Page 114 - ThePhoenix1995-96

Thursday, February 29, 1996 - Page 2 COMM'ENTARY Staff RUMINATIONS Editor-In-Chief Michelle A. Hamilton '98 -----------1I~M~I~·c~h~e~I~le;.!H~a~m:!i~lt~o~n~..I---------- Managing Editor Sarah E. Sheckells '97 Imagine this: it's the first weekend of the and atmosphere. The "Report of The Rest- hours a day. While this is a matter of dollars semester that the sun is out and the tempera- dential College Task Force" also states the and cents for Western Maryland, a task force Advertising Manager ture is above 60 degrees. You and your principle belief that "the daily life at the looking into this, with the aid of students, Elizabeth Valuet '98 friends plan on going biking Saturday and College [should] support the intellectual and would be a productive step towards a solu- Sunday afternoons. The problem: a seven developmental growth of the students by tion and way of attracting more students to News Editors page paper is due Monday, and you still need ensuring quiet surroundings, purposeful at- our campus. Grant A. Rice '99 to type it. No problem, you think, it can be mosphere and standards of civility essential One argument against a 24-hour lab in- Christian Wilwohl '98 typed Friday and Saturday nights, and you to reflection, discussion and study." If the volves the security of the computers. People can still make it to bed early for your biking residence halls are currently unable to pro- may wonder how we can ensure theft or de- Features Editors trip. Papers in hand, you march up the steps duce this atmosphere, it is the school's re- struction won't occur to a 24-hour facility. Jonathon Shacat '98 to Hoover after dinner, only to find a sign sponsibility to ensure that the needs of stu- We must rely on the honesty of the students Jennifer Vick '98 which reads "Closed" on the door to the com- dents who choose to study can be met. to uphold the honor system. The explana- puter lab. The solution is not 10 limit socialization tion of WMC's honor system states that Sports Editors If you're a WMC student, this situation on weekends, but to expand the academic ..... the rights of the honest majority must be Carolyn Barnes '99 probably isn't difficult to envision. In fact, facilities to meet all students' needs. A 24- protected against the actions of individuals John Manard '97 you may have already experienced it. Why hour computer lab would solve the scarcity acting dishonestly." The academic rights to is it that the computer and library services of computers, especially at the end of the the facilities that enable students to succeed Photography Staff are somewhat limited on this campus? The semester, for most students. This task is net should be no different. Meghan Gross '98 problem may be money, or staffing, but the an impossible one. In fact, Hood College, a If library and lab hours are limited dur- Aden Moges '97 issue at hand is that the hours available for private liberal arts college in Frederick, ing the weekends, it could lead to a danger- John Manard '97 the academic use of facilities is not consis- Maryland has moved to this system for their ous trap: students could feel as if the school Liz Clark '99 tent with Western Maryland CoUege's edu- computer lab, and are currently investigat- expects them to act in unacademic ways dur- Heather Jacoby '98 cational philosophy. ing this for their library. . ing the weekend. For the school's academic The January 1996 "Report of The Resi- According to Hood's Director of the Li- philosophy to be consistent with their poli- Circulation Manager dential College Task Force" asserts the be- brary, Charles Kuhn, they are "looking into cies, alternatives. need to be investigated to Laurie Cicero '98 lief "Tnat we are a serious educational com- key card entrance" for their main library. ensure students have access to the materials munity shouldbe stated and followed Their computer lab is already operating 24- they need for success. General Staff through in the academic, extracurricular and Aaron Ahlburn '97 residential arenas." Unfortunately, espe- Jacqueline Brilliant '97 cially in the situation of computing facili- LOCK AND KEY Aaron Corbett '99 ties, this does not hold true. Becky Cockerill '99 The computer lab's hours in Hoover are: Adam Dean '98 Monday-Thursday, 8:30-12, Friday, 8:30-6, JonathonShacat Joshua Foster '96 Saturday, 10-4, and Sunday 12 p.m.-12 a.m. Amy Hanna '99 It appears as if these hours, at least on the Meghan Joyce '99 weekends, are not very practical for students. "Achoo!" Nicki Kassolis '99 By not having the lab open Friday evening, Just as the weather starts to show signs Stacey McIntyre '99 Saturday early morning or evening, and Sun- of an early spring, another string of colds is Mike Puskar '99 day morning, it doesn't allow for the most taking a toll on students at WMC, Heather Reese '96 efficient time management strategy. Being ill is a part of life and is therefore Todd Retchless '97 The library's weekend hours are similar inevitable. Everyone gets sick once in a Sara Beth Reyburn '98 to the lab's. On Friday and Saturday night while. The problem is, what do you do if Sarah Snell '98 the library closes at 9, while it doesn't re- you are on campus and you don't feel well? Cameron Speir '97 open Sunday until 12 p.m. You have two options: a) You can tough it Emily Stamathis '99 As a student, it is difficult to accept the out and hope it goes away on its own or b) of rescheduling an appointment, one would Robin Zimmerly '99 responsibility of meeting higher college stan- You can go to the Smith House and get some think this manner of helping those in need dards, academically and socially, when fun- medication. of medication is better. Adviser damental tools for education are limited. Well, I had a cold last week and opted Ah, the ambiance Terry A. Dalton Many people do want to study on Friday or for choice b) from above. I decided to pay a The renovation in Glar may not be fin- Saturday nights, but they lack the facilities visit to the health services office. ished yet, but it's getting there. Since we The Phoenix is published biweekly. After arriving, a worker gave me a have returned from Winter Break, the fol- The opinions expressed do not necessar- LETTER checkup and did exactly what I had predicted lowing changes have occurred in the dining ily represent those of The Phoenix staff, she would do; she offered me some antibi- hall: The old lopsided tables have been re- the faculty, or the administrators of otic pills. "Antibiotics," I said to myself, "I placed by more sturdy ones. The napkin WMC. To THE don't think so." All I had was a simple cold holders (which are now conveniently located The paper welcomes free-lance sub- and all I essentially wanted was some reas- on the tables) are more common than before. missions on Macintosh disks in most surance of this belief (and maybe some de- Plastic silverware and paper plates have been but not antibiotic cold medicine), word processor formats. The editor re- EDITOR congestant Antibiotics are used for bacterial in- replaced by metal and ceramic ones, respec- pills. serves the right to edit for clarity, length, tively. Hammering and sawing noises have and libel and to publish as space permits. fections, but have no effect on viral infec- ceased, at least for the time being. Drinking An submissions (excluding self-ad- -1Brandy Mulhern t- tions like a common cold. I told her I didn't cups have changed from plastic (last semes- dressed diskettes) become the property want them and was on my way. ter) to paper and just recently to glass. Fruit The next day I came across an article in of The Phoenix and cannot be returned. dividers have eased the previous hassle of the Today section of the Baltimore Sun (2- Please include a name and phone This Letter To The Editor is in response to selecting an apple or orange. Instead of gar- number for verification. Names will be last issue's "The Soapbox." 20-96) that made me feel a whole lot better bage cans, a conveyor belt is now in use 10 withheld only by the discretion of the I just wanted to let people know that the about my decision to not accept these pills. take the trays to the dish room to clean them Editor-in-Chief. funds to renovate the Dining Hall were bor- The article, entitled "Doctors rethink in- off. The Phoenix does not discriminate rowed by the College from the Sohdexdo fection strategy," states that physicians are Math major? Not me based on age, race, religion, gender, Company in the forrn of a low-interest loan. more reluctant to prescribe antibiotics now A mistake was made in the last edition sexual orientation, national origin, con- Without this loan, the college would not have than they have been in the past because they of L & K in a section called" Are we getting dition of handicap, or marital status. been able to refurbish the Dining Hall at this fear diseases are mutating and therefore be- smarter?". The percentages that represent time. Unfortunately, resources of a similar coming more resistant. Instead, doctors now the a'inount of students with a 4.0 GPA are Mail to: nature do not exist for Residence Hall reno- wait a few days to see if the infection gets incorrect by 100% each. I carelessly entered The Phoenix vations. However, I do assure you that resi- worse before they give the pills away. Ihe numbers into my calculator and typed WMC, 2 College Hill dence facilities are a high priority for the I think this way of prescribing medica- them on the computer without thinking about Westminster, MD 21157 Board of trustees and the administration tion is better than the one Smith House fol- it. Even though these percentages are wrong, lows. Why give a person antibiotics if hel my point still stands that this trend is an "in- (410) 751·8600 Sincerely, she may not need them? Wouldn't it be bet- credible increase." This mistake was hon- (410) 876-2055, ext 8600 Brandy K. Mulhern ter to wait a couple days? Given the loca- est and purely unintentional. FAX: (410) 857·2729 SGA President tion of the Smith House and the relative ease