Page 2 - ThePhoenix1997-98

Thursday, September 18, 1997 - Page 2 COMMENTARY Staff THE SOAPBOX Edilor-In-Chld Carolyn D. Barnes '99 -------1 Adam Dean "1------- Managing EdJtor Grant A. Rice '99 Advertising Manager As I am sure you already know, this is the is not setting their sights high enough, hy- you think. If there is a problem, maybe to- Laura Kelley '01 first ~of the 1997-98 year at Western pocrisy is a virtue which can be easily taken gether we can do something about it. And if Maryland. This is also the first Soapbox of this too far. Dishonesty can never be tolerated. that is not what an editorial page is for, I don't Business Manager new school year. To all of you who are return- Western Maryland is lucky enough to pos- know what it is. Tara Bongiomi '99 ing, I say thank. you! I hope you enjoyed your ses an honor code with some teeth to it. But Well, one thing this column is for is to summer and are ready for another year of all- that is not enough. Honesty is just as impor- News Edilors boost my own personal self esteem. I am not Kate Hampson '00 nighters, cafeteria food, forgotten home work, tant outside academic life as it is within. always going to be serious, or even under- Christian Wilwohl '98 hangovers and deadlines. To our incoming (IN- I want everyone to feel that this is their standable to the vast majority of people. I COMING!!!) freshmen (and freshwomen, or as column too. This is your signpost to which might use this column to solicir.; no, not that! Assistant News Editor I like to call them "freshbabes") let me take this Answers to various questions, sometimes of Emily Stamathis '00 time to tell you that college is not all fun and a personal nature. Or at least something you games. It is a place where you come to grow up "I want everyone to feel might not care about. Features Editor and learn to make adult decisions on your own. that this is their column I want to hear So what do you think? lenniferVick '98 Now if you are new, you might be asking from everybody. I am also the sole editori- yourself, "What the heck is the Soapbox"?" To too. " Assistant Features Editor als editor this year. Hopefully by the time Nicki Kassotis '99 which I can only reply, " It's a newspaper col- you read this r will have found an assistant umn, stupid!" If you need to know anymore than you can attach questions and leads about is- to help take up the slack. Hopefully this per- Editorials Editor that, try to track down an upperclassman and sues on campus and around which we can son will be politically outspoken, not be Adam Dean '98 ask. There are still plenty of people on this cam- gather to discuss them. To that end I want afraid to step on a few toes and disagree with pus who hate me because I have taken the you, the reader to be the Soapbox's eyes and Art Editor school's advice and decided to think danger- ears. If you hear anything or know anything me at least 90% of the time. So everyone, MikePuskar'99 ously in the past. But, when one thinks danger- that you think the campus as a whole should place your trays in their full and upright po- sition, and keep your your seatbelts fasten ously, one also must upset someone's hypotheti- know, contact me. You can e-mail me at Photography Editor cal apple cart. And no one likes someone else hands inside the car at all times. This prom- Jose (Juba) Siqueira '00 agdOOI@wmdc.edu. Or send me a note ises to be a wild ride. playing with their apples. through campus mail. Or heck, even stop me PS. Due to his hot air content, the columnist But, I believe that those who fear the inves- in Red Square. I'm about 5' 10, 170Ibs, have may be used as a flotation device in case of StafTWrilers tigation of their little cart are the ones who need short brown hair and wear round glasses. I MichelleH~mihon'98 it the most. People are by nature dishonest and an' emergency. Erin Howard '00 like romantic dinners by candlelight, sunsets Jcnathon Shacattcg hypocritical. While I have said in the past that and long walks on the .... Oh, sorry. Wrong Adam Dean is a senior Political Science major. Shawn Sprague '01 anybody who isn't at least a little hypocritical column. But my point is, I want to know what E-mail atagdOOJ@nsi.wmc.car.md.us Photographer NnlhanBird.l.alt'99 L.yolll Erin Howard '00 Student Orientation: loathed and loved EmilySlamailiis'OO -------1[ Jeanne Dowell 1-1--- _ Adviser Terry Dalton Many of us cringed in fear when we found ties were bad. Choices was without a doubt to sleep, not to mention the fact that the next out that we had to go through five days of New a favorite among everyone. Playing the day we had to start classes. We left at seven Student Orientation. To translate, five days of Game sent out a strong message about what o'clock Sunday and got back six o'clock making new friends, getting lost in the place we to do if you are sexually assaulted. Monday. The Phoenix is published bi- have to now call home for eight months out of The S.O skits sent out some good mes- Monday was completely devoted to weekly. The opinions expressed do the year, and getting used to once again being sages about on campus living and rules and sleeping. This caused us to totally mess up not necessarily represent those of The that little fish in the big pond. Sounds like fun regulations in an interesting way that most our sleeping pattern. Phoenix staff, the faculty, or the ad- doesn't it. We all wished there was an easier likely won't be forgotten. We also had an overkill of picnics. It's ministrators ofWMC. way to become oriented with this new begin- Many of the other activities, on the other fun to eat outside with mother nature some- The paper welcomes free-lance ning but unfortunately there wasn't. hand, got very old. Saturday was a very times, but not every single day. We really submissions on Macintosh disks in In the beginning orientation was helpful in rough day. The whole scavenger hunt idea needed more time to adjust to the dining most word processor formats. The getting people out of their shells. Simple Hi's would have been good had it been a true hall after all that is where we'll be eating editor reserves the right to edit for turned into Hello's; Hello's turned into How are scavenger hunt as we know them. every day. clarity, length, and libel and to pub- you? and friendships began to form. Scavenger hunts usually consist of rae- Orientation would have been more fun lish as space permits. All submis- sions (excluding self-addressed dis- kettes) become the property of The "c..Five days of making new friends, getting lost in the place we have to now call Phoenix and cannot be returned. home for eight months out of the year and getting used to once again being that little Please include a name and phone number for verification. Names will fish in the big pond. " be withheld only by the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Many of the friendships were made between ing other people to find things and seeing had we been able to have a few more breaks The Phoenix does not discrimi- people in the same Student Orieruator groups. I t also nate based on age, race, religion, gen- The idea of having the S.O. groups was good at who can find everything the fastest. Putting to adapt to our new way of living. and there little dots on a piece of paper isn't exactly need to be so fast paced doesn't der, sexual orientation, national ori- first but then it started to get old when you had my idea of fun. Everyone would have been should probably be less of it. By the third gin. condition of handicap, or mari- to meet your S.D. every five minutes to go to more enthusiastic about it had it been a real day everyone knew the rules and where ev- tal status. another activity. scavenger hunt. erything was. It's not that we didn't like our S.O.'s, it's Sunday seemed as if it was a day of pun- The only thing we were thinking of by Mail to: just the fact that we weren't being treated like The Phoenix freshmen in college - we were being treated as ishment. Spending five hours in OCTAA the third day was overkill. Overkill seemed WMC, 2 College Hill if we were freshmen in high school. (On Campus Talking About Alcohol) class to be the recurring theme throughout orien- Westminster, MD 21157 On the first day it would have been nice had learning about your trigger level and toler- tation. Next year I think orientation should with less overkill. in one ance level is way too much to handle be a lot shorter we been allowed to get our rooms all situated. morning. Many of us learned more about (410) 751-8600 Instead it felt like we had to throw everything how to tell time rather than anything else. (410) 876-2055, ext 8600 we brought in the door, kiss our parents good- We later had to spend our evening locked FAX: (410) 857-2729 bye and run to meet our group. in the Four Seasons Sport Complex. The first Jeanne Dowell is a freshman , It needs to be said that not all of the activi- four hours were fun but then we just wanted journalism student.