We voted for a pirate

De facto S.B.P. Will Piavis sent an email Tuesday saying:

“Wednesday bae tha last day ta call in ta oppose tha Budget Reconciliation. We will bae call’n our congressmen … Please do come in from 11 ta 1 p.m. in Witherspoon 307 ta make ye phone calls. As always bae’n tha lunch hour, we’ll done have pizza.”

Stopping by on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., I was informed the phone-call-in didn’t happen — however the free pizza was still bought — bought with our money — for an event that didn’t happen — and you couldn’t even get a slice at 12:30 since those in the office had eaten it, pro bono, for their lunch. Looks like we got what we voted for, a PIRATE.

James Deon PearsonPh.D. StudentMechanical Engineering

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Applaud Joy

In regard to Joy’s column about the struggle of various people during the Civil Rights Movement, I applaud her for bringing to light these people who society may have “forgotten.” We should love and treat each other with respect if we want to honor their legacies. These people have struggled all of their lives to make this country what it is today (not just MLK and Rosa Parks, but other less-well-known people, like the students who participated in the 1960 sit-in in Greensboro). And this month, it would be great if we spent about 45 minutes each day researching one civil rights hero (using Internet search engines such as Google). This country would be a better place if we all devoted 45 minutes of our time every day of February to learn more about the people who made a difference. And these people should be taught to our children in middle school social studies classes.

Praveen SriramSeniorAccounting

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Power outage complex problem

I want to reiterate that the power outage that occurred Sunday night was not remedied by the throwing of a simple switch that might be found in your home or dorm room. The electrical grid on campus consists of hundreds of miles of buried cable and switches that are accessible through manholes located all over campus. This is a complex utility system, carrying up to 13,000 volts of electricity that is constantly being upgraded to meet the needs of our growing campus. On Sunday night more than two dozen utility and zone mechanics were called in to help restore power to the campus in a safe and timely manner. The utilities group responds to all emergencies as quickly as possible to ensure the return of utilities to our customers, the campus students and staff. Due to the multitude and complexity of these systems, it takes time to respond to outages of this magnitude. More than two dozen switches were isolated and re-energized to determine the extent of the damage and restore the services. I would like to commend all those employees who stayed through the night to restore the power to campus. The Utilities and Engineering Services group strives to ensure that all of our customers’ needs are met in a safe and timely manner.

John FidgeonPlant EngineerUtilities and Engineering ServicesN.C. State University

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Fight sexual assault

I think that if a woman (or a man) feels uncomfortable with someone’s sexual behavior toward them, they should first firmly tell that person to “Please STOP.” If the other party continues with the behavior, they should report them to an administrator or the police (if it gets very serious). People won’t want to mess around with others who exhibit a zero tolerance attitude towards sexual harassment. We need to let others know that sexual harassment (no matter if it is just a quick crude remark) is wrong, and if it continues, it will have major consequences. If a lot of students promptly reported this kind of behavior, then sexual harassment wouldn’t be a major problem, as it now is.

Praveen SriramSeniorAccounting/Info Systems

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Enough said below

Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. Different crossword puzzle each day. With answers on another page.

This column is exactly 250 words long. I hope it gets my, and many others’, point across.

Landin FisherSeniorMechanical Engineering

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The Student Senate: A waste of our fees, part MCMVXXL

Upon reading the article regarding Mr. Whitehouse’s Student Senate bill regarding birth control, my negative feelings toward the Senate as a complete waste of student fees were again firmly confirmed. With the numerous issues facing this student body, you’d expect an effective student legislative body to grapple with issues such as the new tailgating changes, rising tuition costs or any number of others. Apparently they’d rather tackle the issue of acting like complete inept fools instead of serving their real purpose as a serious legislative body. I, as well as all students at N.C. State, pay my fees to the Student Government to get RESULTS, and I believe I am getting thoroughly ripped off each and every time the Student Senate meets. While I might be able to expect Mr. Whitehouse’s actions to come from a freshman or possibly even a sophomore, it baffles me to think a representative of the junior class, elected to make a difference, wastes time and money on such idiotic pursuits. Should any student senator ever question the extreme negativity or apathy he faces from most N.C. State students, he need only to look at Mr. Whitehouse’s actions as a prime reason for his resentment around campus.

Thomas HarperJuniorPolitical Science

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Are we backing the Pack?

I don’t know how many of you were at the Men’s basketball game against UVA on Wednesday night, but it was an awesome game. And I’m not just talking about the team playing. The last two minutes were amazing from a fans point of view. Pretty much the entire crowd was on its feet and cheering State on. The crowd was clapping, screaming, chanting and even jumping up and down. The adrenaline was incredible. I loved hearing the noise and having the fans in to the game that much. If you were there, I think you would agree too. I wish it happened more often and during the entire game. I believe this is what being a fan is about–going to the games not to just sit, watch and clap when we make a basket or holler at the refs when they make a bad call, but to get up and cheer–show the team we are there for them completely. I also believe the fans can sometimes make a difference in the way their team plays. If State is down by nine or 10 points with eight minutes left in the game, don’t sit there and say, “It’s over, we’re through.” Get up, cheer and scream as if we were winning by five and it is the last minute of the game. State doesn’t have to be winning for its fans to cheer. The whole idea of fans is to help the team get pumped up and confident enough to carry on in a game. The Cheerleaders, Dance Team and Pep Band do their best to keep the fans into the game and support the team, but they need help. There needs to be more people on their feet, excited and ready for the game. I wish all the fans, not only the students in the student section, would come to cheer on the team instead of just watch the game. I am not only talking about going to the men’s basketball games to cheer at, but to the women’s games as well. There are very few fans at the women’s games compared to the men’s games. Some people say the women’s games aren’t as interesting as the men’s games, but maybe that is simply what people like to see. If there were more people there cheering at these games, maybe they wouldn’t seem so “boring.” Also, the women’s games are on campus, so they shouldn’t be too hard to get to. In addition, Coach Yow is a good coach, and she is very appreciative of the fans who come to the women’s games. She thanks the fans after every game, and I love that she does. The next men’s home game is Sunday at 2 pm against Maryland, and the next women’s home game is Thursday, February 9th at 7 pm. I hope to see a big crowd there, energized and ready to cheer! GO WOLFPACK!!

Abbie WhitleyAn energized State Fan

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It seems to me that if sexual harassment is on the rise, then we should ask ourselves, “Why?” Our society is becoming more and more lax in our attitude toward sex. Everytime I turn on the TV, I see a show where everyone is sleeping around or a music video with half naked women. Everyone seems to be against the moral majority trying to restrict their “freedom of speech”by controlling what goes on the media. Nowadays everyone thinks they should be able to do whatever they want, watch whatever they want and listen to whatever they want with no consequences; however, people are surprised when freedom of sexual expression is continually pushed in our country and then sexual harassment is on the rise. Women and men should both be treated with respect, but until we start portraying that in the media, sexual harassment will continue to rise.

Blythe YoungJuniorBiological Sciences