August 25, 2011

TheAppalachianOnline.com Vol. 86 No. 01

The AppalachianThursday, August 25, 2011

see Education, page 3A

by KELLI STRAKALifestyles Reporter

The doors of the Reich College of Education (RCOE) building opened for the first day of classes on Tuesday.

“[I hope students and others see] a state-of-the-art teaching and learning environment in which stu-dents, staff and faculty are comfortable as well as pro-ductive, Charles Duke, dean of RCOE, said. “I hope they see a building filled with students, staff and faculty, all engaged in producing the highest quality graduates as possible.”

Freshman elementary

College of Education building opens its doors for the first time

education major Emily J. Carpenter had her first class, Social History of the Family, in the RCOE.

“I love it [RCOE], it’s so pretty in here,” Carpenter said. “When I came for ori-entation, it wasn’t done yet and I didn’t even get to come in here.”

Carpenter said she is also excited to use the designated study spaces.

“I really like this area,” Carpenter said of the study space. “I didn’t even know it was going to be here and I was going to have to go to the library, but now I can just stay here until my next class.”

The building has a num-

ber of features including Smart Boards in every class-room and seminar room, motion-sensitive lighting, a state-of-the-art lab for the apparel design and mer-chandising program, a large number of faculty and staff offices with operable win-dows, classrooms equipped with moveable tables and chairs and it is the first new academic building on cam-pus to emphasize recycling.

“[The building was de-signed] to provide up-to-date office and classroom space because we had out-grown Duncan Hall,” Duke said. “[And] to promote the importance of the programs

Olivia Wilkes | The Appalachian

Supporters of the Reich College of Education gathered in the building last Thursday for its grand opening. The RCOE is a product of almost 10 years of work.

by BRANDI CROSMERNews Reporter

by DANIELLE WATKINSIntern Lifestyles Reporter

Freshmen residents of Col-trane Hall were greeted Friday, freshman move-in day, by the sight of their Resident As-sistants (RAs) dancing in the lobby to “Cotton-Eyed Joe.”

RAs, volunteers and mem-bers of Coltrane’s Living Free community, who moved in the day before, helped unload cars in the midst of an informal dance party in the main lobby.

“It’s really, really hectic, but it’s a lot of fun…to get to meet everybody,” said Kayla Mar-shall, a sophomore mathemat-ics secondary education major and Coltrane RA.

Marshall and Jason L. Timpson, the Resident Coor-dinator for Gardner, Coltrane, and Justice, laughed about how much work had been put into the move-in process, saying they hadn’t been to bed before 1 a.m. all week.

For many, the size of the rooms in Coltrane, which mea-sure in at about 15 by 10 feet, was a concern.

“I thought it would be small, but not this small,” said K. Claire Epling, a freshman nursing major from Pinehurst.

Some students, like fresh-man hospitality and tourism major Sarah A. Casella, were not bothered by the small space.

“At first we heard how small it was,” she said, “and we got here and we’re totally fine with it.”

Others, like freshman the-ater education major Laney B. Piefke, are excited to live in Coltrane because of its prox-imity to Kidd-Brewer Stadium.

Sam L. Thomas is a junior computer information systems major serving as a Coltrane RA for the second time.

“I love Coltrane,” Thomas said. “It’s a great place to live and I like having the freshmen because they contribute to the community.”

Several parents said they were impressed by the help provided by volunteers, RAs and residents.

“We turned around and all her stuff was gone,” said Cindy Piefke of Atlanta.

Another parent, Renee Hage, said the move-in process has changed “for the better” since her other daughter attended Appalachian ten years ago.

One defining feature of Col-trane Hall is the Living Free floor, a Residential Learning Community (RLC) designed for students who choose to ab-stain from drugs and alcohol throughout the year.

Bryan M. Kelly, a senior po-litical science major, is the RA for the Living Free RLC.

“I wanted to be in Coltrane because it has a beautiful com-munity and being the RA for Living Free gave me the op-portunity,” Kelly said. “I like being able to work with stu-dents who have high ambitions for themselves.”

Freshmen start college career with Coltrane move-in

by HANK SHELLNews Editor

Appalachian State University is welcoming its largest class of in-ternational students ever this fall semester.

The group of 91 students in-cludes eight graduate, 16 under-graduate and 67 exchange students who and represent 29 different countries, according to the Office of International Education and Development (OIED).

“Boone is a fairly isolated com-munity and a lot of people in this community, this university, will not have the opportunities to trav-el abroad,” said Natalie Best, assis-tant director of international stu-dent and scholar services. “So, in our global economy it is important that we bring the world to those people who might not have, really, the financial opportunity to travel abroad while they are in college.”

The number of international students enrolled at Appalachian has grown substantially since Ap-palachian adopted its Strategic Plan in 2008, which sought to “in-crease the percentage of underrep-resented and international student enrollment to 15 percent” by the end of 2012.

An annual report from OIED stated that 77 international stu-dents from 18 different countries were enrolled during the entire 2008-09 school year.

“As Chancellor, I embrace and fully support the idea of an inter-national focus as a key strategic goal for Appalachian State Uni-versity,” Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock said in a message on the OIED website.

The students completed a week-long orientation before starting school this week.

The orientation, which was con-ducted by the OIED and Interna-tional Appalachian (INTAPP), in-cluded various activities aimed at promoting interaction between the students and acclimatizing them to American culture, Best said

The activities included a trip to Walmart, a contradance on Duck Pond Field and an event called “culture shock,” where INTAPP volunteers acted out difficult situ-ations that international students may encounter.

Members of INTAPP have had fun meeting the new students and learning from them.

“They just make you look at Boone and America in a new light,” said Alissa M. Leeds, a junior global studies major and INTAPP volunteer. “I really like that. They give you a new appre-ciation.”

Appalachian welcomes largest international class

The students themselves ap-peared to be in high spirits at a welcome reception held by the OIED in Plemmons Student Union on Aug. 23, though some were nervous about the upcoming school year.

Patience M. Matlala, or “Pashy” as friends know her, is a freshman political science major from South Africa. She said she is a bit intimi-dated by the smaller class sizes.

“I am very nervous about that because I am so used to a big class-room where the lecture doesn’t fo-cus on you, whereas here I heard it’s like 16 or 20 people in a class,” Matlala said.

“Back home it’s 250.”Though she found the smaller

class sizes a bit daunting, Matlala was still excited to be at Appala-chian.

“I am hoping to make a lot of

friends and I am hoping to come back again and stay permanently,” she said. “I am only here for a year.”

Leeds encouraged students who are interested in Appalachian’s international program to get in-volved with INTAPP and activi-ties like the International Coffee Hour that takes place in Plem-mons Student Union every Friday from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

by JUSTIN HERBERGEREditor-in-Chief

A committee recommended to Chan-cellor Kenneth E. Peacock this week that the Mountaineers move into an

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference.

This recommendation comes approximately 11 months after a study was commissioned by the Board of Trustees. The University’s athlet-ics feasibility committee concluded this week

Committee: Appalachian football ‘best suited’ for FBS conference

that Appalachian is ready to make for making the jump to an FBS conference in the future.

“We look like an FBS school on paper,” said Eric W. Barnes, a junior business management major who represented the Appalachian stu-dent body on the committee.

Regular season football attendance in 2010 averaged 29,449 – higher than 43 current FBS programs.

The 11-member committee will release a detailed report in the coming weeks, and the Chancellor can then decide on his official

recommendation back to the Board of Trust-ees. Appalachian will remain in the Southern Conference until it receives a bid from an FBS conference.

While Appalachian would have to increase seating capacity at Kidd-Brewer Stadium and increase the number of athletic scholarships offered, among other considerations, the com-mittee agreed that the university is ready to compete in a bigger league.

When students lined up to purchase tickets see Football, page 3A


Senior chemistry major K. Paul Philavong exchanges numbers with sustainable development major Thyara Bezerra at a welcome reception held at the end of a week long orientation for international students.

2A • August 25, 2011 The Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.comNews

Marching Mountaineers get new leader, directionby BRANDI CROSMERNews Reporter

After studying music education at Mars Hill College, and sitting next to Chancellor Kenneth E. Pea-cock in chapel every Wednesday while they were in college together, Don E. Peach will complete his ca-reer this year as interim associate director of bands.

Dr. Scott Tobias, former direc-tor of the Marching Mountaineers, resigned late last year. The Hayes School of Music was left without enough time to conduct a nation-wide search for a replacement, so Peach was selected as the interim associate director of bands.

“We were looking for someone who could maintain the trajectory of the program to serve in the in-terim position, so we wanted some-one with a lot of experience,” said Dr. William L. Pelto, dean of the Hayes School of Music. “We felt this wasn’t about helping someone develop a career, but really [finding] someone who was well-established and someone who could walk into the job and make things happen.”

At Appalachian, Peach will di-rect the marching band, symphonic band and basketball band. He will also teach marching band tech-niques, concert band techniques and concert band literature – all classes required for music education majors.

Peach, whose primary instrument is trumpet, has taught band at five public high schools throughout his career as well as being an educa-tional representative for Music and Arts, working at clinics and work-shops.

He was the principal trumpet player in the Western Piedmont Symphony for seven out of the nine years he was with them, and in 2000, he was the assistant con-ductor of the Spirit of America Na-tional Honors Band.

As for the marching band this year, Peach said the shows will be more stylistic.

“We’re really concentrating on our music performance area that

the concept of the marching band is to perform the way a concert band would. We really want to emphasize the creative art of really making mu-sic say what it should say,” he said.

Peach decided on two of the half-time shows for upcoming football games with the option of adding in a third show.

The first show of the season will be based on the group Journey, in-cluding the songs “Separate Ways,” “Any Way You Want It” and a com-bination of Journey closing tunes.

“I think Mr. Peach is doing a great job raising morale in the band,” said Trevor R. Nelson, junior music education major and weap-ons captain in the color guard. “As a future teacher, I’m excited to learn from someone new so that I may be a better educator.”

Peach will take a stadium band to play in the stands for the Virginia Tech game Sept. 3, and the march-ing band will perform its first half-time show at the first home game Sept. 10.

Because of the large number of Journey songs on the television show “Glee,” Peach decided to base the first show off of the songs that will be familiar to a majority of the crowd at the football games.

The second halftime show will be based on the group KISS.

“It’s gonna be different,” ex-plained Peach.

The show, consisting of “Shout it Out,” “Rock and Roll All Night Long” and possibly “Detroit Rock City,” is Peach’s way of targeting

a huge audience. Peach feels that since Gene Simmons has been on television more lately, students would be interested, and he believes the alumni could relate to the songs.

In his short time at Appalachian, Peach has already earned the ap-proval of the Hayes School leader-ship.

“So far everything I’ve seen has been going really well. I think he’s exactly what we’ve been hoping for [and is] providing a good transi-tion,” said Pelto.

Nathan Cullitan | The AppalachianNewly appointed Interim Associate Director of Bands Don E. Peach instructs the members of the Marching Mountaineers on the Star-Span-gled Banner during a practice last Sunday. Peach has directed a total of five high school bands as well as being an educational representa-tive for Music and Arts.

by MATT CAULDERNews Reporter

The incoming freshman class this year is impressive not only in size, being the largest to come to Appa-

lachian State University, but academically too.

This year, approximately 2,965 new freshmen, from 23 countries, will join the Mountaineers with an average GPA of 3.9 and an SAT score of 1140, the highest av-erage SAT of any incoming freshman class, according to the Office of Admissions.

The number of applicants increased five percent this year over last year, making this the second largest application pool the col-lege has ever seen.

“First and foremost, Appalachian State is recognized in the state and region as a quality institution,” Admissions Director

by HANK SHELLNews Editor

If you walk into the So-lar Homestead headquarters today, you might think you have mistakenly wandered into a giant storage unit.

Furniture in plastic wrap, appliances strapped with packaging material, solar panels and a cardboard box as long as a pickup truck stretch from wall to wall.

The organized chaos will soon be amalgamated into the Solar Homestead, an energy-efficient home that will compete in the U.S. De-partment of Energy’s Solar

2011 Freshmen class:Top 10 majors

Source: Lloyd Scott Director of Admissions

Undecided

Biology

Marketing

Computer Science

Athletic Training

Criminal Justice

Psychology

Elementary Education

Pre-professional Medical

Nursing

12

34

56

78

910

Lloyd Scott said.Caitlin M. Starnes, freshman biology

major, came here because, she said, Ap-palachian accepted more pre-med students than any other college in North Carolina.

“The students see the role models and the top students that come to Appalachian and think, ‘it’s an institution I should con-sider,” Scott said.

The reputation Appalachian has is that of a school which offers outstanding aca-demics, high levels of student involvement and student leadership and the “Appala-chian Family,” Scott said.

He thinks the counselors in the schools are integral in the rise in admissions be-cause they direct students to Appalachian, knowing the reputation and the positives the university has to offer them.

“When I came here for orientation, ev-eryone was nice and really friendly,” said

Lauren M. Marangi, a freshman business major from Jacksonville, N.C.

Marangi came to Appalachian because of the community she felt here.

Another staple of what Appalachian has to offer prospective students that Scott highlighted is the attention students re-ceive here.

Scott said incoming freshmen with old-er siblings here at Appalachian or parents who came to the school find out about the community and it attracts them.

Such a student is freshman undecided major Sam L. Huffman. Huffman came to Appalachian because his brother is a stu-dent and told him about the community feel at the University.

Emily M. Kerr, freshman undecided ma-jor, came to Appalachian because her par-ents came here and she was raised on the university.

Team works tirelessly to finish Solar Homestead projectDecathlon competition in Washington, D.C., Sept. 23 to Oct. 2.

“I kind of think of it as the culmination of everything App State has been doing in sustainability,” project com-munications director David M. Lee said.

The competition “chal-lenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive,” ac-cording to its website.

Appalachian State Uni-versity is the only competi-tor from North Carolina.

The Solar Homestead

team, an interdisciplinary group of students, faculty and volunteers, has redou-bled its efforts in recent weeks to complete the proj-ect.

“We have been work-ing furiously to finish the house,” Lee said.

According to Lee, some team members have been working 80 hours a week or more and there is someone at headquarters 24/7.

Stephen Lafleur, a non-student team member, said he had slept on an air mat-tress in the Solar Home-stead headquarters “four or five nights over the last two

Freshman class is largest, academically impressive

weeks.”In addition to the constant

challenges of designing and constructing a home, some team members who gradu-ated last year, including Lee, had to find temporary hous-ing until September.

Dr. Susan McCracken, director of External Affairs and Community Relations, said Solar Homestead Fac-ulty Advisor Dr. James Rus-sell had told her during the summer that “nine to twelve students would need hous-ing.”

McCracken said she had found homes, including her own, for the students in

“three or four days.”“They were here for

something really special for the university and people felt that they wanted to be a part of that,” she said.

Vice Chancellor for Stu-dent Development Cindy Wallace, who is hosting two former students including Lee, jokingly referred to them as her “vampire guests” because of the long hours they work.

“They have been amaz-ingly thoughtful guests,” she added.

Lee expressed gratitude to everyone who was involved in the project and the Uni-

versity.“None of this would

have been possible without the support of the Univer-sity and the support of our sponsors,” he said.

During the competition, a vote will be held online for the “people’s choice award.”

Lee encouraged students to support the Solar Home-stead and Appalachian by voting.

There will be public tours of the Solar Homestead on Aug. 27 at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

For more information on the project visit thesolar-homestead.com.

David M. Lee, the head of the Solar Homestead Project, excitedly discusses the vari-ous intricacies and features of the Solar Homestead that is being built in the back-ground. The team will display their work in Washington D.C. on September 9th.

Nathan Cullitan | The Appalachian

David M. Lee, the head of the Solar Decathlon team, shows off the planning board at the Solar Decathlon Headquarters.


August 25, 2011 • 3A The Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com News

by REBECCA HAMBLETONIntern News Reporter

The sixth annual Town of Boone calen-dar photo contest is underway.

Winners of the contest will have their work featured in the Town of Boone cal-endar.

“The photo contest provides a great op-portunity for citizens and visitors to share their best images of Boone, and we’re ex-cited to recognize some of our local talent,” Mayor Loretta Clawson said in a press re-lease.

Similar to previous years, the Town of Boone aims to produce a calendar that rep-resents the attractions that Boone is known for, along with those that may be less rec-ognized.

In addition to promoting Boone’s charms, the contest offers the chance to be a pub-lished photographer in the 2012 calendar.

“The town distributes a free calendar to citizens each year that depicts local land-marks and special events,” Clawson said. “It also lists public meetings and includes im-portant administrative information.”

Town Clerk Freida VanAllen, who helped organize the contest, said she likes that the

Students transferring to Appalachian State University struggle with housingby KELLI STRAKALifestyles Reporter

Without ample research and a little bit of luck, finding off-campus housing near Appalachian State

University’s campus, or getting into a dorm, can be difficult for Appalachian’s incoming transfer students.

Sophomore special education major Brooke M. Leadbetter transferred from Vir-ginia Tech.

“[My apartment] is kind of far because I really wanted to be on campus,” Leadbetter said. “If I had to pick, I wouldn’t have picked living there, probably. I would rather be on campus.”

One month before school, Leadbetter re-ceived an email stating she would not be able to receive on-campus housing. Fortunately, Leadbetter’s friend recently had a roommate transfer out and needed one more roommate.

“I guess I just really wanted on-campus housing and I didn’t do any research. I guess because I kind of expected to get [on-campus housing],” Leadbetter said. “I had two other friends transferring here and they both ended up getting on-campus housing too, so they didn’t have to run into the trouble I did.”

Wade P. Hartman, a sophomore athletic training major who transferred from Catawba Valley Community College, fared better than Leadbetter in his search for housing.

“I found housing after looking for an apart-ment for about two weeks,” Hartman said. “I heard in the transfer orientation that they had some extra dorms available for transfer students and I called the next day and they signed me up for one.”

Hartman was fortunate enough to receive a dorm rather than an apartment, which he preferred.

“I am very happy with where I am living, currently in Frank Hall which is a very nice dorm,” Hartman said.

Cost and unfamiliarity of the Boone area are some of the factors that make finding off-campus housing difficult, according to Stacy R. Sears, associate director of housing opera-tions.

“I think when you go to a new area it’s hard [to find housing] and then you look at a transfer student who has already got all the other stresses,” Sears said.

Even though Boone is an unfamiliar area for some transfer students, Sears believes there are enough resources available to find housing.

Sears works with Kendal B. McDevitt,

coordinator of off-campus community rela-tions, to operate Appalachian’s off-campus housing website, offcampus.appstate.edu, which offers students resources to find hous-ing off campus.

Currently, there are spaces for on-campus housing as well as off-campus housing.

“We have plenty of on-campus housing,” Sears said. “If anybody is homeless out there in the student world, they are welcome to come to on-campus housing, we have open-ings. And there are apartment openings.”

The struggle to find housing close to cam-pus is not unique to students transferring to Appalachian.

Sophomore economics major at Elon Uni-versity Angie Jackson discovered the diffi-culty of finding housing near campus when

Alexander McCall | The AppalachianSophomore special education major Brooke M. Ledbetter tells about her experience with transferring to Appalachian State Univer-sity. Transfer students are not always able to find on-campus housing, and must search for a off-campus apartments.

she transferred from Agnes Scott College to Elon.

“It was difficult to find housing because transfer students were given the last housing options,” Jackson said. “All freshmen are re-quired to be on campus and non-transfer stu-dents already selected their housing.”

During this process, Jackson ran into prob-lems with being placed into an off-campus dorm when she did not agree to, making con-sideration for housing change challenging.

“I ran into many issues finding housing,” Jackson said. “I was originally put in an off campus apartment that was not owned by the university, therefore it was not walking dis-tance to campus.”

Eventually, Jackson found a dorm. “I had to do a lot of work to find the open-

ing in the dorm that I am now in,” Jackson said. “I am happy with my living situation now because I am in an on-campus dorm.”

Sophomore Robert Jones was able to live in a dorm after transferring from North Carolina State University to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jones sent in a paper application after re-viewing options online and found several op-tions for housing. Jones talked to a housing representative from UNC-CH and looked at central locations on campus, as well.

“I did not get assigned to any in my top five choices at first, but after being on the waitlist for several weeks, I eventually got my top choice,” Jones said. “I am very happy with my dorm because it is in the middle of campus.”

Town of Boone holds photo contest for annual calendar

contest “showcases local photographers”.Although anyone can enter, there are

guidelines that every entry must adhere to. These include where the photos should be taken, what they should represent and how they should be submitted.

Specific rules can be found online at townofboone.com.

Judges will choose twelve pictures from five different categories.

Each category creates a mix of Boone’s features with annual events and seasons, such as “Winter in Boone,” “Spring has Sprung in Boone” and “Fall in Love with Boone.”

All entries must be submitted to town manager Greg Young by noon on Sept. 16 to be considered. Winners will be notified by Nov. 4.

the RCOE offers by plac-ing the building in a very visible location on cam-pus.”

As well as offering the latest in learning technolo-gies, RCOE was designed to be the first new academ-ic building on campus to be Leadership on Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, though it has not been verified yet, Duke said.

While the facility has many features ready for classes, there are some projects that are still un-derway.

“A number of items still are not finished in the building so we are occu-pying the building while work continues and the university will not accept the building fully until all of those items are com-pleted satisfactorily,” Duke said.

As a professor of Teach-ing and Learning in the Digital Age, Damiana D. Gibbons can use the tech-nologies in the RCOE building to demonstrate first hand how technology enhances the learning ex-

EducationContinued from page 1A

perience. “My class is about how

to integrate technology into the classroom, so for me I’m happy because I have access to everything that I could be teaching them to use in their own classrooms,” Gibbons said.

Theresa A. Redmond will be teaching for her first year at Appalachian in the RCOE.

“It’s a beautiful build-ing,” Redmond said. “And the environmental con-siderations that went in, so the plants and moss on

the roof to promote better cooling, that is just looking ahead down the road. And it’s very nice to see a school of education having such a state-of-the-art space.”

For Redmond, it is ex-citing to see the RCOE represent Appalachian and the access to a creative and thoughtful education.

“The university started as a teacher’s college and going back to our roots that’s how we began, so to me, [the RCOE] is a cel-ebration of education,” she said.

Source: townofboone.com

How to Enter:• Submit entry in a 8.5” x 11” folder along with your name, address, phone number, email address and a title/description

• Prints must be between 8”x10” and 10”x12”

• Postmark entries to the Town Hall office on King Street by noon on Sept. 17

for Appalachian’s Sept. 3 game against Virginia Tech, junior elementary education major Scott L. Rawls purchased one of the first three $48 tickets to attend the season open in Blacksburg, Va.

He said that when it comes to getting Ap-palachian into an FBS conference, raising the student athletics fee is a viable option.

“I definitely think that’s worth paying a little bit extra for,” he said.

Barnes said the move to an FBS conference could affect the athletic fee paid by students, but any additional cost would not add a significant bur-den.

“The committee has worked to develop a blended financial model that ensures that the move would not be made on the backs of students,” athletics feasibility com-mittee chairperson G.A. Sywassink said in a press release.

FootballContinued from page 1A

Student fees fund more than half of the current athletics budget, accord-ing to a press release. Appalachian students enrolled in more than 12 hours of classes currently pay a student athletic fee of $639 per year.

Athletics Director Charlie Cobb said in a phone conference posted to goasu.com Tuesday that the committee was sensitive of the political nature of a change in the university’s athletic affili-ation.

He said if the univer-sity makes the change, it would be done in a way that respects and pro-motes the academic mis-sion of the university.

“It’s not just a football decision,” he said. “It’s an entire university deci-sion.”

Cobb said Appala-chian’s transition to an FBS conference would not likely follow the ex-ample of the University of Massachusetts at Am-

herst, which will move most of its home games to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. When it makes the jump to the Mid-American Confer-ence in 2012.

He said it is a priority to preserve the Saturday game day atmosphere at Kidd-Brewer Stadium, noting that out of rough-ly 14,000 undergraduates, home games in the past have averaged around 10,000 students in atten-dance.

Barnes said he believes the Mountaineers would fit the best in Conference USA because of travel considerations and the potential for conference rivalries with schools like East Carolina University and Marshall University.

Rawls agreed. He said the potential

for in-state rivals and a strong competition make Conference USA the best fit for Appalachian.

“We would already be a competitive team if we moved to that league,” Rawls said.

Nathan Cullitan | The AppalachianChancellor Kenneth E. Peacock addressed the audi-ence at the grand opening of the Reich College of Education last Thursday.

LifestylesThe Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com 4A • August 25, 2011

by MICHAEL BRAGGSenior Lifestyles Reporter

The first week of classes is almost over and the first weekend of the school

year should be appreciated to the fullest.

A party or movie could suf-fice, but why not go to a large-scale music and arts festival that gives back to the community of Boone?

The Music on the Moun-taintop festival kicks off Friday and lasts overnight until Satur-day. The lineup features eclectic sounds mainly focused around bluegrass and folk music.

Appalachian State University alumnus Jimmy S. Hunt started Music on the Mountaintop in 2008 as an assignment in an en-trepreneurship class.

Hunt said there was “no in-tention for this to be a career” in 2008, but that’s not the way it turned out. Music on the Mountaintop is now in its fourth year and has led to the creation of Yellow Dog Entertainment, LLC, to manage the festival in a professional manner.

The lineup this year includes big names like The Infamous Stringdusters, Grammy winner Sam Bush, local band Naked Gods, and 7 Walkers, a band built around Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann.

“[7 Walkers] are a super band, they formed a year ago,” Hunt said. “It’s great to have a rock ‘n roll headliner.”

In addition to providing high-

by MEGHAN FRICKLifestyles Editor

Edwin Black wants you to know the truth about American eugenics.

In the early twentieth century, over 60,000 U.S. residents were sterilized in state institutions. The sterilizations were coercive and took place for an array of reasons. Some were steril-ized because of their crimi-nal activities, others because of low intel-ligence, still others because of perceived promiscuity.

In North Carolina, over 7,600 people were steril-ized under a system which allowed indi-viduals to be recommended for steriliza-tion to the state eugenics board. Some, the Associ-ated Press reported in June, were as young as 10 years old.

The goal being sought: to improve the human race by eliminating undesirable humans, Black said.

Black, the author of “War Against the

Music on the Mountaintop

Boone’s trademark festival gears up for another year of music and artsMarli Goro | The Appalachian

Railroad Earth plays a live show at last year’s Music on the Mountaintop. The band will return to this year’s lineup tomorrow and Saturday.

Is this the first time you guys have played Music on the Mountaintop?

Nope. Three-peat baby. Riley style.

How do you think you stack up in the lineup?I think we’ll definitely be one of the worst

acts you’ll see this year at MOTM, mostly because our djembe player/human incense stick, Cody, died last Saturday.

Who are you most excited about playing with?Probably the dude selling stank weed and swal-

lowing swords in the parking lot. Always putson a good show.

profile concerts and a festival at-mosphere, Music on the Moun-taintop is a charity event. A percentage of its income is given to local, nonprofit organizations.

“It wouldn’t do the town or the event justice without giving back,” Hunt said.

The festival gives to two or-ganizations: Appalachian Voices and Mountain Alliance.

Appalachian Voices “is an award-winning, environmental organization committed to pro-tecting the land, air and water of the central and southern Appala-chian region and advancing a vi-

sion for a cleaner energy future,” according to musiconthemoun-taintop.com.

Mountain Alliance “is a com-munity of individuals committed to providing Watauga County high school-aged youth with opportunities to explore and de-velop their leadership potential through experiential learning.”

Another non-profit organiza-tion that will be present is drum-STRONG.

The Charlotte-based organiza-tion originated after the found-er’s son was diagnosed with can-cer in 2004.

“They will bring drum circles, workshops and even do drum repairs at Music on the Moun-taintop,” Hunt said. “They raise money and awareness for cancer [treatment and research].”

College students are notori-ous for being broke, but that’s no excuse for missing Music on the Mountaintop. Students can purchase a ticket in the Univer-sity Bookstore, using funds from their App Express account.

Students can pay for a Music on the Mountaintop ticket in the bookstore located in Plemmons Student Union.

with Naked Gods’ baritone saxophone and keyboard player Chris F. Hutelmyer, a 2005 Appalachian State graduateQ A&

Being Boone natives, how do you feel about playing at Music on the Mountaintop?

We thought the festival was in Foscoe? Dammit.

Do you guys have any fond memories of this festival from past years?

Drinking rotten keg beer, getting gnarled up, looking at crystal vendors and hula-hooping until we vomited on one another during the Sam Bush set.

Are there any additional comments you would like to make?

No fear, no equal, go ASU.

A Friday ticket will cost $35, Saturday tickets are $40 and a two-day ticket will run for $65.

Transportation shouldn’t pre-vent attendance, either.

Shuttle services from campus and the Boone Mall will be avail-able. The shuttle stops at Kidd-Brewer Stadium as well as Boone Mall, and is $3 for a round trip.

For more information on the festival, to look up the shuttle schedule, and to buy tickets and any camping spots still available, visit musiconthemountaintop.com.

Scholar, author to speak about American eugenics

Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race,” will speak Mon-day at 7 p.m. in Belk Library 114. His talk is titled “War Against the Weak: Eugen-ics in North Carolina, the U.S. and Nazi Germany.”

Black’s appearance is sponsored by Ap-palachian State University’s Center for Ju-daic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies.

Black said his goal is to bring America’s his-tory of eugenics into the light. He wants to in-crease the like-lihood that the scientists of the future will look upon eugenics with a “never again” attitude.

“My mission is to remind people that we will never im-prove our fu-ture until we look over our shoulder and confront our

dark past. Only then can we avoid walk-ing back to where we started and repeating these same crimes again,” he said.

North Carolina officially apologized for its program of sterilizations in 2002. Now, the state is considering a program of com-pensation for victims. Figures as low

Source: dictionary.com

EUGENICS (N): THE STUDY OF OUR BELIEF IN THE POSSIBILITY OF IMPROVING THE QUALITIES OF THE HUMAN SPECIES OR A HUMAN POPULATION, ESPECIALLY BY SUCH MEANS AS DISCOURAGING REPRODUCTION BY PERSONS HAVING GENETIC DEFECTS OR PRESUMED TO HAVE INHERITABLE UNDESIRABLE TRAITS.

by CASEY SUGLIA Intern Lifestyles Reporter

The Appalachian moun-tains and the campus of Appalachian State Univer-sity have, over the years, been the home and inspi-ration for some big acts in the music industry. Ap-palachian graduates River Whyless, formerly Do it to Julia, are no exception. As they embark on their first nationwide tour, they owe their sound to the moun-tains.

Alex McWalters, a 2008 Appalachian graduate and River Whyless drummer, describes the band’s sound as an “acoustic based, indie rock sound with folk influ-ences and an organic ap-proach.”

“[All of the band mem-bers] met here…and it has been really good for us as a band to have the woods, and the mountains, and the rivers, and the streams and such…it really has been in-spiring,” McWalters said. see EUGENICS, page 5A see TOUR, page 5A

Before River Whyless became River Whyless, they were a bunch of col-lege students in a band try-ing to juggle schoolwork and playing music.

McWalters met Ryan O’Keefe, who now plays guitar and sings lead vo-cals, when they were college freshmen. They started playing music in basements and apartments, and through a few other musicians they met Halli Anderson, who now sings vocals and plays violin. In 2006, they formed Do it to Julia, along with Matt Rossino, who plays bass.

For a while, McWalters balanced his life as a mu-sician with his studies as a creative writing major, and O’Keefe was running cross country in addition to be-ing enrolled in school and playing music.

Still, the four band mem-bers used any opportunity they could find to share their sound. They played various house parties and

ASU alumni to play San Francisco Music Festival on month-long band tour

open microphone nights, eventually sign-ing with Split Rail Records, Appalachian State’s recording label.

After graduation, the band relocated to Asheville and released their first EP. But with age and maturity comes a new sound, as well as a new name.

“We were sick and tired of hearing ‘let’s do it to Julia!’ and felt it to be a bit too much. We were getting tired of it. Our songwrit-ing changed, as well as our sound, so we felt it was appropriate to start with a new name,” Mc-Walters said.

Those familiar with the band’s first EP will hear a more ma-ture sound when River Whyless’s first album debuts sometime in the fall.

“People will relate to the album and see the

New blog section posted on TheAppalachianOnline.com

August 25, 2011 • 5A The Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com Lifestyles

by MEGAN WRAPPEIntern Lifestyles Reporter

Stories of ghosts, witch-es and murders have been told for centuries. Cultures worldwide have their own tales, which are used for both ceremonial purposes and amusement.

In Tim Bullard’s newest book, “Haunted Watauga County,” ghostly stories of the High Country are re-told for a new generation of ghost lovers.

Bullard, a former stu-dent at Appalachian, has worked as a reporter and columnist for the The Watauga Democrat, The Hickory Daily Record, The North Myrtle Beach Times, and The Myrtle Beach Her-ald. He first thought of writing a book on scary stories when he started creating tales for his neph-ews at bedtime.

Former App student pens book on Watauga County ghosts“I would ask if they

wanted the stories to be not-so-scary, or re-ally scary,” Bullard said. “I knew I was a good story-teller when they would ask me to keep the bedroom door open a little and turn the nightlight on.”

Watauga County’s rich history has been covered in numerous books and articles over the years. “Haunted Watauga Coun-ty,” however, explains as-pects of the area that have previously been unex-plored.

Bullard’s book includes stories that divulge the hauntings at the Horn in the West drama, tales of seven possums, dogs, and men appearing in front of cars a mile away from the Watauga River, and an ac-count of the mysterious murder of an Appalachian student and his family.

The question of whether ghosts exist has plagued generations. As for Bul-lard, he was not a believer before writing “Haunted Watauga County,” but his research changed his mind.

“I’ve been asked if I be-lieve in ghosts a few times, and before the book, I didn’t,” he said.

“There was just some-thing the woman living in the Durham murder house said that scared me though, so now I do.”

“Haunted Watauga County” is Bullard’s first book. Though he said he enjoyed retelling ghost folklore of the area, he does not plan on writing additional books on the subject.

“I see this as a stepping stone. Once you get pub-lished, it’s easier to get your name out there,” Bul-lard said.

EUGENICSContinued from page 4A

as $20,000 and as high as $50,000 have been dis-cussed, the Associated Press reported.

For Black, though, monetary compensation is not enough. In his view, the best way to compen-sate victims of the state’s eugenics program is to ed-ucate others about the fact that the program existed.

“I believe illumination is the best reparation,” he said. “North Carolina was an egregious offender. There should be courses

TOURContinued from page 4A

taught at Duke Univer-sity and Wake Forest and other campuses on exactly what the eugenic crimes were and how they hap-pened.”

Dr. Rennie Brantz, co-director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies, said Black has “a good record of stir-ring up questions” and will likely provoke a lively discussion about a period of history that is far from black and white.

“I hope people will go

away thinking, you know, we all bear a certain de-gree of responsibility for what our forebears did in the past. Even though we didn’t do it, we still share that burden of responsi-bility,” Brantz said.

Black’s appearance at Appalachian is part of a speaking tour which be-gan in 2009 and will con-tinue through 2012.

“This needs to be known,” he said, “and I’m coming to App State to make it known.”

similarities because it’s the same band playing, but we’ve changed a lot about our band and ourselves. A lot of it has to do with maturation and getting older and more experience. We are more comfort-able with ourselves than we used to be,” McWalters said.

With this newfound maturity comes River Whyless first large tour of the United States, from September 8 to Oc-tober 22, and a performance at the Hardly

Strictly Blue Grass Festival in San Fran-cisco, California. At the festival, the band will play alongside famous folk musicians like Bright Eyes and M. Ward.

“When we found out we would be play-ing at the festival, we all freaked out. Ryan and I grew up listening to Bright Eyes so when [we] found that out, we were be-side ourselves, and as corny as it sounds, a dream came true,” McWalters said.

The band will kick off their tour Sept. 8, with a 21-and-older show at Boone Sa-loon.

Advertisement August 25, 2011 • 6AThe Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com

The annual Mountaineer Fan Fest took place Saturday, kicking off the 2011-12 football season. The football team held a scrimmage, which was immediately

followed by inflatable games, an autograph session with the players and a performance by country music artist Corey Smith.

SportsThe Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com1B • August 25, 2011

MOUNTAINEERFAN FEST

Olivia Wilkes | The AppalachianNathan Cullitan | The Appalachian


Adam Jennings | The AppalachianOlivia Wilkes | The Appalachian


Visit TheAppalachianOnline.com for video coverage of this

weekend’s Fan Fest!

Advertisement2B • August 25, 2011 The Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com

August 25, 2011 • 3BThe Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com Sports

by JAKE AMBERGSports Reporter

A full day of festivities did little to tire a nearly sell-out crowd Saturday as Corey Smith rocked The Rock, putting the cap on a fun filled day at Appalachian State University’s yearly Fan Fest celebrations.

The event started at 4:30 p.m. with the annual Mountaineer football scrimmage, and quickly segued into an event filled festival that took place on the field of Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Inflatable obstacle courses and games formed a skyline flanking the east side of the track, while a flood of fans sporting black and gold milled about the football field, throwing footballs and getting the opportunity to play with training equipment from the ASU football team. Fans got the opportunity to use a tackling dummy and a quarterback accuracy drill.

In a heartwarming show of service, the ASU Cheerleaders walked through Fan Fest, greeting young girls in cheerleading outfits, posing for pictures and signing autographs.

“With little kids, we’re their role models. It’s good to set a positive example,” said Nikki B. Holler, a junior cheerleader.

“We were them once,” said junior Rebecca A. James.

Later, after Fan Fest wore down, Corey Smith was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of Mountaineers. Fifteen minutes prior to the show, electricity moved through the crowd as fans of Smith began to clap, cheer and dance in the stands, as the west side of Kidd Brewer Stadium continued to fill.

Promptly two minutes before the scheduled 8:30 p.m. start, Corey Smith

by JAKE AMBERGSports Editor

by CHRIS WILLIAMSIntern Sports Reporter

Appalachian football returned in a big way on Satur-day as the Mountaineers held their annual scrim-mage at the 2011 Fan Fest event.

The scrimmage showcased a highly touted offense fea-turing incumbent quarterback DeAndre Presley along with several other returning starters, the most notable being se-nior wide receiver Brian Quick.

The first team offense did not disappoint, with Presley completing 10-of-13 passes for 133 yards and connecting on two touchdown passes, one of which was a 27-yard strike to the All-American Quick. Presley also threw one intercep-tion in the end zone that occurred on his first drive.

Other notable performers included freshman wide out Bobo Beathard who was the Mountaineers’ leading receiver with four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown, and returned a punt for a touchdown midway through the first half.

Beathard appears to be making a smooth transition into the Mountaineer offense.

He said he was “nervous at first but getting used to the speed.” Despite kick coverage being a watered-down and a less physical version of what it will be in a real game, Beath-ard showed breath taking speed in the open field, and can prove to be a true commodity in the special teams.

With the departure of prominent slot receiver Coco Hill-ary, Beathard will compete with several others for substantial playing time at the position. Bobo said he was excited to play with an experienced and talented quarterback like Pre-sley, claiming the “ball comes a lot faster” at this new level of play.

On the defensive side, the Mountaineers showed a strong push from the defensive line, which provided openings for linebackers to make plays in the backfield. Senior Dan Wylie and junior Lanston Tanyi stood out, opening eyes by eating up offensive blockers and shutting down the offense’s run-ning game in the first half.

Freshman Brandon McGowan recorded seven tackles, in-cluding one in the backfield and provided a legitimate op-tion for outside linebacker, a position that proved weak in last year’s playoff loss to Villanova University.

After a tough half running the ball, junior college trans-fer Steven Miller broke the game wide open with a 74-yard run. Miller took the handoff to the left, then reversed field to the right five yards behind the line of scrimmage and cut up field.

Miller received a block from the quarterback Presley, and broke into the open field with electric speed. At the 15 yard line, Miller cut back to the right again, eluding the final tacklers on his way to the endzone.

“I wasn’t even thinking,” he said. “After I bounced off the second run I knew I couldn’t go back the same way. I was just trying to make a play and Dre Presley just gave me a great block.” Following his breakout performance, Miller said that Coach Moore told him to get prepared for an increase in touches against Virginia Tech in the regular season opening.

Protection for these play makers was a question coming into the season, however, the offensive line, anchored by se-niors Orry Frye and Matt Ruff, appears to be gelling. Both Presley and second string quarter back Jamal Jackson were comfortable in the pocket and had sufficient time to make reads and deliver the ball on target.

“I felt good. I had a lot of time to throw the ball, and if they need me to run I can step up in run,” Presley said. He went on to express confidence in the crystallization of the left side of his line, a subject of concern through the pre-season.

Appalachian will kick off its regular season in Blacksburg, VA as Appalachian State takes on the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Appalachian starters shine, new players stand out in fan event

Nathan Cullitan | The AppalachianRunning back Michael Frazier emerges from the bottom of a dog pile with football in hand.

Senior wide receiver Brian Quick runs the ball for a touchdown during Appalachian’s annual Fan Fest scrimmage Saturday after-noon.

Adam Jennings | The Appalachian

Fan Fest excites, Corey Smith’s concert kicks off 2011 football season

was seen arriving via golf cart, which quickly sent a shudder of comment, followed quickly by ruckus cheering in anticipation of the concert’s start.

Soon, head coach of the Appalachian football team, Jerry Moore took the stage to address the crowd.

“It was brought to my attention recently that Corey Smith played at Legends the night before the Michigan win,” Moore said.

He then presented Corey Smith with an authentic football bearing the historic

Appalachian State- Michigan score of 34-32.

Smith then kicked into his performance and played crowd favorites like “Drugs,” “I Love Everyone,” “Drinking Again” and “21.” Smith did his best to connect with the crowd, often ad-libbing lyrics to songs in order to energize the crowd.

“These Mountaineers come around, drink too much and clap and shout,” Smith sang during one song, which generated an impassioned cheer from the crowd and especially the pit section.

Smith was joined on stage by close friend and keyboardist Lee Davis, Rob Henson and guitarist Mike Heinz. The rhythm section was composed of drummer Marcus Catrusta and electric stand-up bassist Rob Henson. Corey Smith played the acoustic guitar almost exclusively but switched out for an electric guitar near the end of the show to provide a different sound to the closing songs of the set.

Smith played until 10 p.m., when he left the stage abruptly, only to return minutes later to perform two encore songs.

Mountaineers thrill in preseason scrimmage

Olivia Wilkes | The AppalachianFans participated in Fan Fest after the scrimmage on Saturday. The festival included inflatable games, autograph signing and a performance by Corey Smith.


Advertisement4B • August 25, 2011 The Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com

OpinionAugust 25, 2011 • 5BThe Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief: Justin Herberger 262-6149Business Office 262-2157

Fax Line 262-6256

LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR

The Appalachian welcomes Letters to the Editor. Letters should be 250 words or less and include the author’s name, ASU Box, phone number, clas-sification and campus affiliation, if any. The Appalachian reserves the right to decline publication of any let-ter and to edit letters for the purpose of clarity and space. Although we are unable to acknowledge those letters we cannot publish, we appreciate the interest and value the views of those who take the time to send us their comments. Letters should be submitted elec-tronically via our Web site or e-mail. Letters may also be mailed to “Letter to the Editor,” The Appalachian, ASU Box 9025, Boone, N.C. 28608.Letters may also be brought to the news-room, located on the second floor of Plemmons Student Union. Letters will be available online, unless you note otherwise.

The Appalachian, a student-run publication at Appalachian State University, strives to provide fair and accurate news for the campus community; to inform, entertain and create a forum for ideas; to provide an outlet for reader's opinions; to be a champion for student, faculty, staff, and community interests; and to remain independent, exercise and insure its First Amendment rights.

The Appalachian is published every Tuesday and Thursday of the academic year with the exception of selected holidays and breaks.The opinions expressed in the commen-taries appearing in The Appalachian are those of the individual columnists and not those of The Appalachian. The opin-ions represented in the unsigned edito-rial are the majority views of those on the Editorial Board of The Appalachian.

GET IN TOUCH

OUR MISSION

EDITORIAL POLICY

MichaelBRAGG

OPOur PersPective

ADAM JENNINGSAssociate Editor,

Editorial ContentHANK SHELL

News EditorJAKE AMBERG

Sports EditorMEGHAN FRICKLifestyles Editor

JUSTIN HERBERGEREditor-in-Chief

KYLE VON LINDENAssociate Editor, Production Operations

HANNAH POMPHREYAssociate Editor,

Online OperationsNATHAN CULLITAN

Photography EditorCALVIN GAUNCE

Multimedia Editor

The visual arts have always played a pivotal role in modern and ancient societies. It defines our culture, our achievements and our downfalls.

Budget cuts threaten this great art in schools everywhere, whether they are rural preschools or universities located in the heart of a metropolis.

Music and arts programs have been defined as “luxuries” to many school systems, according to an ar-ticle on projo.com, so it is easy to assume they will be cut first every-where.

Appalachian State University was no exception to this great economic travesty. Every program, not just the arts, has experienced the bitter stings that are budget cuts.

Stereotypically, everyone assumes that the arts go first and that pro-grams like athletics are in the clear.

Art professor Gary M. Nemcosky hails Chancellor Kenneth E. Pea-cock’s method of spreading the cuts evenly among all departments, so as not to play favoritism or completely throw a department under the bus.

“That’s one of the things that the

The arts stand strong in tough economic times

chancellor wanted to do, he wanted everyone to share the pain equally, so the art department is right in there with everyone else of course,” he said.

Art Department Interim Chair Roy I. Strassberg was able to report that no classes, to his knowledge, were cut for the current semester, and the spring semester looks to have the same fairy tale ending in an economic nightmare.

“We will have complete courses because excellence is expected from us,” he said.

However, Strassberg said that op-erational funding will be cut 35 to 40 percent this year, which takes mon-ey from professional development, travel and even printer ink.

Both Nemcosky and Strassberg have said the same simple, but ex-hausting statement: We have to do

more with less.“We are asked to do the same mis-

sion but with a less operating budget and you just do it,” Nemcosky said. “You just somehow do more with less.”

The life of an artist is not an easy one, so it makes absolutely no sense that the life of an art student or pro-fessor should be.

American sociologist Charles Harton Cooley said, “An artist can-not fail; it is a success to be one.”

In these hard times, talented in-dividuals just cannot give up on what they love and are truly gifted at, whether they are athletes, writers, thespians or visual artists.

Nemcosky has taught at this uni-versity for 22 years and said that economic and budget woes come in “waves,” so there is no reason the university’s arts should back down from creative progress at a time where money is thorn in everyone’s side.

Bragg, a sophomore journalism major from Lillington, is a senior lifestyles re-porter.

AdamJENNINGS

Days ago I saw the worried look on a girl’s face as she whined to her mother about how she still didn’t know what she wanted to major in.

To the freshmen that have been here all of two days but insist on wor-rying about how you have yet to pick a major – everything is going to be OK.

I know someone who works as a manager at an electronics company but has an anthropology degree; someone who works as a photojour-nalist but has an engineering degree; and someone who works for one of the largest banks in the world, despite his electrician’s license.

These people all chose their majors between 10 and 30 years ago but look what career fields they have all en-tered.

They were all transformed and af-fected by the way they studied and it made them who they are, so to say that majors are entirely useless would be an exaggeration, but many of you will end up working in a field unre-lated to your degree.

Colleges are more and more stress-ing the importance of majors in a time where they’re actually becoming less

important.Every job application that I have

ever reviewed, if it requires college ex-perience, asks that you have two things – a bachelor’s degree and a certain amount of experience. In some cases you may see a certain type of gradu-ate degree required, such as a master of business administration, however, I have yet to see a job application re-quire you list your degree major.

With that said, majors do allow you to focus your studies and get a more specific skill set, but to stress about declaring what you want to do for the rest of your life when you’re 18-years-old is just inefficient.

Take the time you spend worrying about your major and try some things. College is the time to do it.

If you’re majoring in business go try painting something; if you’re major-ing in English go dissect something;

if you’re majoring in computer science go outside.

Most people will tell you that my approach to college was a little re-laxed. I have changed my “major” a few times and even attended a few different schools – some in other countries – but it’s likely that my ex-periences throughout the world and my journalistic experiences at multiple newspapers will weigh just as much as whatever course of study I choose to take.

Degree majors serve a very specific purpose and if you already know what you want to do for the rest of your life, then by all means, declare and study hard. They are meant to keep you fo-cused and give you the skills you need to exceed in your career.

But to the rest of you, shaking and sweating as you contemplate what you would like to be doing 50 years from now, try everything and remember that no matter what you choose to study, do not let your major run your life.

Jennings, a senior technical photogra-phy major from Durham, is the associate editor for editorial content.

Your degree major should not run your life

your student newspaper since 1934

Our world is indubitably changing. In recent years, Ap-palachian students have witnessed the collapse of govern-ments and economies around the world. At the same time they have seen firsthand the power of human will; the power to renew and rebuild.

At times it seems surreal. We are incredibly privileged to be a part of this university and this society, but it is easy to lose touch with the harsh realities of the world. We go to sleep expecting to awaken to the same community, the same norms and the same quality of life.

This year will not be the same.Our school faces an unprecedented budget cut. Many fac-

ulty and administrators have already felt the blow, either in the form of diminished resources, less compensation or even job loss. Students have seen their tuition rise along with class size, while their class options have fallen. These effects are uncompromising. We cannot stop them.

There are, of course, changes that are potentially benefi-cial. In the field of journalism, we have watched the birth of new technology and the coalescence of media cultivate a new frontier of information sharing, where the speed, fluidity and manner in which information is disseminated is almost limitless.

The 2011-12 Editorial Board of The Appalachian sees this new media environment as an opportunity, not just for us, but for the entire Appalachian community. The ability to receive, aggregate and share information makes our news organization a valuable tool for the community, not only because it is a source of information, but because it is an interactive directory as well. We want to tell about your tri-umphs and epiphanies, shed light on the injustices you face and present a comprehensive view of our community, but we are not omniscient. Our purpose is to serve the university community which can only be accomplished by mutual trust and interaction.

As Appalachian faces difficult times and the imminent challenges of change, we ask that you, our readers, not succumb to change, but rather commandeer its momen-tum. Use it to strengthen our identity as Mountaineers. We believe our news organization can help you do that. It documents our community and our identity. It is common ground for all Appalachian students. Our staff will do our best to trim the grass, but we all must sow the seed. Wheth-er you are writing a letter to the editor, sending us a press release, commenting on theappalachianonline.com or simply picking up the paper to see how we are doing, we are grate-ful for your consideration. With your help, The Appalachian can keep our campus informed and strengthen our identity as Mountaineers, both of which are indispensable if we are to overcome the obstacles ahead.

Sincerely,

The Appalachian 2011-12 Editorial Board

So it says here you majored in Psychobiophysics... What does that even mean?

Individually-Designed Majors

Let’s just say that I’m considered an expert in my field.

Aaron Fairbanks | Editorial Cartoonist

ADAM JENNINGSAssociate Editor,

Editorial ContentHANK SHELL

News EditorJAKE AMBERG

Sports EditorMEGHAN FRICKLifestyles Editor

JUSTIN HERBERGEREditor-in-Chief

KYLE VON LINDENAssociate Editor, Production Operations

HANNAH POMPHREYAssociate Editor,

Online OperationsNATHAN CULLITAN

Photography EditorCALVIN GAUNCE

Multimedia Editor

Turbulent times present trials, opportunities

The Appalachian

Advertisement August 25, 2011 • 6BThe Appalachian | TheAppalachianOnline.com

Documents

August 25, 2011