it owns me. I haven't done an official survey but I'm sure somewhere under 1 percent of this campus is not hooked up to AIM. That makes it hard when I'm trying to do homework and 65 buddies are currently on-line and active. There are times when the list seems endless. As of now, the program cannot hold any more screen names on my list. Reaching the maximum capacity of buddies on my buddy list was an odd feeling. I remember not knowing if that made me popular or terribly sad. I still struggle with that question. Of all the features AIM has, I'm sure all students will agree the away message/profile function is the real killer. This is the part that claimed my soul years ago. I question the higher powers every day why I feel it incredibly necessary to check everyone's away message. When I see that little yellow pad icon next to a screen name, an indescribable force puts my finger on the right mouse button and goes directly to "Get Member Info." Whether it be a quote, a smiley face, a shout out or a simple "not here," I'm going to see it. If you use the generic "I'm currently away from my computer right now," you terribly disappoint me. Profiles are the worst because people change them so much, making me check them that much more. People are obsessed with their profiles. I am awe struck that our generation revolves so heavily around them. I've seen friendships end and couples break up over profiles. Suppose two best girlfriends share a night of fun and laughs. The next day, one of the friends puts quotes and inside jokes about it on her profile, branding the night forever in her collective cyber memory. If the other friend fails to mention the night in her silicon scrapbook, the friend that did could get mad. And how does the friend profess her anger to the other? Over AIM. Why we choose to talk over important aspects of our life on-line, I'll never know. But don't think I'm ragging on anyone; I do it too. The problem lies here: the friend professing her anger feels the freedom of not being face to face, edging her towards more risky and hurtful word usage. The friend receiving the cyber tongue lashing has little ability to defend herself with nothing more than a keyboard. She can't see her friend's body language or face. This can cause a huge problem, and even lead to the dreaded "warning." The warning function is the 21st century's version of the scarlet letter. Instead of a big red A worn on the breast, your percentage of warning is displayed next to your screen name for all to see. How humiliating. We act like it's nothing, but let's face it, down deep, it hurts. Our generation struggles so hard to find our identity and our name. Our parents are baby boomers, our older friends are generation X, but I think we are undoubtedly generation AOL Instant Messenger. Just about everything we deem important in our lives comes to us through the Internet and computer. So next time you're on AIM, look for me and drop a line. Just don't try anything cute or I'll warn you.
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