DISCOURSE
- Faculty continues to keep campus green Editorial
- Apologies for slavery too little, too late Editorial
- Parental influence encourages anorexia Rebecca Swan
- Cell phones diminish communication ties, quality of life Laurel Wright
- Address change would reflect improving stature of university Jenna Strom
Faculty continues to keep campus green
Editorial
Members of the University of North Florida community should take pride in the campus' natural beauty and commitment to its nature reserve. But lately it seems plastic bottles decorate campus more than wildflowers.
Rather than letting an abundance of trash go unnoticed, school officials are taking steps to ensure UNF maintains its pledge to remain a
naturally beautiful campus while maintaining the interests of the environment.
Students, faculty and staff enjoy a beautiful, sprawling patch of grass known as the Green. It is typically one of the cleanest spots on campus, but it will soon turn into a giant garbage can for a day.
Volunteers will showcase some of the items thrown away by people on campus March 8, according to a press release on the UNF Web site. They will sort, measure and catalogue the trash, hoping to open up people's eyes to their recycling habits, or lack thereof. Garbage on the Green will also include booths where anyone interested can learn more about environmental issues. Literally showing people what they are doing to their campus will hopefully lead to more environmentally friendly behavior.
This is just the latest step UNF has taken to show its obligation to nature. Last year, the new Social Sciences building was the first in Northeast Florida to be certified "green," meaning it was built to be environmentally friendly.
The building was constructed out of recycled and recyclable materials. It was also the first building in Jacksonville to be registered by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The university recognized a chance to do something positive for the environment when creating this addition to campus, and both sides benefited from the construction of Building 51.
The University of North Florida also gives people on campus a chance to do their part. Recycling bins and garbage cans are prominent throughout campus. It only takes a few seconds to throw that water bottle in one bin and that food
wrapper in another.
As UNF continues to grow, the administration is working hard to maintain the nature reserve surrounding campus. Plans for new dorms and buildings are thought of with the environment in mind.
The UNF Master Plan, which outlines future projects such as the transit system and the student union, requires that all new buildings meet the green standards that Building 51 met. Energy is also a concern, and plans for the buildings include an abundance of glass. Modifications such as these add
up, and UNF is doing a stellar job in leading Jacksonville as an environmentally concerned member of
the city.
Officials at this school are making nature a priority, and those who visit campus should do the same.
Apologies for slavery too little, too late
Editorial
Virginia is celebrating black history month by apologizing for its past participation in the perpetuation of slavery. The condolences are nice, but the state is 150 years too late.
The Virginia General Assembly voted Feb. 24 to express "profound regret" for the state's support in slavery, and "the involuntary servitude of Africans and the exploitation of Native Americans."
The apologies are directed toward the discriminatory actions committed as far back as 1619 when the first Africans arrived in Jamestown, but most specifically the "horrendous of all depredations" of human rights and violations of founding ideals in the nation's history.
The U.S. Census Bureau shows Virginia to have held the most slaves of any state when slavery was legal. By apologizing for things that happened centuries ago, all Virginia is doing is calling attention to the fact that at one time, it led the nation
in racism.
And waiting many years after the fact to apologize doesn't do much to console hurt feelings. The state's condolences are well directed, but the people who most deserved to hear the apologies are long gone, and those who are hearing them haven't been alive long enough to have been directly affected
by slavery.
When constructing the apology, the Virginia resolution's authors - great-grandsons of slaves - originally chose to request "atonement" over "profound regret" for slavery. But the House turned the word down because it's meaning could elicit requests for money.
The fact of the matter is if Virginia is truly concerned about seriously conveying its regret, it should come bearing some kind of compensation to accompany its
verbal apologies.
Some states have passed legislation providing reparations for violence committed against blacks. Florida is one such state - it paid $2.1 million to survivors and descendants of Rosewood, an all black town destroyed in 1923 by a white mob. A city in Oklahoma built a monument marking violence against blacks in 1921. But Virginia isn't prepared to reward money to the descendents of slaves or build a monument; lawmakers are only willing to sacrifice their words and condolences.
It's almost as if Virginia is more concerned in cleaning up its image than in making people feel better.
Previous slave-owning states, like Maryland and Missouri, are also looking to express apologies for slavery in effort to move forward.
It's a nice gesture, but the point really is lost, especially in an era when slavery is no longer an issue.
The apologies should have been made decades and centuries ago to the people who actually experienced the hardships. Today they don't carry the same meaning and aren't being heard by any of the people who were actually affected.
Perhaps the state should focus on more pertinent issues of this day and age. If it happens to feel further pangs of guilt for things that happened too long ago for most to remember, it should apologize with some kind of reparation in hand.
Parental influence encourages anorexia
Student Opinion
I am the proverbial "lost middle child." My older sister - skinny as a toothpick - was this champion baton twirler and overachiever. My little sister, a champion gymnast and straight A student, was the apple of my daddy's eye.
I was the performer, always striving for attention, but in the quest for attention, I found that I had to be perfect. Perfect meant I did something good enough for my mother to brag to company about, but not good enough to acknowledge at home.
Unfortunately there aren't many accolades for performing, so my perfection, in my mother's eyes, stopped
at that point. My grades were never good enough. I couldn't clean the "right way," and most importantly,
my mother was "not going to have a
fat daughter!"
I came from the "clean your plate" generation, which to me was a contradiction. I was made to clean the plate my parents dished up, while being called "fat slob" by mother because I ate too much. I was called "dumb" and "fat" almost on a daily basis.
To make matters worse, school was just as painful. I was an emotional punching bag to my mother, and I hated myself. Looking back at that time, I had zero confidence, and my self-image was extremely distorted.
By the time I was 12, I became a compulsive overeater. I overate out of spite for the new diet my mother would put me on. Surprisingly, my weight was not affected by this because I rode my bike everywhere, all the time, because I hated being at home.
By the summer before my junior year in high school, I was anorexic. If
I ate, I ate as little as 300-500 calories a day. I still stayed gone, so no one in my family caught on. I dropped 25 pounds in five weeks; by far one of the most dangerous things I have done.
I thought I looked good. I thought this would stop the heat from my mother. But I still wasn't good enough.
When a friend discovered my self-destructive behavior, I resorted to eating and purging; I figured because I wasn't perfect at starving myself, maybe I can hide this better. I did, for years. When I graduated high school, I stayed gone even more and my bulimic episodes were sporadic. If I had to participate in a family dinner, even if my mother was tolerable, I would still wind up in the bathroom.
It took getting married and moving more than 700 miles from sunny Florida and my mother for me to start the healing process. Recovery is a long and grueling process and I have relapsed, most recently last summer, when I starved myself to get back into my old jeans. It felt great to get back into them, but I was disgusted
with myself.
After all of the therapy, I still can't accept less than perfect and I never seem to reach it. Sad, isn't it?
Contact Rebecca Swan at uspinnak@unf.edu -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Cell phones diminish communication ties, quality of life
Student Opinion
Our generation relies on technology for almost every aspect of our lives. It is
nearly impossible to find anyone who doesn't use a cellular phone regularly. With this dependence on technology, we are losing our identities and many traditional ways of
communication.
Having a cell phone is great, but it is getting to a point where the average person cannot function without it. People frequently tell stories about having lost their phones and how they can't get in touch with anyone because their phone numbers are gone.
When a major network goes down, people are at a stand still. With no way to text classmates to ask about class assignments or what's going on that night, they can't live securely. Reliance on these devices is becoming ridiculously excessive. Cell phone users 18 to 24 years old average around 22 hours of usage a month, the most talking time out of any age demographic.
In 2006 there were 203 million cell phones in use in the United States and with a population around 300 million, there are very few people without them. There are many people who have more than one cell phone and because of new marketing strategies where cell phone companies target children, it's common to see a 9-year-old walking around the mall with a cell phone plastered to his or her ear.
It would not be surprising if the number of cell phone contracts soon equals or exceeds the number of
people in the country. It seems impossible to find an area of life that does involve the use of cell phones. They are commonly seen in bathrooms, restaurants, cars, stores and classes.
An advertising agency conducted a survey in 2005 that found 15 percent
of respondents had answered their
cell phone calls while having sex, while none of the survey respondents had interrupted a cell phone call to have sex.
In that same survey 59 percent of cell phone users said they wouldn't lend their cell phones to a friend for a day, and 26 percent reported that having their cell phones was more important than having their wallets. This need to have cell phones with us every hour of every day is absurd. They can be used for safety and convenience, but having them at arms reach all the time is taking these measures too far.
As helpful as cell phones can
be, excessive use can be detrimental.
A study by an insurance agency showed that individuals who use a cell phone while driving were four times more likely to get into crashes that cause injury. An ABC news poll showed that poor cell phone etiquette was the bad behavior encountered most frequently. Large amounts of cell phone usage have prompted many
professors and employers to enact rules regarding their regulation; there are many times when an improperly placed call can result in reprimand.
Cell phones are a great invention, but with people relying on them and using them too much, its good begins to diminish. We need to think before pulling out a cell phone just to call someone in the next room.
Wireless communication helps gain convenience but we are losing our chances to interact with others face to face. If cell phone usage continues to expand at the current rate, we could possibly lose traditional means of
communication and risk damaging our way of living.
Contact Laurel Wright at uspinnak@unf.edu -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Address change would reflect improving stature of university
Letter from the Editor
Big things will happen for the University of North Florida in the future: we'll get more dorms, a Student Union building, a skate park, and our
basketball team will finally be
eligible to make it to the NCAA Tournament. With all these big changes coming into effect over the next several years, it's obvious the university has outgrown its britches at 4567 St. Johns Bluff Road South.
The address has been with the Ospreys through thick and thin, from days when parking was plentiful to nights filled with Homecoming events. University presidents have come and gone, esteemed
professors have completed their tenures only to abandon the many acres of lush green trees, and 4567 has proved its loyalty and stuck around throughout the years.
The university is moving on to
bigger and better things. St. Johns Bluff Road technically no longer feeds into the university, and as nostalgic it may seem, it's time to bury the bird. It seems silly that we ever attended school on St. Johns Bluff Road in the first place because the university is so far separated from other businesses located on the road.
The Jacksonville Department of Planning and Development denied the Ospreys from taking flight with a new address, 1 UNF Drive, because it
doesn't fall within the 11,400-11,499 range assigned to all buildings in the area. The city's philosophy makes perfect sense because rescue forces need to know where to go in case of an emergency. But the University Police Department constantly
networks with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and most firefighters know their way around Jacksonville like the backs of their hands. It might be difficult for them to find Jacksonville University - it being out in the boonies on University Boulevard and all - but in the case of UNF, it's safe to say it's something most can do pretty quickly.
Dozens of businesses congregate in the University Center each week,
seminars are held at the center, and
lectures and performances attract members from the Jacksonville community on a daily basis.
With more than 16,000 students and booming popularity in Jacksonville, it's time UNF moves on up to either 1 UNF Drive or something else that gives us more of an individualized identity. The university has grown enough to earn a right to its own number. It's time the city starts giving us the credit we deserve.
Contact Jenna Strom at editor@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE