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2 -THE WEST GEORGIAN, Wednesday, September 27,1989 The Staff Box Gary Leftwich Stewart Wieck Karen D. Allen Carri Tigges Kyle Dixon Tania Appling Glenn D. Novak Letter Bookstore Bandits? Dear Editor I am a senior here at West Georgia and am tired of being ripped off by our bookstores. This summer I purchased a book from Braves Bookstore for 56 dollars. When I returned to sell it back, at the end of the same quarter, they offered me five dollars. It is my feeling that if the bookstore A New West Georgian By Stewart Wieck The West Georgian, the college newspaper of this campus, varies in quality like any other product. The ebbs and tides in quality are the result of several factors, in cluding the dedication of the staff and writers and the degree of support from the college itself. And to be honest, the editors feel that this paper has been suffer ing for far too long. The product which you are reading now, and will have the opportunity to read every Wed nesday during fall, winter, and spring quarters, is the result of a lot of behind the scenes effort. In general/ The West Georgian is produced in the same fashion as any large newspaper. Adver tisements must be sold to ge nerate revenue so the paper can be printed. Articles must be as signed, written, edited and typed. Photographs must be ta ken, developed, and resized to fit the allotted space. A variety of other, administrative, tasks are necessary as well. The organization of all this takes time and careful planning if it is to work successfully. The time necessary for such organi zation is the comodity toughest to find. The students behind this college paper (that is, by the way, “college paper,” not “student paper”) have classes like the rest of the students on campus. Addi tional responsibilities vary from student to student but include such things as jobs or fratmities and sororities. Among the things that are within the power of the present editors to affect or change, organ ization can stand the most im NEWS ON EDUCATION Some Helpful Tips On Paying For College The cost of college tuition con tinues to skyrocket. Some of the na tion’s top universities are charging more than $85,000 for a four-year education. Landing financial aid is becoming more of a necessity than an option. Here are some simple tips on how to obtain money for a good education. 1. Contact your college financial aid office for a list of financial op tions. There are also credible com panies, like College Financial Plan ning Service (CFPS), who provide lists of available grants, loans and scholarships for a small fee. 2. Analyze your financial situa tion honestly and apply for as many programs as you are eligible. Fill out the forms accurately. 3. After selecting a good financial aid package, negotiate improve ments with your college financial advisor. Also thoroughly investi gate alternative means for more support. College Financial Planning Ser vice has a data bane of more than 180,000 listings of scholarships, fellowships, grants and loans. It of fers information about donations from corporations, memorials, ti usts, foundations, religious groups and other philanthropic organizations. To enter the program, a student Editor Managing Editor News Editor Photo Editor Sports Editor Leisure Editor Advisor sells a book to us they should buy it back from us the same quarter for a decent price. The bookstores are making a killing, and it is at the students of West Georgia College expense. Tired of being cheated by WGC bookstores, Terrell Roark provement. Some cosmetic changes have already been insti tuted. The structure of the staff has been slightly altered and the duties of each of the positions clearly defined. The office has been reorganized to accomodate the new computer system which is in use. In general, this paper will soon be running as efficien tly as any large, real-world newspaper. But other facets of this paper will become obvious to you as the year progresses. Unlike other programs and organizations on campus, The West Georgian is not subject to your, the students’, approval. This paper is not an in strument here to serve you. In stead, this paper will inform you and, hopefully, cause you to seri ously consider some controver sial subjects and your stand on these subjects. The news articles in this paper will let you know what is happen ing around the campus. You should read this information to keep up-to-date on your imme diate surroundings. But the opin ion page, this page, is where the trouble may begin. The editors and staff of this paper will pre sent some ideas with which you may or may not agree. Given the choice, I hope you disagree with everything that I may write on this page for future issues of the paper. And if you do disagree, you have recourse: write a letter to the editor. These letters are often printed on this page. A warning though, just as you were determined enough to write your letter, don’t expect anyone on the staff to buckle under the pres sure of your own opinion. Many opportunities for financial aid exist, but you have to be aware of how to get them. can call 1-800-346-6401 to request a “student data form.” It must be completed and sent to CFPS with $45 for the research fee. In about two weeks, the student will get a personalized computer print-out of financial aid resources that matches his or her background. Many scholarships are based on academic interests, career plans, family heritage and place of resi dence. There are also many unique sources such as money for students who have been golf caddies or news paper carriers. In the words of one financial aid expert, unique opportunities for monetary support do exist, you just have to be creative and resourceful in finding them. Opinions Protecting the Freedom of Speech By Gary Leftwich Looking back over the summer of remarks, both positive and ne gative, regarding the recent Su preme Court decision giving First Amendment protection to the burning of the American flag, I am struck by the larger ramifi cations of the ideas and opinions I have heard and feel it necessaiy to address the issue through a column. Afterall, if those who so strongly opposed the Court’s de cision have their way, my fellow journalists and I may not always have the choice to voice such opinions. During the research I did for an article this summer for the Newnan Times-Herald on the local reaction to the decision, I talked with many people who voiced very strong feelings against the Court’s ruling. Most of them questioned how the Supreme Court, the very protector of freedom and justice, could reach such an erroneous conclusion about the lawfulness of flagbuming. They asked how desecrating the symbol for which so many people have fought and died for can be protected as HPLGL M£OYf ~i WPOq T HwwMm i Editorials a Source of Knowledge By Joe Cumming Welcome all—students and -comers and come backers. And staffers who never left. Welcome to anew school wear! This is our season. In the American dream, fall belongs to ' he college campus. The imagery \3 everlasting: football, crisp air, sporty scarfs and sweaters matching the russets and gold leaves; bright talk and jostling laughter, books and classrooms. It is also traditional in the wel come-back issue of the campus newspaper to offer tips to stu dents on such things as where to get the biggest pizza or who sells take-out coffee after midnight. But in this column, I want to offer to all students just one monumental discovery-- something I have recently de cided is the Best Bargain in the West. Yes, that's West as in Western Civilization. We’re talk ing big picture here. The bargain is this: the op ed page of the daily newspaper. The what!? “Op ed” is short for “the page opposite the editorial page;” I would also include the editorial page in the bargain. In the At lanta Constitution and Journal these two facing pages are lo cated inside the back page of the “A” section. A paper costs 25 cents. (Unless you want to get in on the special six-week delivery deal we use in the Humanities Building which brings the cost The West Georgian invites letters to the editor guest columns, news stories, or press releases. We request that all items submitted bear the signature, printed name, address and phone number of the author(s). The editorial staff reserves the right to edit or abridge any submission, or refuse to print submissions due to space limitations or content. Please submit your material to The West Georgian , Ground Floor, Student Center. * protest or expression of art. It’s burning the very symbol of our freedom, they say. The trouble with this opinion is that it does not take into ac count the actual reason why the Supreme Court ruled as it did. It does not provide for the idea that the Court in protecting flagburn ing was also protecting one of the freedoms that our flag flies so majestically for, the freedom of speech. Before you scream at the top of your lungs like so many others have that flagbuming is not even remotely related to free speech, I want you to think carefully. Flagbuming can indeed be a sign of protest and what is the pur pose of protest other than simply making a statement? Most of those who bum a flag do not do so to hurt other people or because they want to over throw the government and run rampant in complete anarchy. They do it simply to make their voices heard by those who won’t listen otherwise. And that folks is free speech. To me, the right to bum the flag is just as strong and in need down to 17 cents.) Of course, newspaper can be read free in the library. Those two pages give the reader—in editorials, columns, and letters-enough of the latest news, opinion and rumor for him or her to be in-the-know. And, as anyone in the working world will tell you, being in-the-know ranks slightly above dressing for suc cess. A knowing look in the eye conveys confidence more pro foundly than a slick-page outfit. But it is the signed columns on the op ed page, complete with mug a shot of the author, that are the bytes that bite back. They often read like little pieces of lit erature, tightly written jewels of up-to-date insights from true in siders. “The geese are overhead, flying south in V-formations as crisp as a sharpened pencil,” began a re cent column by Boston’s Ellen Goodman, “We watched them from the porch in a Maine light transformed by September clar ity. Now we follow their lead, proceeding on our own annual migration.” The column went on to ponder Hie quickening-almost sicken ing-change of pace from idle va cation to school and work, and how it is the fear of falling back in life’s struggle that drives us to over-achieve. “We fight these anxieties in ourselves by making a virtue out of necessity: hard work. We fight it in our children by driving out daydreams with discipline. Our own days speed THE WEST GEORGIAN of protection as my right to write this column. If the government is given the ability to deny the first, the precedence is set giving it the ability to deny the second. For the record I would like it known that I seriously doubt that I will ever, and even more seriously hope that I will never, be in a position where burning the flag is the only way to make my voice heard. I am indeed proud of Old Glory and was hon ored to fly her this past July 4th. I was also saddened by the very low number of people who joined me in that honor. In addition, I am deeply indeb ted to those who have fought so bravely to keep the flag flying free. Their sacrifice has provided you and I the opportunity to voice our opinions without fear of re tribution and the Supreme Court in its decision has simply acted to make sure this sacrifice was not in vain. Again, I hope I am never in a situation where flagbuming is my only alternative to oppres sion. I tremble at the thought of being forced to touch a match to up and we teach, even compel, our children to keep up.” These op ed pundits are the people who put buzz words into circulation, (“knee-jerk”), coin metaphors that stick and become part of the language (cold war"). Columnist William Safire—who came up with “One small step for man, one giant step for mankind” when he worked for President Nixon and who has written a wi tty book on writing-has the ere-, dentials to invent a word if it needs inventing. And he did just that, presto, right before our eyes in a column earlier this month. “Oppostablishment.” It refers to politicians who say “no” to any suggestion the rival party pro poses, regardless of its merit. “Let me not knock contrarian ism, whose flag I so often fly,” he wrote. “It provides a counter weight to Caesarism and is needed in the braking of the president.” “But in reaction to George Bush’s program to reduce the narcotics traffic, I detect a lock step knee-jerk-the telltale sign of Oppostablishment on automa tic pilot, mindlessly assuming criticism is always constructive.” Now some students may not catch on at once to “flying the flag of contrarianißm,” to “Cae sarism,” “lock step” or “knee jerk.” But any college student should be able to figure out or find out what they mean. And all college students should hunger to know what they mean if not how to use them. The beat way to Antonette Smith Alvia McCurry Doy Thomas Suzy Montatto the wonderful red, white and blue and don’t think I could ever do so. It is comforting to know, however, that if such a situation arises, I can act confidently ac cording to my own conscience without the fear of possible nega tive consequences. A colleague of mine at the Times-Herald hit the proverbial nail on the head when she said that those who so vehemently oppose the Supreme Court’s de cision are putting the symbol above the ideal. In order for our honorable flag to mean anything at all, it cannot surpass the prin ciples for which it stands. With out freedom, the flag means nothing at all. This includes freedom of speech. My concern is not whether we should be able to bum the flag (I have already shown my oppo sition to the act). My concern is that if we allow the government to deny one freedom, it will be come easier and easier for it to deny other, more crucial free doms. Then the flag will face true desecration in flying with a lim ited purpose. learn many of these kinds of lively words is to read them, see how they are used, get the feeling of what they mean and write your own definition. For example, a recent column by Atlanta Constitution staff columnist Cynthia Tucker bore the headline “Atlanta’s Tran sition to Ethnic Pluralism Sets Example for New South!” A stu dent reading that headline who didn’t understand what “plural ism” meant could learn from reading the column and using simple deduction. So, for a college student trying to learn the language and layout of the real world, reading the op ed page should be considered an obligatory daily dip into the life of our times. Or at least a learn ing exercise for a greedy mind. Time spent thus, would indeed yield* bargain. Yet a deeper response lurks in the hushed realm of the possible. If, from this self-realized learn ing, a light clicked on in a stu dent’s head that suddenly showed how all college courses are, in truth, in the business of offering up the exotic backstage secrets of the real world, study ing would never again be a grind. It would be more like feeding a hunger; school work would be come a burning compulsion to do more than the teacher assigned, to learn more than the textbook offered. This would not be a mere bar gain. It would be the gift of a life time. Office Manager Business Manager Advertising Manager Layout and Design