Our Voice

    Normally, in the last “Our Voice” of the year, the editor in chief writes about how great the paper has been this year and how far we have come.
    Not this time.
    We do not think that most readers care how many awards The Colonnade won at Georgia College Press Association or what new features we have provided this year. The best judge of what we have done this year is the student reader. This is a student newspaper, not a press association newspaper.
    So instead we will, for the final time this year, address the most pressing issue of the day, at least where students are concerned.
    As the final weeks come to a close, a few topics come to mind. First and foremost, the university’s decision to limit to the number of times a student can drop classes. Under the new system, students will only be able to drop five classes during the entirety of their GCSU career. Upon the sixth dropped class, the student will receive a withdrawal failing.
    While we will admit that students do drop classes with an alarming frequency, a “five and then you fail” policy seems a little extreme. A better plan would be a limit of one drop per semester. With the pressure of HOPE looming over many students, the drop of a class is often preferable to even a C. Thousands of dollars swing either way depending on if (and for how long) a student can keep HOPE. So what students are now asked to do is choose between debt and sooner debt. 
    And now for something completely different.
    The campus went crazy Wednesday when a rumor broke out about a gunman on Front Campus.  One person said the assailant had a gun, another said he had fired the gun and another said the person was from Central State Hospital.  And so it went.
    In reality, it was a dude with a pocketknife.  Close, but no cigar. 
    Everyone is on edge after the tragic incident at Virginia Tech.  This is sad to say, but someone will probably try to imitate him elsewhere.  It happened after Columbine.  We do have every right to be concerned.
    However, the incident in question was blown WAY out of proportion by the students, who incessantly fed the rumor mill.  GCSU responded with the facts within the hour, but by then we had heard the story of the madman with a gun.
    To be honest, we were our own worst enemies Wednesday.  Calm in the face of danger saves lives.  Freaking out can be more dangerous than any knife.
    Just some random thoughts from an award winning staff.  (Sorry, we couldn’t resist.)

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 27 2007. Filed under Opinion, Our Voice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry